Carol Sinclair rolls out clay in her Forfar studio | Photography © Lydia Smith
Carol Sinclair
Ceramic Artist
Carol Sinclair was invited to be part of Hag. because her work, being rooted in sustainability and mindful making, challenges the status quo and embodies the spirit of reclaimed narratives and empowered women.
She created three new pieces for the exhibition, After the Storm I, II and III. The patterning in these new works is inspired by broken branches left scattered in her local landscape after recent storms. The branches fell as the result of increasing frequency and intensity of these storms that is being caused by global warming. Sinclair sees this fall, and the patterns and shapes created, as urgent messages from the environment, warning us to respect and take care of our world.
All three pieces in After the Storm have been created in porcelain and black stoneware, decorated with Sinclair’s signature inlay technique. Working with a voice that echoes
resilience and defiance against societal norms, she uses soft slabs of clay to create the form before applying coloured inlays which are then cut and reformed to create
individual patterned shapes.
Biography
Carol Sinclair was born in Edinburgh and studied ceramics at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen. She hand-builds in porcelain slab to create one-off sculptural vessels, plates and bottles using her signature inlay technique to add imagery and pattern. Working from her home studio in Forfar, Angus, Sinclair is inspired by people and places, and makes work in response to the issues that she cares about, especially the environment. Sinclair has adopted a “closed loop” approach to her practice where she repurposes and recycles as much material as possible from her ceramic production.
Sinclair is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association and regularly exhibits at the Contemporary Ceramics Gallery in London. Carol’s gallery representation includes Byard Arts, Cambridge, White Chalk Gallery, Devizes, Alchemist, Dingwall, Graystone Gallery, Edinburgh and Birch Tree Gallery, Edinburgh. Her work is held in the collections of Carlowrie Castle and the Meffan Institute.