Frances Priest MRSS

My work explores cultural histories of ornament through studio ceramics and installations in the built environment. Central to the work is an interest in pattern books as a means of documenting and disseminating languages of ornament, reflecting upon the ever-changing interpretations of ornamental motifs as they move between drawing and material form. The work I make sits between craft, design and sculpture, pulling on traditions and forms from each area to realise my ideas. The work is often made in sequence, moving between different formats to make manifest the notion of decorative motifs inhabiting ever-evolving forms.

I graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1999 with a BA and PG Dip in Ceramics. I have built an internationally recognised practice, with work represented in private collections across the globe and UK public collections including, The Fitzwilliam Museum, The Victoria & Albert Museum, and The National Museum of Scotland. Public commissions include The Tiled Corridor for Edinburgh & Lothians Health Foundation and Patterns of Flora for Atlas Arts. My work has featured in biennials and awards including, European Ceramic Context, The Wesley Barrell Craft Award, The British Ceramics Biennale,  Arts & Business Scotland Award, Homo Faber, and The John Smedley Craft Prize. I am a Homo Faber selected maker, a QEST Scholar, and a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

Through a QEST Johnnie Walker scholarship, I am currently working with heritage tile manufacturer Craven Dunnill Jackfield. Research into historical archives will inform new projects in the public realm incorporating richly patterned and glazed tile designs. My most recent commission has moved my work into the digital realm. Motifs drawn from neo-classical architecture dance and evolve across a 4.5-meter high LED screen, driven by generative algorithms programmed in collaboration with digital artist Sam Healy. This work is, in turn, informing new sculptural works in ceramics.