The material in which sculptural work is made carries levels of expectation. Ceramic sculpture is perceptually linked to the idea of craft, and this is both embraced and resisted by those working in clay. Work in bronze, however, is more likely to be displayed and sold as fine art. There is an irony in this since a piece in bronze, which requires the support of a foundry and the skills of those working within it, cannot be made without craft processes.

The Fermanagh-born artist Anthony Scott, who has made sculptural work in both media, has explored the potential of ceramic and bronze consecutively. Scott, who began his professional life as a ceramist, studied initially at the University of Ulster, completing an MA in ceramics at Cardiff in 1993. The following year, with a grant from LEDU, he bought a kiln and set up a workshop in Enniskillen, where he worked until 1999. Then, moving to a larger studio in County Sligo, Scott began to work in bronze.