Seed Magazine ‘Shifting Tides’ for Daylesford

An interview and studio visit with Celia Dowson

Words by Imogen Fortes

Photography by Helen Cathcart

‘There’s a feeling of camaraderie and community here – a like-mindedness – so it’s an inspiring place for someone like me who is still quite fresh out of art school,’ she tells me. ‘And while my design process begins with a concept – walking, or gathering things from a particular landscape, to try and develop an idea in my mind, the process of bringing it to life is very technical and this space suits that side to my work.’

‘I use a machine called a jigger-jolly, she tells me. ‘It’s an antique piece of machinery that is ordinarily used for mass-producing ceramics, except that I don’t want to mass-produce my work; I’m interested in how you can adapt a traditional modelling technique to create something individual. The work then becomes about how you apply clay to the mould, how much water you use, the gestures and the marks that you make, the speed at which the piece is rotating and how the clay is pushed to the side of the mould.’

Seed Magazine, Shifting Tides, Edition 1, September 2019, pages 54-57.

Seed is a biannual magazine, founded and edited by Carole Bamford. At its heart is the belief that we need to live sustainably and consciously. Content features interviews and conversations with artisans, artists, makers and thinkers – pioneers in the fields of sustainability, farming, craft, design, wellness and travel.

Seed is available to purchase in all Daylesford and Bamford stores and online.

Photography by Helen Cathcart