About Kate Shea's practice & process:
Kate Shea’s ceramic sculpture grows from a lifelong fascination with the Near East, Central Asia and Afghanistan, and with the archaeologists, explorers and ancient cultures she encountered through her travels and studies. Her architectural forms draw on this deep interest in the origins of architecture, from ancient temples to buildings encountered along the way. Domes, towers, courtyards and imagined structures become vessels for stories, memory and ritual, each with its own history and often an esoteric backstory.
Kate builds each work intuitively, working from the base upwards using slab work, coiling and custom-made moulds. Guided by proportion, balance and the practical requirements of candlelight or incense, a single structure can take up to six weeks to complete. She rarely uses glaze, allowing the natural character of the clay to remain visible. Long firings become an essential part of the process, with heat, chemistry and chance contributing to the final character of each piece. As Kate describes it, “Ceramic is one of the oldest art forms we have and one of the most future-proof. It bridges sculpture, function, and ritual in a way few materials can.”
