Sheila Fournier (1930-2001) trained as a teacher at Goldsmiths’ before learning to make pots in the studio of her husband, Robert Fournier. They both went on to produce tableware along with individual pieces in various workshops until retiring in 1987. Sheila’s earthenware, porcelain and stoneware hand-built and thrown vessels were part of a delicate, essentially organic approach that was popular in the 1960s and 70s. It derived inspiration from a range of forms in nature, exploring the ability of thinly thrown and built clay to evoke intricate papery structures in the landscape.
Fournier’s work explored particularly the seemingly endless sculptural potential of the bowl form, often with rich layerings both of clay and glaze. It had an imaginative sensibility that is often overlooked in the histories of studio pottery.
David Whiting |
