Pat Armstrong has lived all her life in a small village close to Stamford in Lincolnshire. She is married with two grown up sons. Having worked for many years as a secretary she decided at the age of 41 to go to University to study art. Having discovered her affinity to clay and the wheel during an Arts Foundation Course at Tresham College in Kettering, she then went on to the Sunderland School of Art and Design to pass a 3D Design BA (Hons) Course in Glass and Ceramics winning the 1990 Charlie Bray Award for the best over all performance in Glass and Ceramics.
Since graduation from college Pat has worked in her studio at home designing and making Raku fired ceramics and selling through galleries and shows and on the internet.
Sources of Inspiration
Pat says, "Originally, influenced by ancient pots I was drawn by the purity of line and balance of shape. I like small bases and flared rims giving an almost organic feel to the vessel. I also favour long elegant necks, gently curved sitting on round bodies and again with flared rims. These shapes have evolved rather than be a planned exercise. I have drawn from books, museums and life without realising it.
Raku has, in my opinion fitted well with my shapes, clean lines with unpredictable finishes, sometimes crackled, sometimes with lustre, sometimes both and giving an aged look.
I have always been inspired by and in awe of fire, of pictures painted by flames and smoke, sparks against a night sky, fiery sunsets and not least by pictures of erupting volcanoes. More recently my inspiration has been fuelled by pictures of far off planets from the Hubble telescope For a long time I sought to recreate these images and I found I could at least start to achieve this by attempting to control the copper fumed method of raku firing onto deceptively simple thrown shapes."
Pat Armstrong BA (Hons)
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Guildford House Gallery
155 High Street
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 3AJ
Tel: 01483 444740
Fax: 01483 444742
Email: guildfordhouse@guildford.gov.uk