About
My journey so far...
For as long as I can remember I've always had a love for all things craft. When I was a child I'd always be making something. After school art programmes on TV were my absolute favourite and I’d always try to replicate their makes. As I got older it was clear to me that I wanted to do something creative, I just didn't know what. I had chosen subjects like Art and Graphics at college but they didn’t feel right and I never really enjoyed it. It wasn’t until my second year at college that things changed and I fell in love with my craft by accident. Me being a lover of the way the universe works, I believe the universe had other plans for me as I forgot to enrol on to my second year at college. (For some strange reason I thought it was the day after everyone else and I didn’t even question it!) I got a phone call on the day of enrolment as my tutor was wondering where I was and rushed to get there, I think I washed by hair in record time that day! Anyway, I eventually got there just as everyone was leaving and was met by my frustrated tutor. We went through my enrichment course options where I planned on doing origami, but as I was late to enrol the spaces were filled and I was left with ceramics as my only choice in the creative field. I took my first class not soon after and I was hooked! I guess you could say it was blessing in disguise.
After college I took a year to do a foundation course in Art and Design where I was re-introduced to clay in all it's wonderfulness. I then went onto study the applied arts course, Design Crafts, at De Montfort University, where I specalised in ceramics mainly focused on the slip casting process. I LOVED it! I had the support of an amazing technician who taught me pretty much everything I know about ceramics and nurtured my interest in the craft. Naturally, I had lots of questions and wanted to push myself as much as I could and I feel so lucky to have had someone like her guiding me along the way.
Once I graduated in 2014, I wanted to set up at home and start selling my work, but it wasn’t until over a year later I was able to do that. With the help and support of my family members, and savings from my part time job, it was possible for me to buy a kiln and get started! So whilst working part time at various jobs over the years, I was able to experiment and figure out what sort of items I wanted to make.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a perfectionist, especially when it comes to making, so above everything else I knew I wanted to create high quality pieces. I also wanted to create something which was unique and could be gifted or brought for a range of occasions all year round. I thought the heart being universal was the perfect motif to bring all occasions together. I’m a lover of simple forms and clean, fresh interiors. I’m drawn to pieces which are not overly complicated but have that little something that makes them different from anything else so I decided to create a range that was just that.
This is my journey so far… To keep up to date with the latest makes, behind the scenes and updates, follow me on over on Instagram @sejalceramics. See you there!
Sejal
