About Elaine Sheppard Bolt

Elaine Bolt's Studio (photography by Thom Atkinson)

ABOUT ME

Objects can tell stories…

I am a ceramic artist working with clay and mixed media, creating works and compositions guided by a sense of narrative and steeped in the context of the local surroundings. My work includes sculptural work, hand-built wall pieces and thrown vessels, made in porcelain and stoneware and mixed-media.

My wall pieces combine found materials along with hand built ceramic objects which aim to blur the boundaries between the made and the found. These works are complemented by a range of vessels, thrown on the wheel, in porcelain and stoneware with mixed media additions. On a larger scale, I have also developed a body of outdoor tree-like sculptural works that are informed by and embrace the landscape.

Finished in a muted colour palette, all of these works are informed by colours and tones found in the landscape of the South Downs; featuring deep flint blacks, through soft grey stony glazes to ghostly chalk tones.

Every piece I make is different and my ideas are constantly evolving. I value individuality and integrity in my work, putting care and a sense of personality into each one.

I have an MA in Ceramics from UCA Farnham and am an alumni of the Crafts Council’s Hothouse talent development programme. I have worked as a Lecturer on the BA Ceramics course at the University of Brighton as a short course tutor at West Dean College and Forest Row School of Ceramics alongside developing my practice at my studio in Brighton.

I have run projects funded by Arts Council England, by a-n Artist Bursary and by the Quenington Sculpture Trust. My work has been featured in Ceramic Review  (Jan/Feb 2020 issue 301) and I have written articles for a number of publications.

Elaine Bolt Natural History Ceramic Review ArticleElaine Bolt Natural History Ceramic Review ArticleElaine Bolt Natural History Ceramic Review Article


 

CONTACT ME

email: elaine@elainebolt.com
address: Elaine Sheppard Bolt, Atelier 51 Providence Place, Brighton, BN1 4GE

Sign up to be on my mailing list for updates and the occasional newsletter

Find me on Instagram: elainesheppardbolt

 


MY STUDIO IN BRIGHTON

Visit my studio by appointment at:
Atelier 51 Providence Place, Brighton, BN1 4GE

Email me to make an appointment: elaine@elainebolt.com

See where I am on Google Maps

      Atelier 51 Brighton map


WHERE TO FIND MY WORK

I have a small number of pieces available to buy through my online shop at various points during the year. To find out when pieces will become available online, join my mailing list or follow me on Instagram for updates.

You can commission new work from me – contact me or see examples of framed pieces you can commission via my online shop to find out more.

You can also find my work at selected galleries and shops:

A portfolio of my work can also be seen in the Crafts Council online Directory

 


 

