Q & A with Amy Frankie Smith
Location: Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex
Discipline: Ceramic Lighting
Please describe your creative process/practice:
My lights are simple organic forms carved or coloured in designs inspired by the beach and water. My experiences sea swimming and living by the water in the often quickly changing light on the beach inspires my painting. I use water colour and paint loosely with washes and dynamic emotive strokes, loosely and quickly. The loose fluidity of my painting informs my work in porcelain which is precise and delicately made, to evoke feeling of water and the coast.
Short Bio:
I studied 3D Crafts at Brighton University and went on to work in ceramics for architectural conservation. I did a Masters in Historic Environment Conservation and was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2011, with which I studied the use of architectural ceramics in the USA compared to the UK.
What makes your work UNIQUE?
The experience of making my artwork and lighting is what makes them unique. The inspiration for my work is taken directly from the sea and the mindful and joyful state of being submerged in cold water, surrounded by nature and completely in the moment. I tap into these feelings of flow and connectedness to the moment to make my watercolour pieces. The colours, the atmosphere, the movement and sensations of the water are part of my painting and lighting.
I am interested in the flow state of both swimming and craft, the space where we get lost in the making. To make my delicate porcelain pieces, I create a patient and specific frame of mind for myself to delicately carve designs into fragile, thin clay.
What makes you feel calm and connected?
My lights are born out of a place of peace and beauty, surrounded in nature. Bringing this feeling into interiors and spaces so that we might feel at peace, calm and relaxed in our homes and in our lives.
Amy Frankie Smith, Wave lamps, Green trio porcelain,13cm, £950 each.