Getting to know Amy Hughes
Originally from West Yorkshire, Amy graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010. She is based north of London and holds teaching positions at various London Institutions.
Hughes has worked and exhibited internationally, most recently including high profile shows and art fairs including Art Miami, British Art Fair, the London Art Fair and ‘Collect’ with Cynthia Corbett Gallery.
In 2018 Amy exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of London Design Festival and presented her first solo show at Croome Court part of the National Trust, funded by Arts Council England. In 2020, she was selected as one of 5 Artists for Leach 100 with The Leach Pottery. In 2015 she was selected for AWARD as part of the British Ceramics Biennial and chosen to take part in the first ‘Future Heritage’ showcase at Decorex 2014.
Amy has been nominated for several major awards; in 2023 she was shortlisted for the Brookfield Properties Craft Award with the Crafts Council, and in 2016 she was selected for the prestigious Perrier-Jouet Arts Salon Prize by Barney Hare Duke. In 2015, she was chosen for the inaugural Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize for artists who show an ‘exceptional command of ceramics’ and in 2014 represented the UK in ‘New Talent’ at the European Ceramic Context.
In 2015, Hughes became the first ‘Ceramics & Industry’ residency at the V & A Museum working in collaboration with 1882Ltd. The resulting piece ‘Tryst’ was acquired by the Museum and put into limited edition production. Her work is shown at several London galleries and is held in private collections.
Words by Amy Hughes
I feel like I’ve always been creative in some way, as a child I was always making something. I loved painting and drawing, sewing, Fimo, saving boxes to stick together – you name it! I always had some sort of ‘project’ on and luckily, I was always given room in the house for it. Apparently, I had aspirations to be a guitarist or a cake decorator.
I’m not too sure where it came from, I didn’t grow up in a particularly creative household, and no one in my family has ever pursued a career in the arts. Nonetheless, I consider myself very lucky that I have never been discouraged from doing what I love. My mum has always supported me and still does, at every step of the way.
Art was always my favourite subject, I liked that it didn’t have a ‘right’ answer.
I actually didn’t start working with clay until I was on my Art Foundation degree aged 18. I thought I was going to be a fine art painter; I was most put out when I was told I had been put in the ceramics group but twenty years later, I’m still hooked.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had some wonderful tutors along the way and they have certainly influenced and helped shape how I create.
I love working with porcelain. She’s a mistress - you have to play by her rules. I enjoy the challenge and adore clay’s natural qualities. I love working with different stoneware bodies (ones that fire at higher temperatures) usually with a grog (grog is raw, granulated material that is added to clay to make the clay workable) as I like the texture and strength it can give to what I’m making. I don’t often glaze all over as I think the richness of a high-fired body is decoration enough. I would describe myself as a hand builder, I enjoy coiling and like to combine it with other techniques; press moulding, slab building and sprigging. I draw a lot in my practice, what I do in the 2D can often inform what I make in the 3D.
My practice is largely concerned with form and decoration. I first encountered Sevres during my MA at the RCA on a visit to Waddesdon Manor and had never seen anything like it before. Ceramic pieces so extravagant and highly decorative my eyes didn’t know where to look or what to focus on. I found them technically perfect but felt they offered very little material identity. It began a bit of a love/hate relationship, which captivated me and continues to do so, I’m still trying to work it out. I began trying to reinterpret the vases, deconstructing and reconstructing them to make them more accessible, with the intention of taking them to new audiences, celebrating them and finding a home in contemporary culture. I love the status that surrounded these objects and the pure decadence and show off nature. I love the idea of garnitures and vase sets dictating how they should be displayed.
This method of enquiry, the fascination with the historic and the concern for form and decoration has led my practice down a path not just exclusive to the 17th & 18th centuries but to objects symbolic of significant times in ceramic history. Most recently Grecian and Islamic.
When I won the inaugural Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize it really boosted my confidence and gave me a fresh sense of encouragement and excitement to keep on doing what I’m doing. I was honoured and humbled to be shortlisted in the same category with other incredible makers and delighted for my work to have been recognised.
At the start of my career, I think I felt that I didn’t quite know where I fit, being inspired by historic ceramic collections and largely just making vases. Being shortlisted helped me to realise and then reassert the need to follow my own creative path not trying to fit anyone else’s.
I don’t think I’ve ever questioned if it was right for me, it might sound silly but I do feel like this is what I’m meant to do. I really do love clay and all of the possibilities it allows. My work is a huge part of me and a big expression of self.
There were times when I’ve taken on projects purely for financial need, as I’m sure most makers have but they weren’t right for me and can have a negative impact on your practice, so I say no now when I need to.
There have been times when I’ve been annoyed at my choices, or the way in which the creative world can sometimes work but I soon get over it. It is hard work but it is rather addictive. I think it was Zandra Rhodes who said freelancing/working in the arts was ‘like feast or famine’ and that is so true. I doubt I’ll ever be particularly rich but consider myself lucky to know what I want to do and to love what I do; some people never have that.
Hmm my greatest accomplishment, that’s tricky. It changes all the time and I can’t attribute it to one specific thing. At one time I would have said it was completing my MA at the RCA. I am also very proud to have run a successful creative practice for over 10 years. I would also say I’m proud to have completed a residency at the V & A in 2015 and they have since acquired one of my pieces for their permanent collection. I am proud to have been awarded Arts Council funding in 2018; which led me to work with some fantastic galleries and curators and have my work included in several wonderful exhibitions.
In life, my greatest accomplishment is my family. I’m a mum to three wonderful boys and I aspire to be a role model to them; to work hard, to show them how important it is to follow one’s dreams and do what you love and love what you do. Having three children under 5 affects my time-keeping, sometimes it’s quite incredible what you can achieve in a short time when you have to. I don’t have time for procrastinating! I know my practice is richer for them and it does remind me of what’s important when something in the studio goes wrong. Outside of ceramics and the home, I’m a long-distance runner, I like marathon and ultramarathon distance. I think this says a lot about my grit and determination. Running has always been good for me in so many ways, it’s a great way to know yourself and what you are capable of.
A piece of advice I would give not only to my younger self but other creatives out there is to keep going! Follow your dreams, work hard and don’t give up. Trust yourself and be yourself. Don’t work for free, you don’t have to say yes to everything and sometimes you have to go wrong to go right. Surround yourself with wonderful like-minded people, support each other and you will all go far. Working outside of comfort zones is a good thing and don’t forget to enjoy it!
To find out more about Amy visit her website amyjaynehughes.com or follow her @amyjaynehughes on Instagram
3 - 8 October 2023: Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize exhibition at 67 York Street, Marylebone, London
10 - 15 October 2023: (coinciding with Frieze week) Young Masters Art Prize exhibition at 67 York Street, Marylebone, London
