Shirley Vauvelle

Shirley Vauvelle is a ceramicist and painter based in East Yorkshire. She graduated from Leicester Polytechnic in 1987 in Textile and Surface Design. 

Her background in textiles profoundly influences her current work; she perceives a significant overlap between painting and ceramic making, often treating ceramic surfaces as canvases to explore texture, colour, and form. 

Working from her home studio, Shirley’s practice has traditionally involved creating playful component pieces combined with found material, resulting in sculptures inspired by creatures, birds, and plants. A notable development in her ceramic work, is the creation of the ‘Carrier beats’, the first forms to emerge from her concept tribe of creatures.