“I want the natural forms, colours and textures of the work to engage the viewer with a landscape beyond daily experience. As we develop, technologically, the surfaces we touch become increasingly synthetic and machine finished. I feel that what challenges us now is the reality of nature – wild, uncomfortable, dirty, unpackaged, visceral experience.”

The natural textures produced by clay reflect the formation and erosion in the geology of the land and the techniques that Patricia uses in her work encourage the development of textures on the surface of a controlled and formal vessel. “Our scars from living can be seen mirrored in the scars on the land.” Patricia has developed techniques in her clay work which reflect the textures and erosion of the land, developing processes that mimic this natural process. The pieces are hand formed by texturing and stretching. Sometimes by throwing, sometimes carving, all from solid lumps. The muted colours are achieved with oxides, slips and glazes but most of all by different clay bodies and the firing processes.