Harriet Elkerton would like to envelop you in a handcrafted existence. Her objects, with their unassuming simplicity, are designed for living, for enhancing everyday pleasures. Natural materials, plants and food play a key role in this lifestyle; Harriet uses these elements in her display, on hand-constructed shelves and tables, suggesting how easily these pieces will fit into a domestic environment. It is important to her that people are “getting something real”, that these objects will happily take on any purpose they are put to, and give you enjoyment while you use them.
Harriet’s functional objects are slip-cast porcelain, with unctuous glossy white glazed interiors. They undulate and they ripple and they move, but they are also still quite crisp; there is a clean, modern aspect to them. Each piece is slightly different and this irregularity is intentional – Harriet’s use of paper to create the models establishes an inherent instability in the process. The moisture in the plaster causes the paper to buckle, to stretch, leaving unpredictable shapes in the final mould. She deliberately leaves the evidence of construction visible: the seam lines, the torn pieces of tape. Once the porcelain is cast, the kiln has its way with the material too; the waves encourage deforming and movement in the final form of the object. Harriet sets up these moments of unexpectedness, to get a handmade feel, an individuality, from repetition: “I like having the process translated, so you can see from stage one all the way through. I like that people still see them as paper in the end.” There is a rhythm and cadence to these objects, especially when they are grouped together. Relationships and familial traits become visible - the back and forth of surface and form, of the hand of the maker and the unpredictable nature of materials. And, secretly, there is an underlying structure and order to Harriet’s pieces. Mathematical ratios underpin her choice of sizes, creating harmony within the collection.
Her decorative ware, which Harriet displays nestled amongst the functional pieces, explores the interaction of materials and craft processes, and interrogates the purpose of tools and functional items. She combines found objects, such as shards of rusted iron or abandoned splinters of wood, with purpose-made porcelain additions, skillfully uniting them with cotton, leather or wire, through stitch, wrapping and other craft methods of attachment. The inheritance of these objects is discernable in her functional vessels; there is a language of deliberate skill speaking through her work and a desire to keep visible the hand of the maker.
Words by Melody Vaughan | melodyvaughan.co.uk
Harriet’s functional objects are slip-cast porcelain, with unctuous glossy white glazed interiors. They undulate and they ripple and they move, but they are also still quite crisp; there is a clean, modern aspect to them. Each piece is slightly different and this irregularity is intentional – Harriet’s use of paper to create the models establishes an inherent instability in the process. The moisture in the plaster causes the paper to buckle, to stretch, leaving unpredictable shapes in the final mould. She deliberately leaves the evidence of construction visible: the seam lines, the torn pieces of tape. Once the porcelain is cast, the kiln has its way with the material too; the waves encourage deforming and movement in the final form of the object. Harriet sets up these moments of unexpectedness, to get a handmade feel, an individuality, from repetition: “I like having the process translated, so you can see from stage one all the way through. I like that people still see them as paper in the end.” There is a rhythm and cadence to these objects, especially when they are grouped together. Relationships and familial traits become visible - the back and forth of surface and form, of the hand of the maker and the unpredictable nature of materials. And, secretly, there is an underlying structure and order to Harriet’s pieces. Mathematical ratios underpin her choice of sizes, creating harmony within the collection.
Her decorative ware, which Harriet displays nestled amongst the functional pieces, explores the interaction of materials and craft processes, and interrogates the purpose of tools and functional items. She combines found objects, such as shards of rusted iron or abandoned splinters of wood, with purpose-made porcelain additions, skillfully uniting them with cotton, leather or wire, through stitch, wrapping and other craft methods of attachment. The inheritance of these objects is discernable in her functional vessels; there is a language of deliberate skill speaking through her work and a desire to keep visible the hand of the maker.
