LandScape

A rolling pin is passed over
sprigs of splayed cow parsley,
gently pressing their white
umbels and tiny leaves into
the soft, smooth clay.
Sitting on the path
to her studio, Emma
draws inspiration for
her ceramic designs,
among the aquilegias.
AT THE END of a cottage garden filled with
geraniums, aquilegias and self-seeded poppies sits a
sun-filled wooden studio overlooking Cornwall’s
Tamar Valley. On a path in front of it sits ceramic
artist Emma West, making notes and sketches in a book that
will be used to help create her delicate tiles. These depict both
the delicate flowers from her garden, the countryside’s animals,
birds and fish as well as the surrounding landscape.
Born and bred in Cornwall, Emma started her professional
life as an archivist in Birmingham. While there, she started
creating ceramics as a hobby. Eventually, the pull of working
with clay was so strong that, in 2000, she decided to do it full
time. “I realised I needed the countryside more than the city,”
she says. “I wanted to come back to the West Country, so I
made an enormous leap and gave up my job.”
Sixteen years later, she is still passionate about clay and the
whole process of working it. “It starts as shapeless wet earth
and takes you along a little journey. You feel it, you work it,
and something eventually emerges from it,” she says. ›
A finished ceramic reveals the
muted effect of Emma’s work. She
finds cow parsley ideal to work with,
as it is sturdy enough to withstand
the pressing process while
possessing a dainty beauty.
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