ChinaJackMosaics

Emily works from her studio, with vintage china and unglazed ceramic tesserae, combining textures, patterns and words to create each mosaic artwork. Emily was brought up in the Cotswolds with Irish parents, her childhood steeped in fairytales, poetry and a sense of magic and with a wonder for the natural world. In her work, she is inspired by birds – fascinated by wings, feathers and flight. She enjoys the resonance of working with reclaimed china – evoking memories of hand painted Irish family china with echoes of drinking tea together and family meals. Each bird is handmade from carefully chosen china including Spode, Burleighware, Alfred Meakin and modern makers like Emma Bridgewater. Her birds often include makers’ marks inset against the colours and patterns, a nod to the fading tradition of china production in Stoke On Trent and perhaps the passing of time. Whilst upcycling is at the heart of her work, the china that she uses is often cracked or chipped and at the end of its functional life.