Nigel Edwards

Nigel Edwards

I was born and brought up by the sea in the beautiful county of Devon. Coastal geography and my local rural environment are important issues, and these themes are always somewhere to be seen in my work. I worked in broadcast television for over 30 years as an editor, director and independent producer. I retired in 2015 returning to fulltime education studying art and ceramics, gaining a first-class BA (Hons) in ceramics at Cardiff Met. University. I now live and work at my studio in the small Oxfordshire village of Fernham.

Inspiration for Cuerda Seca Sand and Sea is taken from several influences: the works of Marianne de Trey, Bryan Newman and the coastal regions of Devon and Cornwall. My investigations have led me to a rewarding aesthetic which speaks of waves in motion through gestural application, reminiscent of abstract expressionism. These functional forms all have a post war sensibility about them, I acknowledge truth to materials which imparts the geology and landscapes such as beach giving the sentiment of sea and sand. The work’s influences are rooted in this progressive period of modernism with research into the great work of post war Hungarian and West German ceramicists.

My body of work entitled “Autobiographical Coast” considers the time and beauty of the environment where I was raised, using clay bodies and mimetic glazes to convey the raw energy and dynamism of the coast. I have employed various techniques and involved different genres, exploring functional forms through the language of sculpture, to the development of glazes to encourage and engage with thoughts of rural coastlines and marine life. The result is a balance held between two forces, the power of the ocean and man’s relationship and impact on it through geometric and technical interventions.

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