An interview with Deborah Harwood

Posted by Jazmine Saunders on 6th March, 2024

• Jazmine Saunders

  1. Can you share a bit about your artistic background and what inspired you to become an artist?

  Deborah Harwood

  I worked in the theatre in London and moved to West Sussex in 2004 with my young daughter.  I began to sew and decided as I had not been to university this would be a good time to find a new direction.  I gained a place at Winchester School of Art and obtained a degree in Textile Art.  I taught a six-month textile art foundation course at my studio spending the other half of the year developing my own practice.  Prior to lockdown I decided to take a sabbatical to concentrate on the development of my own textile work.  I had been working with silk organza and thought the combination with porcelain would be beautiful.  I took a two-hour workshop in throwing and fell in love.  I signed up to do a three-month course but we went into lockdown and it was cancelled.  I purchased a wheel and a pile of stoneware and threw all day every day until I could do it.  I then purchased a pile of porcelain and started again!  Once I knew that I would not do anything else I purchased the kiln.  I have worked consistently every day to improve my technique.  There is a gap in my work from August 2022 to May 2023 as I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  I am now in remission and back at work!

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• ... "I only work with porcelain because for me it is the most beautiful and elegant clay available."

  Jazmine Saunders

  2. What specific media do you work with and how do you choose the materials for your work?

  Deborah Harwood

  I only work with porcelain because for me it is the most beautiful and elegant clay available.  I throw on the wheel often using a Japanese technique called Neriage, which is when you add a coloured clay to your throwing.  When I started this technique, it seemed that I could not have any control on the pattern it created but now that I have been doing it for some time, I am more able to control the movement of the different colour clays.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• Jazmine Saunders

  3. Could you describe your creative process, from concept to completion, for a typical piece of artwork?

  Deborah Harwood

  I believe that a creative process is born from the sub conscious and hard work!  I often work in my sketch book to remember a shape or an idea that I have had.  But really the creative process begins on the wheel and how the clay feels.  Once I have thrown the piece, I leave it to go leather hard and then put it back on the wheel to refine.  Then I let it go bone dry and this is when it is at its most fragile.  It will go into the kiln for the bisque fire to 1000c.  I then wet sand the work, let it dry again.  I then glaze the work but only on the inside as the porcelain is too beautiful to cover!  Then it goes back in the kiln to 1240c and then I wet sand again.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• Jazmine Saunders

  4. How do you draw inspiration for your work and are there particular themes or subjects that resonate with you?

  Deborah Harwood

  I live in a beautiful part of the country and it is difficult not to be influenced by the undulating hills of the South Downs and the strata of the earth below.  I want my work to be elegant and beautiful both in the hand and to look at.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• Jazmine Saunders

  5. Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as an artist and how you've overcome them?

  Deborah Harwood

  The cancer was a challenge! I couldn’t physically work and that was very hard not to be able to go into the studio, my safe space.  But apart from that time I think I am blessed to live the creative life I have. For twenty years I do not feel ever like I have gone to work.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• 

  Jazmine Saunders

  6. What role does the Chichester Open Studios Art Trail play in your artistic journey and why did you choose to participate?

  Deborah Harwood

  I have been doing open studios for years and it has been so important to my year to see the reactions of the visitors and when they buy the work it is a wonderful thought to know that the piece is loved enough to take into their home.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• ... "All this work that I am making at the moment are very significant as they are living proof that I am still alive!!"

  Jazmine Saunders

  7. Are there any specific pieces you'll be showcasing during the Art Trail that hold special significance to you, and if so, why?

  Deborah Harwood

  I will be showing new shapes and currently am exploring the nerikomi technique which is a much more controlled form of Neriage.  I love a challenge and am hoping to be able to connect both techniques!  All this work that I am making at the moment are very significant as they are living proof that I am still alive!!

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• ... "I will be demonstrating throwing at 11am and 3pm every day and people always seem to find it very meditative to watch."

  Jazmine Saunders

  8. How do you hope your audience will engage with or interpret your artwork during the Chichester Open Studios Art Trail?

  Deborah Harwood

  I hope the visitors will enjoy my studio as much as I do!  Also, that they will find the work elegant and peaceful.  I always insist that visitors hold the work as they are very tactile and silky smooth.  I will be demonstrating throwing at 11am and 3pm every day and people always seem to find it very meditative to watch.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

• Jazmine Saunders

  9. What do you enjoy most about being part of the local artistic community and how does it influence your work?

  Deborah Harwood

  Up until a few months ago I very much worked alone in my space.  Now Matt Smith Ceramics has moved next door it has been wonderful that this has now become a wonderful creative area.  Matt is a brilliant thrower and teaches many people brilliantly and its lovely to walk around a class and watch people develop.  It has also been great to teach and introduce some of his advanced throwers to porcelain.

   

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood

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  Jazmine Saunders

  10. Can you share your thoughts on the importance of community support for local artists and events like the Chichester Open Studios?

  Deborah Harwood

  It is wonderful when the community supports this event and so hugely important for all the artists to connect and learn from their visitors.  I am very much looking forward to meeting them this year.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Deborah Harwood