Nicola Scott-Taylor

It is not surprising that Nicola chose to become an artist, since throughout her childhood in  Spain, Brazil and Canada her parents had pottery studios. She now lives and works from her studio in Richmond, London where she teaches pottery and art and makes her own sculpture and wall hangings which she sells and exhibits locally.  This is her story.

"When my daughter was born  I went back to college to retrain in Fine Art Ceramics and graduate as an Art teacher so I could combine motherhood with a career. I already had an Arts and Language degree from Oxford which enabled me to get my  first job working for Colnaghi in Old Bond street, promoting art. Working in Public Relations for  over 20 years was pretty full on. Don’t get me wrong I loved working for Selfridges promoting their fashion and beauty products. I got to work with stars like Mary Quant, Zandra Rodes, Jerry Hall and Jasper Conran. I got to live in  the Falkland Islands where I worked as Government Information Officer and  Thailand, working for Burston Marstellar. The Royal College of General Practitioners, London was my last full-time job before having a baby at 40 which changed my priorities.

The environment concerns me, especially the detritus of man’s waste. Communicating this in my art is important to me and is an obvious theme in my work. My 'Rubbish men' series remind us that the rubbish we throw away does not disappear underground, but evolves into an even bigger monster and comes back to haunt us.  'Graffiti men' too speak of man’s pollution and destruction of resources. These figurative sculptures draw similarities between traditions of Tribal men and Western man to show we are all the same beneath the skin. With my outdoor stacking ceramic sculpture the theme is about the importance for a balance of nature. It is about how animals rely on each other as a food chain and nations of men rely on one anothers’ co-operation in order for world peace.

I enjoy making heads which for me represent civilizations around the world. Some look like burnt out, worn torn trees, others house all the things removed by religious zealots, and others show the cracked mud of poverty- stricken nations.

I have tried to make my later works more cheerful, more commercial if you like. Animals and birds, including roosters, horses, elephants, ducks and polar bears are my favourite and I pass the making technique of hollow building these to my students.

I exhibit and sell my smaller works through member societies; SOFAP, London Potters and through gift shops as far afield as the Historical and Conservation Museum in Nevis, Caribbean.

To commission work contact: nikki@ceramicsdesign.co.uk