ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE
KATHARINE GRAY CERAMICS
FOLLOWING AN IMPRESSIVE PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTIC ENDEAVOURS , CERAMICS ARTIST KATHARINE GRAY LAUNCHED HER BUSINESS IN 2023 . WITH AN INSPIRING SIGNATURE STYLE , KATHARINE LOVINGLY CRAFTS ALL FORMS OF DECORATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL WARE , FROM FULL DINNER SERVICES TO ORNAMENTAL BOWLS AND ELEGANT VASES IN HER KENT STUDIO .
© Poppy Hollis
Please tell us a little bit about your background and subsequent artistic journey . I ’ ve always been an artist . When I was little , my mother used to line our kitchen with paper and we ’ d have painting days . My fondest memories growing up are of art classes I ’ ve taken , galleries I ’ ve visited and things I ’ ve created . I was a fine art major at university with a concentration in ceramics and fiber art . Upon graduation , I freelanced as an apprentice for a Swedish tapestry weaver and worked part time for an interior designer advising on materials . At the time , the market was incredibly tricky , and I was too scared to follow my dream to become an artist , so I pursued a career in interior design .
I earned my masters in New York and built an incredibly successful and rewarding 20-year career as an interior designer in New York and London . When Covid hit , I reevaluated my career and decided that it was time to take a break . I was burned out and had drifted further and further away from being creative . Within days of leaving my job , I was craving getting back to ceramics . I started throwing again and teaching classes at a studio near my home in Charing , and before long I had commissions and started building a collection . I decided to take the plunge in 2023 and launched Katharine Gray Ceramics .
How would you describe your style ? Has this evolved throughout your career ? I never realised how much of an influence the ocean had on me as a kid growing up in Connecticut . It took moving out of London to Kent for me to understand how therapeutic and calming the sea can be and I ’ ve tried to express that in my work . My pieces emulate the texture , colour and light of the Kent coast . I ’ m also inspired by Scandinavian design and architecture . I ’ ve intentionally kept my forms simple and clean but also welcoming and warm . My own version of hygge .
Tell us a little bit about the techniques and processes you undergo to create your ceramics ? I ’ m predominately a thrower and have been since my university days . I love the power of the wheel and what you can create with it . At university , I created mostly wheel-thrown manipulated sculptures that were completely unique . I ’ m now very much drawn to functional ware and throwing large quantities of pieces that are consistent . I also love the idea of people using my pieces every day . I ’ m continually trying to perfect my techniques on the wheel . It also appeals to my perfectionist tendencies , which every artist has !
I have started to embrace hand-building , too . With the wheel you can be incredibly precise and consistent , but I love how personal and expressive hand-built pieces can be . Hand-building has also taught me to slow down and relax into the process . As I say to my students , there is beauty in imperfection .
I love how my collection has developed over the past year and I ’ m continually tweaking it , trying new forms and glaze colours . I have lots of thoughts brewing and my sketchbook is overflowing with new ideas .
Where can we find , see and purchase your work ? The holiday season this year is going to be very busy for me . I ’ ll be showing my full collection at several Christmas fairs around the South East . I ’ m also teaching a number of private and public workshops in Kent and London . You can see all the information about my fairs and follow my process on Instagram , and tickets to my public workshops and pieces in my collection are available to purchase on my website .
www . katharinegrayceramics . com katharine _ gray _ ceramics
26 • www . insidekent . co . uk