Shirley Emmerson Art

In 1993 I enrolled at my local college to study A'level Fine Art and Textiles. Happily for me, my tutor Pauline Watson was the Ceramic teacher and I was introduced to the wonderful world of ceramics and the joy of clay. I've never looked back. In 1996 I started my ceramics degree at the University West of England, Bristol. What an incredible journey that was, to be immersed in clay full time! I feel so lucky, I trained with Mo Jupp, Walter Keeler and my beautiful, talented friend Kevin de Choisy. In my second year, the course leader Mike Hughes set up an incredible collaboration between the Victoria and Albert Museum and our course. We got to handle ceramics from the 16th - 18th century and used the inspiration to create our own work which culminated in an exhibition in the museum later in the year. It was my first taste of a sell-out exhibition and several commissions. I was already hooked, but this sealed the deal. Since then I have continued to make and sell, initially with sculpted domestic ware, then on to purely sculptural pieces and now mixed media dolls and figurative sculptures. In 1999 my husband and I moved onto our small sailboat and left the UK, heading to the mediterranean via the French canals and here we've stayed sailing in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Our adventures took my work to galleries and shops throughout Europe and the UK. In 2019 my work started to shift towards a mix of porcelain and textiles, so I've been on a steep learning curve, which I'm excited to now share with you! I love the endless possibilities of clay, it suits my temperament, evolving with my own growth and experiences.