Gráinne Watts creates delicate and playful ceramic forms and vessels. Having previously worked primarily at the potter’s wheel, Watts has begun to combine this method with a variety of hand building techniques.
Her current work features a collection of thrown vessels and a series of sculptural forms in porcelain and stoneware. In these pieces, Watts explores surface detail through various decorative techniques. The tactile and delicate textures of her Linear and Spinal porcelain vessels refer to natural processes of weathering and erosion. On her Landfish series of fish forms, Watts uses fine brushwork to create expression and poise, and occasionally smoke-fires the beasts to produce a range of surface markings.
As well as themes of erosion and evolution, animals and animal motifs recur in Watts work. Specifically, she draws inspiration from the various ways animals are used and adorned for festival parades and rituals.
Watts graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1982. She subsequently undertook an apprenticeship with Geoffrey Healy Pottery in Wicklow. She is currently based in Cloughjordan Co. Tipperary.
