Maggie M. Broadley

Maggie combines working from her studio in Lugar, East Ayrshire with her full-time role as Craft Development Manager for the award winning Craft Town Scotland, a community led initiative and registered charity.

“Although born and raised in the city of Glasgow, childhood visits to my grandparent’s croft on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, imprinted an enduring connection with my family and the island.

In 1994, as a second year ceramics undergraduate at the Glasgow School of Art, a group project exploring the notion of ‘hearth and home’ began my creative preoccupation with crofting.

In particular, I find a special strength and aesthetic quality in everyday implements and their construction: curves; notches; pegs; rivets. Using the vessel as my starting point, the resultant forms echo both the original object and the movement associated with its’ use – curving, twisting and stretching.

The forms are hand-built using strips of stoneware clay, affording me the ability to exercise control whilst maintaining direct contact with the material. In contrast to this control, the pieces are glazed in a less structured manner. Glazes are not sieved and are applied using a combination of pouring, brushing and ‘flicking’ - multi fired crater glazes add to the rugged texture and are reflective of landscape and the seasons. The work also alludes to encrusted objects recovered from the sea.

Having returned to working with clay after a break of several years, the new body of work still reflects my original preoccupation but it also utilises elements from my immediate surroundings and the rural environment in which I live. ‘Found’ ingredients in my glazes – local clay, ash from our fire, rust collected during weekend walks from abandoned equipment on a nearby farm, lichen and bark from twigs in our wood, add an additional layer of meaning.

Whilst making is a deeply personal expression of my emotional attachment to my family's crofting heritage, I believe it reflects a universal desire to explore cultural, familial and natural landscapes; both physical and psychological.

I am equally comfortable creating work for themed or open gallery exhibitions and welcome opportunites to discuss solo or group shows.

Since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 1997, I have undertaken private and corporate commissions.

After a preliminary client briefing, several design proposals will be submitted for approval. Upon confirmation of commissioning, a signed agreement and deposit of 30% of the agreed fee will be required.

This process is very much a two-way dialogue, with the final work a reflection both of my individual style and the needs of each individual client.”

Maggie M.Broadley
Contemporary Ceramics
Happyhills 121-125 Main Street
West Kilbride
Ayrshire KA23 9AR
Scotland

Mobile: +44(0)7738 321 446
[email protected]
www.maggiembroadley-ceramics.com