Ann Bates

I make one-off, hand built, contemporary funerary urns and memory boxes that, I hope in a discreet way, might celebrate the life lived and offer some comfort to those who remain. The pieces are usually made from Earthstone clay and are either coiled or slab built and fired to 1250°C. Each one is unique and often textured with seeds, shells, tree bark or leaves and there is always an impressed spiral, the natural form of growth and symbol of everlasting life, somewhere on every piece. Before embarking on an urn or memory box I usually make a series of tiles to test texture, pattern and glazes.