FAY DE WINTER

MA CONTEMPORARY CRAFT – CERAMICS

 

"My aim is to share ceramics with a wider audience, to make it easier for all to be creative with clay. Touching, shaping and crafting with clay increases well-being, while developing satisfying skills of making artistic objects by hand."

 

A London based ceramicist, Fay De Winter first graduated in 2004 in ceramics design at Central Saint Martin’s and returned to study at Farnham University for the Creative Arts, completing a Masters in Contemporary Craft, specialising in ceramics in 2012. Since graduating Fay has participated in many events and exhibitions in England, Japan, Bali, Milan, Bahrain, Dubai and the USA. 

Fay has been teaching ceramics since 2005 at Sutton College, with adult students and for family education. Since 2016, she has taught eight sessions a week on average. In 2015, she was appointed to teach adult classes and short courses at Morley College. She also teaches private workshops at schools and was involved in pilot-testing the Victoria and Albert Museum ceramic galleries in 2009, teaching staff basic techniques and demonstrating at the opening. Fay was appointed in January 2018 as a quality assurance specialist in regards to 3D & 2D Arts and Crafts courses and as a Curriculum Manager in April 2018 at Sutton College until December 2018.

Fay is an active maker, involved in many jobs related to her practice. She was a specialist ceramics technician for 11.5 years, writes clay focused articles and was commissioned to write a book 'Make it with Air Dry Clay' published by Search press (UK) and Lark Crafts (USA) in January 2017. She also creates pieces for installations, commissions, group projects and exhibitions. Fay ran a business and workshop for 5 years before completing her MA at a National Trust property and now works from a studio at home. She has been a trustee and council member for London Potters since 2005, organising many ceramic related events and was elected as Chair in October 2017. Fay was also selected by the international ceramics festival as a finalist for the Potclays Emerging Makers Award held at Aberystwyth University in July 2015. In 2018 Fay was selected as a council member to represent the Associate Members for the Craft Potters Association. Fay recently started a new business ‘State of Clay’ where she facilitates mobile miniature pottery workshops for public, private and collaborative events in various locations.

Fay mainly creates pieces using porcelain, exploring different perspectives of nature and travelling around the world, collecting cultural curio to be inspired by. Porcelain is mainly utilised in her works to create intimate installations and customised relation gifts. She believes objects tell stories of people’s lives, often holding personal and collective meanings of a particular time, place, and event. 

 

‘At first the work looks structured and repetitive, a collective; on closer inspection each piece is individual and unique’.