Fractal 47
2023
Glazed Ceramic
74 X 25 X 25 CM / 29 X 10 X 10 IN
£7500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This work is the tallest piece in this show. The form is inspired by cacti and I glazed it with a lava glaze, giving it a textured bubbly finish. The glaze reminds me of how lichens might grow on a rock or tree.  Lava glazes can be unpredictable in the kiln and I’m usually pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 29
2023
Glazed Ceramic and Gold Leaf
61 X 24 X 25 CM / 24 X 9 X 10 IN
£7500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing.

I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This work is a ground-breaking piece. It is the first piece I made that is this tall. I ordered a new kiln as I was inspired to scale up my work. I had to wait for over a year before I was able to put it through the initial bisque firing process in my new kiln. When I finally glazed this piece, I realized that I had to re-learn the life of glazes and temperatures, nothing was coming out as expected. This piece has unexpected black and came out with several cracks. I decided to highlight the cracks by filling them with gold, a delicate process that took two days. I love how the gold transformed this work.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 57
2023
Glazed Ceramic
68 X 21 X 21 CM / 27 X 8 X 8 IN
£6800

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This is the first piece I made of its kind. The form is inspired by cacti. Whilst drying some of the forms dethatched from the base.  I love this outcome as in nature things are imperfectly perfect. I did not want to fix these areas. If you look closely, you will notice its perfect imperfection.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 23
2023
Glazed Ceramic
39 X 18 X 18 CM / 15 X 7 X 7 IN
£2800

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. The glaze for this piece was supposed to be blue, however my kiln over-fired so the glaze essentially melted off which is why there are beautiful pools of green glaze and a brown undertone as if it has been burnt. The piece also leans to one side as a drip of melted glaze makes its way to the base.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 44
2023
Glazed Ceramic
37 X 42 X 42 CM / 15 X 17 X 17 IN
£5000

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This is the first piece of its kind. It is the first time I have created these surface forms on the base of the work. They are inspired by an underwater creature. The glaze is a matte finish. 

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 24
2023
Glazed Ceramic
37 X 22 X 22 CM / 15 X 8 X 8 IN
£2800

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. I usually work with a combination of two different glazes; however, in this piece, I only used one. It’s a metallic glaze which appears blacker than I anticipated as my kiln overfired. When a kiln overfires glaze melts off and gathers at the bottom of the piece. If you look closely at the bottom ‘rosettes’ you can see the glaze has formed beautiful pools and drips.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 18
2022
Glazed Ceramic
32 X 24 X 24 CM / 13 X 9 X 9 IN
£2500

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. I wanted the forms on this piece to feel like they were fighting for space. I wanted it to feel overpopulated and cramped. Like a parasite taking over. I often think about how we are suffocating the earth and there are just too many of us.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 31
2023
Glazed Ceramic
31 X 28.5 X 28.5 CM / 12 X 11 X 11 IN
£2500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing.

I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This beautiful piece cracked again and again around the opening during the drying process. This was due to the hot weather in Nairobi at the time. I continued to work on it over our summer and you can see this process where I added patches around the rim to reinforce the opening. I really wanted to create a piece in pink and spent many hours mixing different tones of pink underglaze to achieve this color.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 12
2022
Glazed Ceramic
35 X 31 X 31 CM / 14 X 12 X 12 IN
£2500

I create coils which I first attach vertically and then horizontally to form a grid which I pinch into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This glaze is a textured lava glaze mixed with a gloss glaze. The initial inspiration for this pattern came from developing the texture found on an antelope horn that started on a much smaller work several years ago. I love seeing my work develop and looking back and remembering where I have come from. There was a big crack at the bottom of this piece which formed during the glazing process. I have highlighted this imperfection by filling it with gold.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 21
2022
Glazed Ceramic
35 X 29 X 29 CM / 14 X 11 X 11 IN
£3000

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This is the first piece of this kind. The process of sculpting this work took much longer than usual as I had to cover the surface with two layers of pinched forms rather than one layer which I’m used to. The glaze is a mix of matte and gloss. The finish reminds me of a shell.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 38
2023
Glazed Ceramic
39 X 32 X 34 CM / 15 X 13 X 13 IN
£4000

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base. Next, I create coils which I first attach vertically and then horizontally to form a grid which I pinch into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing.

I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This glaze is a textured lava glaze mixed with a gloss glaze. The initial inspiration for this pattern came from developing the texture found on an antelope horn that started on a much smaller work several years ago. I love seeing my work develop and looking back and remembering where I have come from. There was a big crack at the bottom of this piece which formed during the glazing process. I have highlighted this imperfection by filling it with gold.

