Since this series of work is about getting over feeling uncomfortable around people, I asked my friends and family to describe their fears and phobias, including textures that made them uncomfortable. I then translated these into experimental surfaces that I used to decorate the vessels. The forms of my vessels are based on the abstracted figurative silhouettes of my friends and family, to give each pot its own personality.

 

Being your full authentic self in front of others can be difficult and is often hidden away, I have used the symbolic format of a lidded vessel as a metaphor for keeping those parts of yourself closed away. The things we hide often connect to fear and phobia, shame, or weakness, these become exposed when the lid is lifted. When these idiosyncrasies come to light we fear others will reject or mock us but what is discovered is that these fears become a loving quality of your personality that others find beautiful in you.

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This collection has been exhibited at New Designers 2022 and at Swansea College of art's Graduate Show 2022.