Meet Kaitlyn Barnes | Ceramic Designer & Material Researcher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaitlyn Barnes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlyn, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risk-taking is a large part of my practice. I see risk-taking as a form of experimentation. When I am working with clay, there can be a lot of constraints, but I enjoy pushing these constraints and seeing what can come from this. At university, we were taught about radical design, and this is where I found I flourished as a designer. Radical design is about pushing the boundaries and taking risks in your design method.

My most recent body of work is basically one large risk. I have created these large biomorphic vases made from porcelain, a clay that doesn’t like to be used for hand building. I enjoyed embracing the challenges that came with using this clay, and I knew how to manipulate these to my advantage. When making the long arms of my pieces, I would let them start to collapse to create deep folds within their form. I also used Egyptian paste as a grog within my clay, this a material that I have started to dedicate my practice to. Before my vases would go through the kiln, it was hard to see where the paste would come through the surface. It was always unpredictable what intensity of colour and texture would come from the paste once they had been fired.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a ceramic designer, and my work focuses on the use of Egyptian paste and how it can be used in a contemporary setting. I have grown a huge love for this material and never expected it to be a large part of my work.
I used to think, whilst studying for my BA, that I didn’t have an artistic identity; then I found Egyptian paste and fell in love with it. There would be times when I would think, “Why have I set myself up for failure using a material that not many people know about?” those who do know it, know how hard it is to make anything from it, but this pushed me to pursue the material. My final project for my BA made me so incredibly proud; I created an installation piece made up of 100 fertility figures. I couldn’t believe that I had managed to make this material work. At that point in time, I couldn’t even imagine making the work I do now. I am incredibly proud of my journey. The lesson I have learned is to always push yourself through the hard times because the reward is worth it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favourite place in London has to be the Petrie Museum. It’s a small museum filled with Egyptian artefacts, truly incredible and it’s not far from the British Museum. Anther great place is Southbank, it is a big tourist area because of the London Eye but there’s food stalls, galleries and at Christmas its the only place to be in the city

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This Shoutout is dedicated to all my amazing class mates from Central Saint Martins BA Ceramic Design and MA Design. Thank you for always being there for me and putting up with my crazy ideas.

Also a massive shoutout to Kathryn Hearn. Thank you for believing in me every step of the way.

Instagram: @kaitlynbarnesceramics