Ceramics & Glass (MA)
Elise Ruffell
Elise Ruffell is a UK-based ceramicist, artist and educator.
Following a previous career as an IT consultant in the late 1990s, Elise discovered a passion for clay, graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in 2007 with a First Class BA (Hons) in Ceramic Design. Alongside her studio pracice, Elise is an art & design teacher who has worked with students of all levels from primary school to university.
Elise also has extensive experience of teaching maths and is a specialist in embedding maths in creative teaching. She has designed and delivers teacher training on this subject for the University of the Arts London Awarding Body.
Elise is open to discussion regarding visiting lecturer opportunities, exhibitions and commissions.
Exhibitions include: Contemporary Ceramics, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, the Royal College of Art, Pulse at Earls Court, Handmade in Britain at Chelsea Old Town Hall, The Craft Centre & Design Gallery at Leeds Art Gallery, the Royal Birmingham Society of Arts and the Barbican, London.
Elise's work has featured in various publications including Country Living Magazine, Design Arts Magazine, a-n Magazine, London Potters Newsletter (cover) and White Weddings Magazine.
For all enquires please email elise@eliseruffell.co.uk
My forms are familiar and geometric – circles, cubes and prisms. Each would be characterless were it not for the inclusions of colourful Parian clay. The spectrum appears to burst from the surface, as though no longer able to be supressed. Each piece asserts its own unique agency and identity, inspired by my personal journey to self-knowledge and acceptance.
On the circular two-dimensional pieces, colours swirl and flow, moving and merging as I work with the clay. The circle acts as a porthole, a window into a vibrant world.
My three-dimensional forms employ the process of press-moulding – pushing the material from the inside. The enjoyment of spontaneity and uncertainty is paramount, the final aesthetic only revealed when removed from the mould. Hence I divest control over exactly how each piece will look, valuing the cracks and fissures which are not imperfections but an expression of uniqueness. I consider striving for perfection to be an ultimately fruitless task. Who defines these expectations anyway? Society may push us to conform to certain conventions but it is in being true to myself that I truly thrive.
Into View — Double sided coloured Parian clay disk on plaster stand (side 1). 19cm x 15cm x 4cm
Into View — Double sided coloured Parian clay disk on plaster stand (side 2). 19cm x 15cm x 4cm
Into View — Double sided coloured Parian clay disk. 15cm diameter
until now hidden from view.
Yellow and turquoise,
orange and red –
A vibrant spectrum,
a glimpse into a
new world of possibilities.
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Medium:
Parian clay, ceramic stains, plasterSize:
19cm x 15cm x 4cm
Suffusion — Coloured Parian clay disk. 22cm diameter
Suffusion (detail) — Coloured Parian clay disk. 22cm diameter
Suffusion — Coloured Parian clay disk hung on wall
surge through me.
It is time to speak my truth;
show my colours
to the world.
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Medium:
Parian clay, ceramic stainsSize:
22cm diameter
Between — Coloured Parian clay forms on plaster stand. 19cm x 19cm x 2cm
Between — Coloured Parian clay forms on plaster stand. 19cm x 19cm x 2cm
Between (detail) — Coloured Parian clay forms on plaster stand. 19cm x 19cm x 2cm
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Medium:
Parian clay, ceramic stains, plasterSize:
19cm x 19cm x 2cm
Colourscape I — Paper collage. 20cm diameter
Colourscape II — Paper collage. 20cm diameter
Colourscape III — Paper collage. 20cm diameter
.
Medium:
PaperSize:
Each 20cm diameter
Emergence (Blue I) (detail) — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay
Emergence (Blue I), Emergence (Red I) & Emergence (Yellow I) — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay. 15cm x 15cm x 15cm, 7cm x 7cm x 7cm & 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Emergence (Blue I), Emergence (Red I) & Emergence (Yellow I) — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay. 15cm x 15cm x 15cm, 7cm x 7cm x 7cm & 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
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Medium:
Porcelain white stoneware, Parian clay, ceramic stainsSize:
15cm x 15cm x 15cm, 7cm x 7cm x 7cm & 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Celebration I & Celebration II — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay. 15cm x 15cm x 15cm and 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Celebration II — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay. 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Celebration I (detail) — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian clay. 15cm x 15cm x 15cm
Colours bring richness to every facet.
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Medium:
Porcelain white stoneware, Parian clay, ceramic stainsSize:
15cm x 15cm x 15cm and 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Somewhere — Parian clay, ceramic stains. 20cm x 10cm x 7cm
Breakthrough — Parian clay, porcelain white stoneware, ceramic stains. 25cm x 12cm x 7cm
representing hope and inclusivity.
As the symbol of the LGBTQ+ community,
it is a sign of safety and visibility.
The spectrum bridges science and art
with an ethereal beauty.
.
Medium:
Parian clay, porcelain white stoneware, ceramic stainsSize:
20cm x 10cm x 7cm and 25cm x 12cm x 7cm
Exudence I, II & III (detail) — Porcelain white stoneware and coloured Parian. 15cm x 15cm x 15cm, 7cm x 7cm x 7cm & 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Emanation — Coloured Parian clay. 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
I choose to subvert this narrative.
My Parian is vibrant, textured, challenging – inviting further exploration.
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Medium:
Porcelain white stoneware, Parian clay, ceramic stainsSize:
15cm x 15cm x 15cm, 7cm x 7cm x 7cm & 7cm x 7cm x 7cm
Parian clay sample disks — Parian clay, ceramic stains. Each 5cm diameter
Parian clay sample disks — Parian clay, ceramic stains. Each 5cm diameter
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Medium:
Parian clay, ceramic stainsSize:
Each 5cm diameter
Drawing 1 — Paper, pen, ink. 25cm x 25cm
Drawing 2 — Paper, pen, ink. 25cm x 25cm
Drawing 3 — Paper, pen. 25cm x 25cm
Drawing 4 — Paper, pen. 25cm x 25cm
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Medium:
Paper, pen, inkSize:
Each 25cm x 25cmEngaging through materials: Collaboration, Community and Communication with ceramics and glass