An open sea. Far reaching views from the seal's eye point of the swimmer. Steady bands of colour reflecting the light. Movement and buoyancy. A joyous gentle sea to lose yourself in.
Exhibitions
2022:
4 Aug- 4 Sept: The Gallery, Malton - ceramic artist of the month
17 July-18 Aug: Fronteer Gallery, Exchange Street, Sheffield, "The Sea" - group show
3-12 June: North Yorkshire Open Studios
2021:
9 Oct: OPO Open Studios, Scarborough
July-Oct 2021: Ferens Gallery, Hull Ferens Open
2019-2020:
Nov 2019- Sep 2020: Shades of Clay , Kunsthuis, Crayke
Feb 2019: Coastival, Scarborough
London-based earlier shows:
July-Sep 2016: Arts Depot Open, London N12 0GA
May-Jun 2015: Visual Arts Staff Show, City Lit
May-Jun 2013: Visual Arts Staff Show, City Lit
July 2012: Arts Depot Open, London N12 0GA
May-Jun 2012: Visual Arts Staff Show, City Lit
July 2009: New Designers, London
July 2009: Diploma Show, City Lit, London
Employment
Hourly paid ceramics tutor, City Lit FE College, Covent Garden, London. Teaching mainly focussing on throwing and beginners courses covering all aspects of ceramics (Sept 2010-2017).
Ceramics technician, two days a week, City Lit FE College, Covent Garden, London (Sept 2008-2017).
Ceramic studies
2007– 2009 Dip HE Ceramics & Fine Art, City Lit
2004–2007 Courses to BTec, City & Islington
August 2004 Ridge Pottery, Somerset
Previous Employment
Before taking up ceramics, my final full time role was Media Director, Amnesty International UK (January 2003 to June 2004). Prior to that I worked full time in media relations and public relations, mainly in the voluntary sector, including Save the Children and the Mental Health Foundation. I have also been a freelance grants assessor for BBC Children in Need.
Lesley Warner ceramics
My sea swim diary work began in early 2018. After swimming in the North Sea off Scarborough I explore the ideas and the form in my sketchbook and then make the sculpture or vessel that this suggests.
Wednesday 27 March 2019
Sea quieting down but still with immense power. Knocking sideways back from underneath the spa and the path towards the star chart. Feeling three different directional forces all at once.
Together We Stand is a figurative piece, with the emphasis on the vessel’s shoulders and neck. It communicates the strength, dignity, power and importance of human relations and mutual support – despite the chains that bind. It was loosely inspired by reading around the subject of civil rights and slavery in America, including films such as Selma, which followed Martin Luther King and the march for equal voting rights, and Django Unchained.
Friday 17 May 2019
Sea has reached 10 degrees C so it's time to shed a layer. Thrill of the chill. Waves full of bubbles. A really effervescent sea, like swimming in a cauldron of champagne or soda water. Feeling the fizz...................
Pymm's Brook is a small brook, close to my previous home in East Barnet. During an extraordinarily wet summer the brook bubbled and tore through its usually tranquil surroundings, threatening to burst the banks.
The work is in four interlocking sections, each made up of thrown components.