Fractal 43
2023
Glazed Ceramic
42 X 28 X 28 CM / 42 X 11 X 11 IN
£5000

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. I love this piece and it took me almost a year to decide on the glaze. I finally chose this bubbly lava glaze and I was blown away with the result when I opened the kiln. The tips ended up being a lighter white finish which helps highlight the beautiful pattern. I had not anticipated this.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 32
2023
Glazed Ceramic
34 X 32 X 32 CM / 13 X 13 X 13 IN
£3200

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing.

I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This form is the first of its kind. I used a lava glaze which brought the work to life. In some areas, there are huge burst bubbles and on the rest of the surface, the texture is much finer. The color also varies: there are lighter and darker tones within the piece. The finish makes you want to touch it and reminds me of lichens.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 40
2023
Glazed Ceramic
42 X 30 X 30 CM / 17 X 12 X 12 IN
£3800

I take balls of clay and pinch them into multiple same-shaped pieces in a variety of sizes. I then attach these onto the base like a jigsaw puzzle to cover the whole surface of the base. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. At times my work can be frustrating, however, I find a sense of calm in creating repetitive patterns. While creating this piece, I remember having a sense of inexplicable frustration. I worked with a form I have used many times before, although I had never created it in an orb shape. I cannot remember the initial inspiration for the forms as they have morphed into many different versions. It is one of the few pieces in the show with a high gloss finish.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel.

Fractal 30
2023
Glazed Ceramic
32 X 29 X 29 CM / 13 X 11 X 11 IN
£2500

I create coils which I first attach vertically and then horizontally to form a grid which I pinch into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. On this piece, the glaze is a textured lava glaze and has a rough feel. The finish makes you want to touch it. The initial inspiration for this pattern came from developing the texture found on an antelope horn. I have experimented with and developed this texture by creating many different variations. With this variation, I have enlarged and lengthened the horizontal lines.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 45
2023
Glazed Ceramic
49 X 37 X 37 CM / 19 X 15 X 15 IN
£6500

I create coils which I first attach vertically and then horizontally to form a grid which I pinch into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces while they are drying since they are still transforming so often they crack and need fixing.

I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This is the biggest and heaviest work from the show. I finished sculpting this work in March of 2022 and only completed the work in June of 2023. The initial inspiration for this pattern came from developing the texture found on an antelope horn. This glaze is a textured lava glaze that bubbles in the kiln, it has a mind of its own it brings my works to life.

 I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 8
2022
Glazed Ceramic
36 X 30 X 30 CM / 14 X 12 X 12 IN
£3000

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming and so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This glaze is a textured lava glaze mixed with a gloss glaze. The lava glaze bubbles in the kiln, it has a mind of its own and reminds me of how lichens might grow on a rock or a tree. No curve or bend are the same, it brings my works to life.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 5
2022
Glazed Ceramic
34 X 24 X 24 CM / 13 X 9 X 9 IN
£2500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. The patterns on this piece developed over time from lines on earlier works which are inspired by forms found on cacti. This glaze is a mixture of matte and gloss.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 46
2023
Glazed Ceramic
32 X 28 X 28 CM / 13 X 11 X 11 IN
£2500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming and so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. This glaze was supposed to be a completely different colour. I was pleasantly surprised. The green comes from copper carbonate that had settled at the bottom of the second layer of glaze-like sediment. The way the green appears on the surface of this piece is random.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.

Fractal 9
2022
Glazed Ceramic
34 X 29 X 29 CM / 13 X 11 X 11 IN
£2500

I create long coils of clay which I attach to the design and I get to work on the piece by pinching each coil into the form that lives on the surface of this creation. I continue to work on the pieces whilst they are drying since they are still transforming and so often crack and need fixing. I am interacting with the piece for up to 3 months until the work is ready to be bisque-fired. Once fired I am then able to glaze the piece. I spend many hours mixing glazes and creating glaze combinations that are unique to my work. Each work is named after the glaze formula. There is always an element of surprise in the results. The patterns on this piece developed from lines on earlier works being inspired by forms found on cacti. This glaze has a matte finish.

I work with Kenyan clay. My clay comes from the rich soil collected in valleys around Nyeri. The word Nyeri is derived from the Masaai word nyiro, meaning red. Somehow I feel like I am working with the essence of my native homeland. The base of this piece is thrown on a potter’s wheel, I then scratch the design onto the base.