Nikki Dowdell
I first fell in love with clay during my final year of highschool in 2002 creating a series of terracotta busts for a PES Art Studies assessment. I had originally planned to become an art teacher, moving from my rural hometown of Mount Gambier to Adelaide in 2004 to commence my BVA degree. I became completely infatuated with high-fired ceramics in my first year of study and haven't looked back since.
I create wheel thrown vessels and functional pieces in porcelain and stoneware implementing a wide range of high-fire gas reduction glazes which I have developed over the years. I strive to evoke through my work a sense of the natural and organic; sometimes muted and understated, but predominantly colourful, playful and vivid. I am particularly inspired by the historic spiritual connections we have with our natural environment, and explore this theme in various ways through my exhibition work.
My obsession with glaze chemistry informs the development of my work, with each firing leading to new discoveries and possibilities. I love to explore the limits of the materials I use and in doing so create pieces which are difficult to replicate making each piece entirely unique. It is this endless process of experimentation which I find most exciting and fulfilling.