admin, Author at The Oxfordshire Craft Guild

Hannelore Meinhold-Morgan studied Ceramics and Chemical Glaze Composition in Nürnberg, Germany. After graduating, she gained experience in various studio potteries abroad and in London, including the Briglin Pottery.

Hannelore established her own studio pottery before settling in Oxfordshire, where she was invited to revive the disused Boot Barn Pottery in Stonesfield by producing individual studio ceramics.

Hannelore develops her own unique glazes to decorate one-off sculptural, hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramic pieces. Her decorative and functional ceramics distinctively combine colour, form and texture.

Hannelore is inspired by life’s natural wonders and surprises. She is particularly drawn to and inspired by the natural world, including historically and evolutionarily; forests, landscapes, the sea, and all that lives and lies therein.

Elements, minerals, plants, organisms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, striking invertebrates, fossilised
impressions, ancient forms are often depicted in Hannelore’s work, boldly, conceptually, discreetly.

Concepts are recreated through form, colour and texture and may be intensified with the addition of other materials, such as glass or metal, or the effects of such materials are created with carefully-devised glazes.

Hannelore’s work has been shown in galleries and at exhibitions in the UK and in Germany, and is in private collections internationally.

The Boot Barn Pottery in Stonesfield is usually open during Oxfordshire Artweeks and, otherwise, by appointment.

Pam Fyvie

Ellis Stacey

Operating at the intersection between craft and art, I create furniture, sculpture and functional objects from sustainably sourced wood.

Formerly a civil servant, I studied fine furniture making at the Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford for several years before being awarded year-long residencies there in September 2023 and 2024.
My experimental practise blends traditional craftmanship with the aesthetics of geometric abstraction and reflects a love of nature, history, mythology and folklore.

Interested in tactility and critical of the stark sterility of mass-produced contemporary minimalism, I draw inspiration from the pre-industrial past and embrace asymmetry, rugged biomorphic forms and irregular touchable textures. Through the introduction of colour and playful subversive details, I strive to make expressive pieces which delight both hand and eye.

I am based in Kennington and am also a member of South Oxford Arts (SOA) and West Oxford Arts (WOA).
I welcome collaborations and commissions of all kinds.

Mary Robson

I became absorbed in making silver jewellery as a hobby fifteen years ago, making for myself, friends and family.

Developing skills, adding techniques and evolving my style is a never ending source of delight, and I love making individual and unique pieces that are eye catching, yet discreet and wearable.

I work in my studio at home, mostly in silver, perhaps with gold accents, and many pieces will incorporate stylish stones set in a variety of ways.
Earring, rings and pendants are the main components of collections, perhaps with the occasional bracelet, when commissioned.

My inspiration will come from anywhere; a stone which catches my eye; the way a piece I see moves; an image in nature, or new techniques learnt in class or from others.
 

Alison Blanchard

I have been a fused glass artist since 2017 and honed my craft through various courses either in person or online. I was inspired to become a fused glass artist after having seen Sioban Jones’s work at Art in Action at Waterperry. I subsequently did one of her courses in Worthing and loved it. I now have a studio at home and have a lot of fun “playing”! I mainly do fused glass but have also ventured into stained glass and cast glass more recently.

Much of my fused glass art is inspired by nature and flowers are a particular love of mine. The challenge of recreating them in glass either in 2D, as a picture, or 3D, as garden art, is exciting. I have a range of large and small garden art flowers – poppies, daisies, lilies and buttercups which can be “planted” in your garden and provide colour all year round or displayed in your home and look particularly stunning if intermingled with real flowers. I also have some bright flower decorations to hang in your window along with some stand-alone flowers which have their own stands to cheer up any windowsill.

Colour is another passion of mine and beautiful sunsets have inspired my pendant collection. My favourites are the purples although the orange hues come a very close second. Each pendant is constructed of three layers of glass and requires two to three kiln firings to complete but remains elegant. To this collection I have added seascape pendants which capture the essence of holidays by the seaside.

