When I look at Alison Kay's work, what strikes me first is an impression of timelessness. Disregard her 'glazes' and the shapes could be artefacts from a mediaeval fresco or an archaeological dig.
- Paddy McGovern (former Visual Arts Co-ordinator, Éigse Carlow Arts Festival)
Alison Kay was born in 1953 and studied at Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design (IADT). She set up a ceramic studio in Sandycove and also taught part-time adult education classes with the VEC in Dun Laoghaire for 10 years. In 2004 she set up a new studio in Shankill, Co. Dublin, where she works full time as a ceramic artist.
Inspiration comes from diverse sources such as plant forms, seed pods, aerodynamic shapes and automotive designs. Her ideas develop organically by workin with the clay, observing the form, making changes to a line or an opening or extending the volume along the way.
"There is a stillness that comes about through the concentratino of working on a piece and a great pleasure when I have reached a conclusion and it is completed and ready for the next stage in the process". This involves creating a tactile surface by applying layers of coloured Terra Sigillata and buffing it to a fine sheen. Much consideration goes into the choice of colour and pattern that will suit the piece. By smoke-firing, the aim is to achieve a weathered effect on the surface.