After a career teaching Fine Art and Ceramics in London, across the South East, and overseas, Paula Downing moved to Cornwall several years ago to pursue a life-long ambition to produce her own work full-time. She now works from a studio in Mawnan Smith, a few miles from Falmouth.
Paula she uses coiling and slab-building techniques to produce sculptural ceramics that reflect the rugged landscape of Cornwall. Natural features, ancient monuments and industrial mine workings all provide inspiration. Her use of clay supplemented with various minerals adds additional texture and depth to her work. Oxides and heavily grogged slips add colour to the pieces. Designs are heavily influenced by the Modernist artists of St Ives in the mid-twentieth century and there are also clear links between Paula’s work and that of the Troika Pottery in the 1960s. Paula tends to produce work in series with a common inspiration, but each piece is individual and unique.
Paula’s work has been exhibited throughout Cornwall and nationwide.