In addition, I make various dishes and platters in a range of wonderful bold and vibrant colours. These come under the useful and useless (display only!) categories but always bring joy. They range in size from small ring dishes (approx 8x8cm) to large round bowls with a diameter of 29cm and all sizes and shapes in between. They can be used for a variety of functional purposes or to bring colour to a room.

More recently I have been doing some casting a very long complicated process of making a 3D object in glass. It uses the lost wax process which involves making a mould, using it to make a wax model and then making a refractory mould from the wax model. Steaming the wax out before melting the glass into the mould. This glass piece then needs refining and polishing. The end results are very rewarding and I now have a lovely collection of glass “eggs” and some glass lemons.

My work is on sale during Artweeks and at a local gallery. Enquiries and commissions are welcome!

Julie Grose

Sculptural blacksmith, Julie Grose, is a designer maker who makes metal sculptures and functional items from her forge in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK.

Julie creates a range of architectural ironwork, home wares and garden art, using traditional blacksmithing and fabrication methods incorporating contemporary and classic feminine design.

Whilst studying at Camberwell Art College in London, Julie found her love for blacksmithing. After completing her degree she travelled to learn and work the craft from a variety of metalworkers and blacksmiths before setting up on her own as a sculptural blacksmith in Shropshire.

Gabriella Blakey

May 20, 2024
by admin

I started my artistic career by painting furniture. In the 1980s I was living in Edinburgh where one could find interesting pieces of vintage furniture already stripped of all wood stains, just ready to be decorated. It was then a very fashionable idea which kept me busy.

I still have some individual pieces which are waiting to be sold, such as the Vestry wardrobe and Canteen table, which can be seen on my website. They are really unusual, functional pieces that add to the beauty of any room. At the time I thought that the brush and paints were the natural medium to express nature. The smooth hand gesture repeats naturally the smoothness of the stems and petals on a flat surface. They were hugely enjoyable to do.

Moving to Oxford at the end of the 80s, I felt the need to express myself in more challenging and creative ways. The art of marquetry seems to have chosen me. The process of cutting slim veneers into sizes and shapes, and getting them into place with accurate adjustments to space, is very thrilling. The ‘Rose’, the ‘Lilly’ and the ‘Tulip’ are made with coloured veneer inlays on wood panels. They are pictures to be displayed on the wall. Their function is purely aesthetic. I am pleased with the results. It is part of Nature’s generosity to allow us to copy and reinvent its beauty in so many different media and materials with renewed freshness.

My graphic design background enhances harmony and symmetry in the designs I create.

I welcome commissions.

Vikki Lafford Garside

Growing up in rural Oxfordshire I had an appreciation for the countryside and a fascination with nature and wildlife. This love of nature and a passion for art and textiles led me to achieve a degree in Embroidery, followed by a Master’s degree in Textile design in 2006. Since then I have worked as a designer-maker of textile accessories and also wedding dresses. In 2016 I received the awards of Best Independent Designer and Best in Show at Art Couture festival for my wearable art piece entitled ‘Ocean’s Last Gasp’. My wearable art, adornments and accessories are sold in galleries throughout the UK and I regularly attend craft fairs and markets where I meet lovely customers and gain inspiration for new designs.

My work is still inspired by the fairy tales, folklore and nature I appreciated as a child, as well as decorative arts and historical costume. The designs develop from initial drawings and studies which then pass through many different processes of dye, print, stitch, cutwork and heat manipulation to create unique and entirely wearable, decorative and colourful textile accessories to wear and treasure.

Since 2017 I have worked from a bright and airy studio in the courtyard of a grade II listed former pub in central Witney. I occasionally open my studio to visitors, so please see my website and join my mailing list for news about events and open studios.

Ticia Lever

For 20 years, hand weaving has been a passion of mine. Following retirement from nursing, I finished an HNC in Handwoven Textile Design at Bradford College in 2006. Based in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, I design and weave scarves and shawls. The vibrant colour palettes are inspired by travels in India. Each of these one-off accessories is created in silk, linen and wool to give a lustrous finish. My latest range of scarves uses the Japanese technique called woven shibori which produces permanent pleats in the cloth. It is used to create movement of colour from one side of the cloth to the other.

I sell at craft fairs and exhibitions, and by commission.