Lynne Speake

Lynne is an artist who loves to explore different disciplines, and her current practice incorporates ceramics and large wearable sculptures (art jewellery). Colour, texture, structure, and pattern, alongside her surrounding environment, directly influence her.

Inspired by the peeling paint, erosion and decay that she finds all around in her everyday life, Lynne’s work predominantly incorporates discarded, repurposed and found objects to show the beauty of the rich textures of decay in what we consume and waste. 

Lynne works with porcelain paper clay to create unique hand-built sculptural forms. This form of clay offers more strength and scope for experimentation than traditional porcelain. She reconnects with her painting practice in her use of stains, oxides and glazes to decorate and embellish the surface of her creations.

Lynne creates porcelain paper clay plant pots, handcrafted to emulate decay, erosion and fragility. She juxtaposes this exploration of decay, with life – as her pots are home to lively cacti.

Paper clay is much stronger than ordinary clay due to the addition of cellulose paper fibres. It is designed for creating impossible shapes as the paper fibres overcome cracking and formation issues. The fibres burn out during firing and, once fired, it becomes lighter than traditional porcelain.