Olivia Walker

Olivia Walker first started working with clay in 2010, when she took a summer job in a local craft shop after finishing a history degree in Edinburgh. Handling and selling these ceramics quickly led to her developing a love for the material and discipline. In 2012 Olivia embarked on a full time career in ceramics after winning an Arts and Humanities Research Council studentship to study for a masters in Contemporary Craft at the University for the Creative Arts, whilst at the same time working as an apprentice for potter and writer Julian Stair. From here, Olivia has developed her individual style and unique body of work which can be seen in galleries and exhibitions throughout the UK and abroad. 

Olivia’s work explores organic and decaying forms through the build-up of complex surfaces. Working both with the vessel form and on larger wall pieces, her work explores material contrasts - rough and smooth, straight lines and imperfect ones, complete forms and collapsed ones, and takes inspiration from natural forms such as the underside of a mushroom, or the slate formations found on local cliffs. Olivia’s studio is located on the southern edge of Dartmoor National Park where her and the team make everything by hand.