Glenice Hoffmann
GLENICE HOFFMANN CERAMICS
I returned to the creative and calming activity of pottery in 2014, after a career as a parliamentary reporter and editor, initially working with Eunice Locher at The Clay Studio, Barnsgate Manor. In 2022, I completed the full-time Ceramics Development Course with Katrina Jenkins at Forest Row School of Ceramics. I now work from my own studio in Forest Row, East Sussex. I am a selected member of The Sussex Guild and an associate member of Design Nation.
I create abstract, sculptural forms and objects — individual, decorative pieces hand-built in stoneware clay by slabbing, coiling and pinching. In their line, I focus on the geometric elements and striking outlines of the circle, angle, straight line and curve, while exploring negative and positive space. In their design, I consider energy, tension and movement while seeking to achieve a sense of balance, depth, harmony and calm. In their finish, I texturise, wax-polish, smoke-fire, raku or leave the surface naked, all to achieve a natural, tactile finish.
Initially referencing, for example, the striking lines of Hans Coper, James Oughtibridge and, of course, Barbara Hepworth, my work is influenced by my study of art history. I find fascinating the move to abstraction, reached at the beginning of the twentieth century by Franz Marc, Mondrian and, in particular, Kandinsky in his use of sharp shapes and clear linear qualities.
