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School of Art
Aberystwyth University
Buarth Mawr
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 1NG

Tel: +44 (0)1970 622460

Fax: +44 (0)1970 622461

Email: artschool@aber.ac.uk

Display artist/maker:

Philomena Pretsell

Born: 1951, Republic of Ireland, Dublin

Ceramicist. Born in Dublin and raised in North Wales, Pretsell makes vibrantly coloured, slab-formed ceramics using commercial transfer prints, gold, and brightly coloured glazes. Her training in ceramics as a mature student in Edinburgh (1987). In contrast with the more sober traditions of studio pottery, Pretsell draws on a variety of sources as diverse as the work of Claes Oldenberg, Roman Catholic visual culture, fairground ornaments, and 18th century costume.

Pretsell builds her pieces from slabs of clay which she pulls (rather than rolls) out. Using paper patterns, like dressmaking, she cuts round the templates and builds up the forms. After biscuit firing the pieces are decorated directly or sometimes dipped in slip and then glazed mainly with a sharp yellow, green or blue. The transfer prints are applied cutting through the images to give a scrapbook-like effect, and finally gold is added to lift the colour. Pretsell compares this with ‘dressing up’ where the glint of gold jewellery gives the last touch.

Philomena Pretsell’s ceramics express her passion for colour, decorative form and domestic display. They play games with memory and challenge the viewer to reconstruct their own associations of form, meaning, and personal identity.