Artist & Photographer

Introducing a new arm to our journal, Work In Progress…

In this series, we hand it over to our artists to explain the creative process and inspiration behind their latest collections. To launch the series we have invited Lottie Hampson, artist and photographer, who has recently released a mixed media collection of still life pieces.

We invite you to step into her studio as she runs us through this new ‘tactile way of making’, her experience with the various techniques she used, and how a Hampstead ponds grocery shop inspired her to use the fruit and vegetables featured in her series 'Still Life'.

This work has been a long time in the making. A few years ago whilst working at the artist foundation Villa Lena in Tuscany I started making ceramics. There was no formal training; just the expertise and generosity from some of the artists-in-residence at the time, who patiently taught me how to mould clay, how long to wait until firing, and how to glaze and use a kiln. I got a bit obsessed with checking the kiln for the results of my new wonky creations, so when I got home to London I felt a bit lost without access to a ceramics studio.

Then, in a moment of serendipity, I met a wonderful ceramicist called Natasha Daintry on a beach on the Scottish island Tiree. She very kindly offered the use of her studio once a week. I spent Tuesdays in her studio hand-building a series of scalloped pieces. I think at the time I was a bit preoccupied by shells. Shells and leaves. I used an old jelly mould to press clay into, and the others I just sculpted by hand. There was a lot of trial and error and many frustrating mistakes, but I finished with a small collection of pieces that I really loved. 

I sat with those pieces in their unglazed state in my room for a while (see below). I loved their simplicity, so when I got around to glazing them I decided to use a transparent one so that I could keep the raw feel to them.

I feel very attached to the ceramic works, so this project feels quite personal. Each piece is totally one of a kind, and their imperfections are what make them so special; the splodge of blue glaze on the side of the leaf plate, the way one of the jelly mould bowls tilts on its side... there will only ever be one of each piece.

The ceramics can be both practical and functional. I imagine them filled with flowers and fresh fruits or maybe jewelry, trinkets, or even pebble collections (as mine currently holds…).

Over the summer months I am enticed by the local grocery stores and their seasonal fresh produce. Artichokes, figs, greengages, borlotti beans, pears, and peaches. Before I eat them I often feel the need to document them. This is probably inspired by the gardener Charles Jones, who, in the early 1900s, meticulously photographed the produce he grew in simple compositions against black or white backdrops. I have been revisiting his work a lot recently. 

At the moment I am sharing my mum’s studio with her. She is a painter and maker, who - coincidentally, or not - also loves studying fruit and vegetables. She makes beautiful paintings of quinces. So I have been setting up still lifes against a white sheet, to photograph on film on my Hasselblad camera. I think I got really into photographing food and still lifes over lockdown when I couldn’t go out to explore with my camera, and I was doing a lot of cooking and baking.

My practice was confined to a small room, and the medium moved from photography to drawing and back again, and after that drawing on top of the photos. I love the simplicity of this setup, and I figured that it would also be a perfect way to document the ceramic pieces.

My favourite pieces from the collection are the jelly mould bowls. Whether they’re acting as a vessel, stacked up together, or turned upside down to create an ornamental piece- the shape of them… the way they tilt slightly... I kept two of them which I move from the mantlepiece to the kitchen table to the bathroom. Their shape is so satisfying to me. I love them. 

The other one I have a special spot for is the Globe Artichoke photo. I love looking at artichokes, and this photo is printed on a thick Hahnemühle Etching paper which adds a welcome sense of texture to the photo. I think it’s a really lovely print. 

Discover Lottie's latest collection 'Still Life'

FOLLOW LOTTIE:
@lottiehampson