1 - 30 April 2026: Letters From The West by Ella Bua-In

Private View Thursday 2nd April 6-8pm

"Letters from the West" is a collection of illustrated ceramic works inspired by the life and landscape of Ella's home in West Wales. Each piece holds a fragment of that place; from plants growing in ancient woodlands, to seaweed and shells shifting with the tide, to the birds that hop through her garden.

Alongside these everyday details, the work draws on older stories and local mythologies that shape the landscape. Together, the pieces form a series of letters from this westerly edge- a personal response to place, deep time, and the natural world.

We asked Ella a few questions ahead of her exhibition;

Having studied a BA in Fine Art, how did you end up working with clay?

After my BA I was looking for something creative to do outside of the fine art world. I had started doing a market stall selling textile bits, lino prints, and animals made from air-dry clay when a friend I was working with at a restaurant suggested I join his pottery studio, Turning Earth in London. I had done a bit of hand-building with clay during both my GCSEs and A Levels, but it had never really caught my attention properly. Now though, it seemed like an intriguing prospect and possibly what I had been looking for.

Was there a specific moment or event that sent you in this direction?

My BA at Central St Martins made me realise that I wasn’t interested in being part of a commercial fine art machine. I didn'tt have a direction to go in once I had graduated but I knew that I wanted to be able to make art that was accessible to more people. What led me, most directly, to explore clay was my friend Ervin, as mentioned above!

Did you always plan to illustrate your work, or did that develop later?

Illustration has actually been there from the start! I used to do a very simple cloud design inspired by Chinese brush paintings on mugs — not totally dissimilar to my work today, but it did look quite different due to my technical skills and the glaze and clay used.

Illustration is such a big part of your practice; is there an artist who has influenced or inspired you?

Although there are lots of artists and makers whose work inspires me and sparks ideas, I take most of my inspiration from stories, historical artefacts, and the landscape around me. Two reference points I return to again and again are old Japanese woodblock prints and medieval illuminated manuscripts/brass rubbings- confusingly different sources!

Are there any myths or legends that especially fascinate you? Or any we can look out for in your upcoming collection at Klei?

For this collection I’ve been reading a lot of Welsh folklore and myths, the most famous collection of which is The Mabinogion. I’m planning to have an illustrated platter showing the giant Bendigeidfran crossing the Irish Sea, taken from the story his sister, Branwen, who was sent to Ireland to marry and then mistreated.

What is your favourite part of the making process? And how do you divide your time between throwing and illustration?

It really depends on how I’m feeling and what I’ve been doing most recently. I love designing and illustrating, but if I’ve already spent two days that week at my glaze bench I’m ready to get back to the wheel and use my creativity in a different way. All in all, a balanced week is the best one!

My studio time is divided depending on what I have on my making list. If I’m working on a wholesale order of mainly mugs, then I would probably spend more time making and then the glazing and illustrating phase is more of a repetitive process. For my upcoming collection at Klei, which will include lots of unique pieces, I’ll spend more time researching, designing, and glazing.

You are self-taught on the wheel — what was the biggest challenge when you first started working with clay?

Oh my goodness- so many challenges! The biggest to start with was probably just that I didn’t have a wheel at home. I’d watch loads of videos at home and then go to the studio the next day to try to work it out without wanting to look like I was working it out! I learn best by feeling things through so I just threw myself into it, I think it really helped that I’m not a perfectionist!

You live in a beautiful part of the country — how do your surroundings influence your work?

Moving to Wales four years ago definitely changed how I interact with and use my surroundings in my work. Life here feels very in line with the natural world, something I responded to in my work by trying to produce more seasonal designs and by focusing on plants that grow happily here in the UK (unless the design calls for something more exotic!).

What is the most recent ceramic vessel or piece of pottery you bought for yourself — from where and by whom?

I bought a slipware plate and a mug from Erica Taylor-Low at Craft Festival Wales in the summer. Both are decorated by Erica using their fingers and have a lovely glossy, tactile feel to them.

What are you excited to explore next in your practice?

I want to get better at working on paper — to find the right medium and texture for illustrative paintings. I think this will help my planning process and increase my confidence in drawing figures and faces.

And finally: who is a maker whose work you love and admire that we should know about but may not have heard of?

She’s definitely not working under the radar, but for years I have loved and shouted about Daphne Christoforou, a ceramic and visual artist based in Cyprus. Her work is illustrative and narrative-based, with lots of references to Greek myths and the movement of the human body.

Other makers I like and own work by are Fiona Biddington (potter), Ceila Wood (potter), and Luiza Holub (printmaker).