MERCEDES LUCY
I have always practised art; I did an art foundation have regularly attended life drawing classes. When I moved to Margate I discovered Clayspace. A local ceramic studio with classes and drop in sessions, soon after I had children I began using that as my creative outlet.
After my mum died in January 2020, I decided to make some tiles for a splash back in my kitchen and it grew to be huge project; I created enough tiles for 3 bathrooms, a utility room and my whole kitchen.
“My work is a response to my overactive mind. I have ADHD, I work fast and determinedly. Themes that recur in my work are relationships and interactions, perceptions, judgements, idiosyncrasies, cliches. Most usually around womanhood, motherhood and identity.”
I make the tiles at home, rolling them out with a rolling pin on my kitchen table and piling them up high around radiators in the house so they could dry before going into the kiln. I joked that my house was a tile factory. I made thousands of tiles, during periods of lockdowns, with three young children and in the midst of early stages grief; I now realise I was in desperate need of expelling misunderstood energy.
I usually start with an idea and then before I know it I’m doing it. I move fast and on account of how my brain works, it’s usually act now, think later. Sculpting slows me down whereas tiles are quick and easy as well as more physically demanding which suits me. Slamming clay to rid of air gaps, pushing it through a roller to flatten, then cutting into squares and repeating with the off cuts until it's finished.
I am inspired by people, our interactions with each other as well as ourselves. Personally how I portray myself in my work is a big element. My life, my family, my friends.
I find inspiration in lots of places: the ceramic section of the V&A, gardens like Great Dixter and Derek Jarmen’s Prospect Cottage spring to mind immediately, and reading. Right now I’m reading Priestdaddy and I just finished The Art of Joy by Goliarda Sapienza; about a disobedient girl and her naughtiness throughout her life. It was banned from publication when it was written in 1976 because of it’s portrayal of ‘unrestrained women’.
These themes are clear in my work; humour is also a big element for me, I want people to laugh and enjoy. To get that general feeling of familiarity and homeliness. With a human touch.
