Nichola is originally from a background in Fashion and Textile Design. Her degree specialism was Constructed Textile Design and she considers this to be a strong influence in the ceramic work she produces today. Nichola’s interest in texture, pattern, colour and structure continues in clay. Nichola lives beside Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland which is an area of wild, untouched beauty. She is fascinated by the simultaneous wildness and calm, conflicting textures and the repetition of nature. The colour and light here provide a rich, natural palette. Movement and shifts in the Lough often reveal an extra dimension of flax dams, rock beds and algae life beneath. Nichola hand builds simple, strong forms using stoneware clay. Each vessel provides a blank canvas for exploration in surface texture, pattern and colour. Nichola is in pursuit of natural colouring reflecting her environment and it seems fitting that she produces her own glazes reflecting this special blend. Each of Nichola’s ceramic pieces is entirely unique.