Anna Simson

Anna Simson is a ceramist, making functional domestic ware as well as sculptural pieces. “My work responds to the natural world taking an intuitive approach to capturing the collective consciousness of themes and relationships. Using mostly porcelain and stoneware clays to work instinctively; much of my work leaves fingerprint marks and weaves threads of emotion and nostalgia, drawing on indigenous wisdom and the often-unnoticed reciprocal relationships between flora, fauna and man.

Work usually fits in the human hand, small enough to be held, large enough to be noticed and easy enough to be cast aside. Some are fired leaving a permanent legacy; clay, minerals, colour and human interaction. Other pieces are left raw; exposing their vulnerability and transient existence. Given to water they would return to clay and become earth once more.”

email anna@giraffe-view.com

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How long have you been a resident at VWS?

My husband and I founded VWS in 2013. Jill and I were amongst the first residents and we took this studio as it didn’t need much work to get it ready. The rest of the building was then divided up and spaces were taken as each new studio became available.

When did you decide that you wanted to be an artist or maker?

I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but life took me down a different route for a while. I’ve worked in both business and the art world, but always did my own art on the side in some shape or form. My focus has usually been 3D and I’ve worked in stone and wood, but I find clay more forgiving and enjoy using it to build shapes and forms. Around 2010, I was able to change the balance of my other work to allow more time on my ceramics, working primarily on functional.  After some time I felt I wanted to formalise my passion and did an MA in Ceramics at Bath Spa University, graduating in 2018. 

What’s your work routine if you have one? What does a day in the life of studio 4 look like? 

I should try and have more of a routine - I might get more done! Staring into space is not unusual - is that my creative thinking time? But I do try to get into the studio at least 3-4 days each week.  I try to do my admin from home and keep the studio as a creative space but confess that sometimes I blur the boundaries.  Running the studios means my own creative work sometimes takes a back seat so if I’m not creating, I’m distracted by other jobs like firing and putting up tiles in the loo (recently redone with tiles decorated by each of the VWS residents), checking the fire alarm system, checking the loo rolls, finding guest artists for open studios or interviewing new residents if one of the studios comes available….  A coffee from the Lavender Bakehouse often features in my day and sometimes a sausage roll too!   When it comes to making, it depends what’s on the horizon - sometimes I need to build up stock of functional ware for open studios or selling at some event or shop.  At other times, if my head is in the right space, then I’ll start work on some sculptural pieces.

Briefly describe your creative process.

I’m not so good at pre-planning; I enjoy being responsive to how I feel and allowing my hands to do the creating. For my formal ware, I do sketch and record dimensions and glazes, but with the sculptural work, I try to be more spontaneous and make what my hands want me to. Sometimes, I draw the pieces afterwards, as it makes me look at what I have done in more detail and helps me to explore what I like and don’t like in the piece. I use a combination of throwing and hand building in both stoneware and porcelain clays. I find I have a different relationship with clay when I’m hand building.  Throwing is usually symmetrical unless I deliberately distort it afterwards but with hand building it feels more direct and intuitive.

What is your favourite material or tool to work and why?

My favourite tool depends on what I’m making. For throwing, I use a little bit of bamboo I brought back from a holiday in Asia a long time ago and which has been shaped specifically to aid throwing. For hand building, my favourite tool is my hands and in particular my index finger.  In some recent sculptural work, each scale shows my fingerprint; I want the human touch left behind.

What’s your inspiration / main theme currently? 

Nature and vulnerability. I’m not trying to replicate nature but I’m trying to create my own interpretation and response to make people look at it [nature] differently. In terms of my glazes, I tend to use greens and blues - earth-blood colours as it were - water and vegetation. My pieces often look water and sea inspired – but are actually kind of everything land and sea. More recently, I like to make small pieces that aren’t fired at all. I don’t want to take up too much space in the world. Clay that hasn’t been fired will disintegrate but still lasts if cared for, whereas we know that clay that has been firedcan last centuries.

What’s your favourite piece of your own and why? 

This is not fixed for me. At the moment, it’s a piece I call "Dormant”. I like it because of its vulnerability. It is quite foetal, with hope and despair and everything in it.  It was initially inspired by the plight of pangolins and how cruelly they are treated and trafficked.  Each scale has a fingerprint indentation showing the trace of human touch both negative and positive and the piece is unfired reinforcing its vulnerability - if it is was left outside or given to water it would return to clay once more.

What do you find beneficial about being part of a community of artists?

I love the energy across the studios. You can have a quiet time and space if you want and need it, but there’s usually someone around if you want a chat with another creative.  A small group of us have an informal crit group and it’s great to check-in with others. It helps me maintain a trajectory and get some feedback. Also, VWS feels like an Aladdin’s cave with so much more here than people think. There’s always a sense of discovering something that you didn’t know, which I really love.

How has the pandemic changed your artwork and working processes?

The pandemic changed my work a lot and has taken me down quite a different path. It gave me the time and space to dig deep and I feel that the sculptural work I’m making now comes from a deeper part within me.  I don’t yet know quite how to explain it all to be honest but the time and space was so important to this new phase of my work.

What is the most useful advice you have ever been given?

I discovered a wonderful little book during my MA - ‘Steal Like an Artist’. It gave me permission to take inspiration from other people’s work. It’s a nice guide to help you try to find your creative self and makes you feel that you can just be without comparing yourself to others.

And finally, if you had to spend the day in different room or studio at VWS, which one would it be and why?

I’d love to spend a day with Mandy in Studio 13. I find her a very inspiring artist and would love to spend time making alongside her and chatting!  I also really appreciate Aki’s working style and her meticulous approach to ceramics. I would learn so much from the huge care and attention she pays to her work.