Fiona Everett

My journey into clay sculpting began while living in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the mid-1990s. It was an accidental one. Following a period of illness and unable to work full time, I discovered a neighbour who taught clay sculpting. After a casual enquiry about observing her life class, I was given a lump of clay and an instruction to ‘have a go’. From the outset, I found translating what I saw into a clay figure utterly natural, and it opened the door to a new world for me. That discovery led me to 25 years of joy as I have developed my skills, keeping me grounded through many family relocations, always providing me with a focus, and in the end building my own small studio in Rowledge, Surrey.

My fascination with the human form has always been central to my work and working with life models key to that. However, access to a life model has not always been possible and my love of organic natural forms inspired by the time I lived in South Africa and my passion for gardening, has seen my practice expand into producing pieces for the garden environment.

In finally finding a family home in Rowledge, I was lucky enough to discover my artistic home too; at Farnham’s West Street Potters Studios. It is here that I have been able to hone my sculpting skills at the Life Sculpting Classes but also develop my understanding of hand-building and glaze techniques. Thus, allowing me expand my repertoire of work and more recently to have some pieces cast (with happy results) and move forward into the next stage of my artistic journey.