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Title - ‘I’ve Bean Loving You’ Plate
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Medium - Ceramic with gold lustre
- Dimensions - 22cm
Minnie is based in the Kent seaside town of Margate, creating and producing ceramics, printed textiles and interior decoration.
British seaside landscapes, the history of London, Greek mythology, Italian kitsch decoration, East end markets and British vegetable growing culture inspire and inform her imagery and exploration of design, resulting in a healthy obsession with columns, peas and seashells. Her hand-crafted ceramics are objects of empowerment, designed to evoke nostalgia and strength, whilst focusing on classical design.
Her childhood was spent growing up in Hackney, East London, where she was born in the late 1980s. Both her mother and grandmother (seamstresses and set designers) played an instrumental role in encouraging my interests and developments within the world of arts and culture. Her grandmother was a queen magpie, master corset maker for Sands films, and keen ceramic collector, scouring junk shops, markets and fairs for British studio pieces; her house was packed full of visual delights to digest.
The family were always involved in community arts, with a range of art facilities always within reach. The wealth of cultural influences flourishing in Hackney during the 1990s built the foundations of my desire to explore and understand other cultures and their expression through visual art.
After graduating from Loughborough in 2011 studying Printed Textiles, she worked as studio manager for Cressida Bell, granddaughter of the Bloomsbury group’s Vanessa Bell. Working in a small studio for a number of years was a brilliant platform for growth, learning and mastering her own design skills.
She then went on to open an art gallery, wine shop & restaurant in Margate: Urchin Wines, that I co-directed with my partner Orson.
After the birth of her son Vincent, she decided to revisit my love of design and began to attend the drop-in classes at Clayspace. I found my calling and instantly began to spend all her waking hours there. She has not stopped since and most of her time is usually spent creating handmade ceramic pieces from inspiration and explorations.
