Jane and Kate Seymour

An exhibition of work by Jane Seymour, whose ceramics feature inscribed designs and layered oxides, and Kate Seymour, who paints animals and natural forms in oil. About Born in 1954, Jane grew up in the marshlands of Suffolk, and the valleys and mountains of Wales. She had an unconventional upbringing with little formal schooling, but was encouraged by her parents to be creative. Her mother was an illustrator and potter, her maternal grandfather was Head of Sydney Art College, and her father was an author. As a young mother in her 20's and 30's she ran a craft business with her wood-turner partner, where she painted on wood, silk and designed clothes to sell in their small gallery/shop. In 1994 Jane moved to rural Co. Clare, Ireland, where she built a house and studio, applying herself to ceramics. She is completely self-taught. Not attracted to using glazes, but wishing to use her clay forms as a canvas for her drawings and decorative designs, she inscribes directly into the surface of the unfired clay, applying layers of oxides and stains which are re-applied to her multi-fired work, often sanded down between firings. This gives a depth and texture to her hand-built ceramics. Jane is a member of Portfolio Ireland; Ceramics Ireland; and is a selected member of the Crafts Potters Association London UK. Her work is in private collections, in Ireland, UK, and US, as well as by the OPW in Ireland. She has exhibited widely in Ireland as well as the UK. Kate Seymour makes a point of looking for the beauty in the every day. All too often we simply walk straight past and don't notice the ordinary things. She especially loves shapes and tends to fill the canvas with shapes, spaces and colour, not necessarily including all of the subject within the frame, but rather, enjoying the challenge of the composition. Painting and drawing the animal - including the human - shape and form is her first love. Animals and the natural world have always played a large part in her life, from an unconventional childhood on a Pembrokeshire farm in the sixties to the present day. On walks along the country lanes and tracks where she now lives not far from where she grew up, past beasts in the fields, she watches, as they pause in their grazing, lifting their heads, to watch her. She tries to capture the subtle tensions within these animals – an awkward stretch of a leg, angle of a neck, tilt of a head, or the watchful eye that reminds us that these are sentient creatures. Her work is ever evolving as she tries out different ideas, though she never strays far from attempting to capture, and appreciating always, the living form. She keeps away from the sentimental. Creating art reveals a part of her that is otherwise hidden; it shows how she sees and interprets things that she can't express in any other way. She works mainly with oil paints on canvas, layering colour to build up depth. She was brought up in a creative family. Her father John Seymour was a writer and broadcaster, her mother Sally Seymour a book illustrator and potter, and her grandfather Frank Medworth was principle of Sydney Art School in Australia from 1938 and 1947. Her mother encouraged her to draw as soon as she was able to hold a pencil, though when she left her childhood home she travelled other paths and it was much later on in life that she took an interest in art again. Twelve years ago while living in Australia she had the opportunity to complete a diploma in Visual Art. There she learnt amongst other things the value of observational and life drawing, which has since formed a cornerstone of her work. She is influenced by the distinct contemporary style that has developed over there, as well as the long history of depicting animals here in the UK and around the world - throughout time. Other influences include the spontaneity of the Impressionists, the strong bold colours of the Expressionists, work by Richard Diebenkorn, Ben Nicholson, John Coburn and Paula Rego amongst many others as well as her upbringing, family and life experiences to now. Read more Toggle Crafts Painting Drawing