Artist Statement

My name is Helen Butler and I am based in Belper, Derbyshire.
I originally trained as a fashion designer eventually moving into education where I worked as an art technician along with teaching ceramics and printmaking.
I am now both a potter and a printmaker. My influences are from nature and pattern. I work in porcelain paper clay that I make myself and I love the translucency that I can achieve with this. I press seed-heads and other items into the clay to pick up the often very delicate details. This is then coloured using oxides and stains. I also print directly onto the clay with ink that I make myself. I produce both functional and decorative pieces. My prints are produced from collagraphs that I make using seeds and seed-heads to show the same details as in my ceramics.