SELECTED PAST EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS

March 2023 – Collect with The New Craftsmen, London

October 2022 – The Nature of Things, with Susan Ashworth, Atelier Beside the Sea, Brighton
October 2022 – Exhibition at Cambridge Contemporary Art
September 2022 – Showcase at Flow Gallery, London
April 2022 – ‘Charcoal : Paper : Clay’, Lingwood Samuel Art, Godalming
November 2021 – Christmas show, The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, Leeds
October 2021 – ‘Find/Make’ Gallery 57, Arundel
June 2021 – ‘Gaze’ Gallery 57, Arundel
December 2020 – ‘A Natural Christmas’ Gallery Top
August 2020 – ‘People and Places’ Gallery East
March 2020 – ‘Journey into Landscape’ Bircham Gallery
July 2019 – ‘River Trees’ Installation at Fresh Air Sculpture Show;
‘From Where I’m Standing’ Craft at the Fresh Air Sculpture Show
Jan – June 2019 – The Hepworth Wakefield gallery shop
Feb 2019 – The Selki, joint exhibition with Imogen Di Sapia – Lokal+ Helskinki
Sept – Nov 2018 – Figure and Form – Lingwood Samuel Art, Godalming, Surrey
Sept – Nov 2018 – Relic at Bluecoat Display Centre – Liverpool
April – September 2018 – Making Ground at Unit Twelve Gallery, Staffordshire
May – August 2018 – ‘A Contour, A Curve – The Lie of the Land’, at Gallery 57 Arundel
Dec 2017 – Spoonful at Flow Gallery, London
Nov 2017 – Vessel at Moore Gallery
Sept – Nov 2017 – Marks in a Landscape at Lingwood Samuel, Godalming
Sept- Nov 2017 – Chalk Flint Clay Shore at Gallery 57, Arundel
March – June 2017 – Making Ground Exhibition at Studio Fusion Gallery, London
Feb 2017 – Making Ground Residency at Fabrica Gallery, Brighton
Jan – March 2017 – ‘Black and White’ – at Gallery 57 Arundel
Nov 2016 – Jan 2017 – Christmas Show – GalleryTop, Matlock, Derbyshire
Sept 2016- 17th Dec 2016 – ‘Spoon’ – Unit Twelve Gallery, Stafford
Aug-Sept 2016 – ‘Dissolution & Revolution’ at Romsey Abbey/Rum’s Eg Gallery
Aug-Sept 2016 – Artwave – open house art trail – 12 St Johns Terrace, Lewes
Sept-Oct 2016 – Make Lewes festival, Lewes
June 2016 – Contemporary Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey, Devon – Attended as a Demonstrator
May 2016 – Atelier 51 – open studio, Brighton
April-June 2016 – ‘Marshes’ – Artichoke Gallery, Ticehurst, East Sussex
April-May 2016 – ‘Dungeness’ – Rye Art Gallery, East Sussex
Jan/Feb 2016 –  ‘Still Life’ – Snug Gallery, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire
November 20th – December 13th 2015 – Atelier 51 Open Studio, 51 Providence Place, Brighton
November 14th – January 2016 – ‘Box of Delights’, Lingwood Samuel Art, Godalming, Surrey
October 1st – December 19th 2015 – ‘The Language of Objects‘, Unit Twelve, Stafford
October 22nd – 25th 2015 – Made London, One Marylebone, London
Sept 2015 – Brighton Art Fair – Awarded ‘Best in Show’ for my work by sponsors Oh Comely Magazine
May 2015 – ‘It’s a Spring Thing’, Artists Open Houses, 3A Hove Place, Hove
April 2015 – ‘A Little Madness’ spring exhibition, Lingwood Samuel, Godalming
Dec 2014 – ‘One Room‘, Artists Open Houses, 3A Hove Place, Hove
Nov 2014 – MADE Brighton, The Design and Craft Fair, The Dome, Brighton
Oct 2014 – MADE London, The Design and Craft Fair, One Marylebone, London
Oct 2014 – Teabowls: Form Fuction Expression, Oxford Ceramics Gallery
Jun 2014 – Hothouse 4: New Ashgate Selects, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Jun 2014 – Contemporary Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey
Apr 2014 – Newcomers Exhibition, Bircham Gallery, Norfolk
Feb 2014 – Contemporary Makers, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth
Jan 2014 – Designer Crafts 2014, Society of Designer Craftsmen, Mall Gallery
Nov 2013 – Handmade in Britain – New Graduate Showcase, Chelsea Town Hall, London
Nov 2013 – Art in Clay, Farnham Maltings, Hampshire
Jun 2013 – Earth and Fire International Ceramic Festival, Rufford Abbey
Jan 2013 – The Graduate Show, Bevere Gallery, Worcestershire
Dec 2012 – Jan 2013 – New Directions in Contemporary Crafts – Mottisfont, Hampshire
Nov 2012 – Jan 2013 – Objects of Desire, Degree Art, London
Nov 2012 – New Contemporaries 2012 – Fairfields Arts Centre, Basingstoke
Aug 2012 – MAde, MA Show, James Hockey Gallery, UCA Farnham, Surrey
Jun 2012 – New Designers 2012 Exhibition – Business Design Centre, London
Apr 2012 – Rising Stars of 2012 Exhibition – New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, Surrey
Nov 2011 – Mar 2012 – From This Earth Exhibition – Guildford House Gallery, Guildford, Surrey
Sep 2011 – International Ceramic Art Symposium, ISCAEE, Tokyo University of the Arts – Tokyo, Japan
Apr – May 2011 – Rising Stars of 2011 Exhibition – New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, Surrey
Nov 2010 – London Potters Members Exhibition – Awarded Judges Commendation by Wendy Hoare


TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2019 – 2020 – Short Course teacher in Ceramics – Forest Row School of Ceramics
2017 – 2021 – Short Course teacher in Ceramics and Mixed Media – West Dean College
2017/18 – Lecturer in Ceramics (maternity cover) – University of Brighton BA 3D Design and Craft

Along with teaching ceramics at my Brighton studio, I have also spoken about my work and projects at various sessions and venues including: as part of the Crafts Council Hothouse programme (2016 & 2017), at Fabrica Gallery in Brighton; Making Space in Havant; and at Made London.

 


ETHICAL POLICY

Ethics, for me, are always about being in a state of learning and development; but I am striving to develop an ethical practice that respects the environment, other individuals and communities. In my practice I aim to:

  • seek out materials and employ practices that minimise my impact on the environment. In ceramics that can be difficult at times, but in practice I aim to re-use and recycle materials as much as possible, support environmentally positive organisations and encourage discussion with fellow crafts people to help improve my impact on the environment
  • recognise and oppose racism at all levels wherever I can. I am working to continue to educate myself about my own privilege and learn how to support and amplify Black voices and creativity.
  • support and use ethically run businesses where I can, support women in business, and stand against unpaid labour for artists
  • this is just a very small start but I’m working on it