Words by Melody Vaughan | melodyvaughan.co.uk
Previous Events and Exhibitions
Makers & Tools | January - June 2019
Residency: New Brewery Arts, Cirencester | Exhibition: Art at the Old Fire Station, Oxford
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2019
Olympia, London
Green Rooms Market | December 2018
Peckham Springs, London
Green Rooms Market - KERB x PECKHAM| November 2018
Peckham Springs, London
Green Rooms Market | September 2018
Gipsy Hill Brewery Taproom, London
DesignJunction - Green Light [Design Nation curated showcase] | September 2018
Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2018
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Head, Hand and Heart [Design Nation curated exhibition, part of Eunique] | June 2018
Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, Germany
Head, Hand and Heart [Design Nation curated exhibition, part of London Craft Week] | May 2018
Helen Yardley Studio, London
Assembled: Nature Refined | January - March 2018
The Jam Factory, Oxford
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2018
Olympia, London
Festive Market | December 2017
The Yard, London
Independent Oxford Christmas Market | December 2017
Turl Street Kitchen, Oxford
Lustre | November 2017
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Handmade at Kew | October 2017
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Emerge | July-October 2017
Heart Gallery, Hebden Bridge
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2017
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Oxfordshire Artweeks, with the Oxford Makers Group |May 2017
Blewbury, Oxfordshire
The London Artisan | March 2017
The Old Truman Brewery, London
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2017
Olympia, London
Native Makers Winter Market | December 2016
Devonport Guildhall, Plymouth
Independent Oxford's Indie Oxford Christmas Market | November 2016
Art at the Old Fire Station, Oxford
Lustre | November 2016
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Made By Hand | October 2016
City Hall, Cardiff
Handmade at Kew | October 2016
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Salisbury Contemporary Craft and Heritage Festival | September 2016
Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2016
Bovey Tracey, Devon
British Craft Trade Fair | April 2016
Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2016
Olympia, London
Selvedge Artisan Christmas | December 2015
Chelsea Old Town Hall, London
Gifted. 15 | November 2015
The National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford
Inspire | November 2015
Walford Mill Crafts, Dorset
Lustre | November 2015
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Handmade at Kew | October 2015
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Language of Objects | October - December 2015
Unit Twelve Gallery, Stafford
Designersblock | September 2015
Bargehouse, London
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2015
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Rising Stars | March - May 2015
New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Talente | March 2015
Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich
Lustre | November 2014
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Unfolding—New Graduates in Clay | November 2014 - January 2015
Nantgarw China Works Museum, Tyla Gwyn Nantgarw
AA2A/DMU Summer Art Trail | July - August 2014
The LCB Depot, Leicester
New Designers, Part 1 | June 2014
Business Design Centre, Islington
DMU Art and Design Degree Show | June 2014
De Montfort University, Leicester
DMU Art Collection | January 2013 - Present
De Montfort University, Leicester
Designers and Makers | December 2013
Pedestrian Gallery, Leicester
Make 34 | April - May 2013
LCB Depot and Pedestrian Gallery, Leicester
Soundscapes | April 2013 - Present
Maker’s Yard, Leicester
Makers & Tools | January - June 2019
Residency: New Brewery Arts, Cirencester | Exhibition: Art at the Old Fire Station, Oxford
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2019
Olympia, London
Green Rooms Market | December 2018
Peckham Springs, London
Green Rooms Market - KERB x PECKHAM| November 2018
Peckham Springs, London
Green Rooms Market | September 2018
Gipsy Hill Brewery Taproom, London
DesignJunction - Green Light [Design Nation curated showcase] | September 2018
Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2018
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Head, Hand and Heart [Design Nation curated exhibition, part of Eunique] | June 2018
Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, Germany
Head, Hand and Heart [Design Nation curated exhibition, part of London Craft Week] | May 2018
Helen Yardley Studio, London
Assembled: Nature Refined | January - March 2018
The Jam Factory, Oxford
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2018
Olympia, London
Festive Market | December 2017
The Yard, London
Independent Oxford Christmas Market | December 2017
Turl Street Kitchen, Oxford
Lustre | November 2017
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Handmade at Kew | October 2017
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Emerge | July-October 2017
Heart Gallery, Hebden Bridge
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2017
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Oxfordshire Artweeks, with the Oxford Makers Group |May 2017
Blewbury, Oxfordshire
The London Artisan | March 2017
The Old Truman Brewery, London
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2017
Olympia, London
Native Makers Winter Market | December 2016
Devonport Guildhall, Plymouth
Independent Oxford's Indie Oxford Christmas Market | November 2016
Art at the Old Fire Station, Oxford
Lustre | November 2016
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Made By Hand | October 2016
City Hall, Cardiff
Handmade at Kew | October 2016
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Salisbury Contemporary Craft and Heritage Festival | September 2016
Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2016
Bovey Tracey, Devon
British Craft Trade Fair | April 2016
Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate
Top Drawer - CRAFT | January 2016
Olympia, London
Selvedge Artisan Christmas | December 2015
Chelsea Old Town Hall, London
Gifted. 15 | November 2015
The National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford
Inspire | November 2015
Walford Mill Crafts, Dorset
Lustre | November 2015
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Handmade at Kew | October 2015
Royal Botanical Gardens, London
Language of Objects | October - December 2015
Unit Twelve Gallery, Stafford
Designersblock | September 2015
Bargehouse, London
The Contemporary Craft Festival | June 2015
Bovey Tracey, Devon
Rising Stars | March - May 2015
New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Talente | March 2015
Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich
Lustre | November 2014
Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham
Unfolding—New Graduates in Clay | November 2014 - January 2015
Nantgarw China Works Museum, Tyla Gwyn Nantgarw
AA2A/DMU Summer Art Trail | July - August 2014
The LCB Depot, Leicester
New Designers, Part 1 | June 2014
Business Design Centre, Islington
DMU Art and Design Degree Show | June 2014
De Montfort University, Leicester
DMU Art Collection | January 2013 - Present
De Montfort University, Leicester
Designers and Makers | December 2013
Pedestrian Gallery, Leicester
Make 34 | April - May 2013
LCB Depot and Pedestrian Gallery, Leicester
Soundscapes | April 2013 - Present
Maker’s Yard, Leicester
© All images and text are copyrighted property of Harriet Elkerton and should not be used without permission