2024 AWARD WINNER | Loughborough School of the Arts, English & Drama

ELLIE ROBINS Loughborough School of the Arts, English & Drama | BA Hons Fine Art

Recipient of the Potclays Graduate Award in 2024 as part of our Educlaytion programme

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Please tell us about yourself, your work, and your career path so far.
I started ceramics on my placement year working for Hannah Simpson Studio London; after my placement I decided to carry on with ceramics into my final year at Loughborough University. I started Powerlifting 2 years ago and wanted to reflect my passion within my artwork. I embody a commitment to the physical, through my sport and my mould-making process. For my degree show I presented an 8ft x 8ft surface pyramid made of approx. 304 ceramic dumbbells, to represent women’s strength and empowerment. I interviewed over 100 women; the words from my interviews were heat transferred onto the surface of the dumbbells. I am excited to continue my journey and collaborate with more athletes on their experiences.

Describe your first encounter with clay?
My first encounter with clay was hand-building during my placement year. I love how there are endless possibilities with the material and how many shapes can be created.

Why did you choose ceramics?
I like working with repetitive shapes and ceramics allows me to produce multiple iterations quickly through mould-making.

Where do you find inspiration? Places, people, objects, music…
From the people I compete with and constant conversations about inequality around me. I take a lot of my inspiration from my gym sessions and objects that I use in the gym.
5) What are the tools of your trade that you can't do without?
I rely a lot on oxides for the ‘antique aging’ aesthetic of my dumbbells. Rubber kidneys have been a life saver for smoothing over clay from the pour in holes and creating smooth edges.

What is a typical day in the studio like?
I normally do 9-5pm in the studio. It’s quite repetitive producing multiples, but it often involves securing my plaster moulds and lots of pouring ceramic slip. I aim to produce around 25 dumbbell casts a day with the 8 plaster moulds that I have made. A lot of the time I am waiting for the casted dumbbells to dry, so that I can take them out of the moulds. In the time that I am waiting around, I glaze and load the kiln.

What do the next 12 months have in store for you?
People can expect to see more hand produced and personalised items. I am hoping to take commissions from athletes for my paintings and ceramics. I am looking forward to hand building strength related ceramic objects and experimenting with glazing techniques.

What advice do you have for those currently studying ceramics in further education?
You can never be ‘too ambitious’ or go ‘too big’. You may have a lot of people telling you that ideas may not be possible but follow your vision and you will produce what you set out to produce. You must work hard but the outcome is most definitely worth it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes as the mistakes you make will get you to where you want to be. The kiln can be unpredictable, but you tend to embrace the mistakes and quirks of your pieces within ceramics.