Vicky Wilson

Vicky lives on the English/Welsh border of Monmouthshire. She studied for a BA (Hons) Art & Aesthetic at UWIC School of Fine Art, a course heavily based on philosophy and leant candidates towards arts therapy. Vicky currently works with community groups of all ages and abilities. Using a wide range of media she designs and creates sensory environments in woodlands, parks, community gardens and churches. Beside community arts Vicky produces ceramic work based on the butterfly pupae or chrysalis, which she sees as a metaphor for what we are or what we will be and our relationship with those around us in the community and our own precariousness as a result.

Vicky's ceramic pupae are created in varying sizes. She starts by applying liquid clay slip to material which is wound round a wire frame; this then undergoes the Japanese technique of raku. Bisque-fired up to 1000 °C a cold glaze is added to create a range of interesting iridescent changes. A second firing is carried out in a specially-built kiln that allows Vicky to lift out the work with metal tongs once the temperature reaches 1000 °C and submerge it in sawdust to cool. Its a tricky technique which often provides interesting and unusual result. Displayed in groups or pairs Vicky's pupae often hang from the ceiling by fishing line to allow them to sway and circulate, exemplifying the 'hanging in the balance' of life. Sometimes they sit directly on the ground, positioned in pairs so that they create a community all of their own. The aim is to stimulate the voyeur's imagination: what creature lurks within? When her pupae were on exhibition in Cardiff and Newport many people said they looked very creepy and Vicky was constantly asked what the creatures were going to look like when they emerged.

Contact: vicky.j.wilson@btopenworld.com