Helen Logan applied for funding from DOSH in the form of a Mike Davies Innovation Scholarship. The University is the recipient of a generous donation to support students studying Glass or Ceramics. The purpose of the scholarship is to allow students to undertake a project or opportunity that will lead to innovative uses of glass and ceramic materials for creative use. The project will support modular content within the course of study. Helen who decided to study studied BA (Hons) Glass & Ceramics, graduated in July 2019. Helen became interested in working with ceramics after taking part in a clay workshop during a pre-wedding celebration. This was the spark that Helen needed to pursue her dream of working with ceramics. During her Foundation Degree at Newcastle College she had the opportunity to work with clay and craft her own pottery and ceramics. Helen then made contact with Professor Kevin Petrie at the University of Sunderland, to enquire about studying Glass and Ceramics. Kevin suggested direct entry into the second year of the BA (Hons) Glass & Ceramics course. Helen told us about her experience of studying with the University of Sunderland.
"Since beginning the course, I have won a commission from Enchanted Parks Gateshead for my ‘Seeds of Wisdom’ piece, exhibited at The Shipley as part of Dry Run, and I have learned a lot about myself and grown as a creative in the process. All of this has happened within a year and a half of first touching clay, and it has been the most amazing experience and I am very much enjoying the continuation of this journey through my final year of the BA."
Helen applied for funding from the Mike Davies Innovation Scholarship to enable her to travel to Orkney. The Orkney Isles are a marked World Heritage Site and boast many ancient landmarks, such as Skara Brae, Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, and the Ring of Brodgar, all of which date from around 4,500 years ago. Orkney is also thought to be where Grooved Ware pottery was developed around 5,000 years ago, which predates the Beaker Folk pottery. Helen has been influenced and inspired by Orkney within her own work and wanted to utilise the opportunity to connect with Orkney as she believe that it would enhance her work as a creator.
Helen outlines how the experience of travelling to Orkney and spending a week there have developed her as a ceramicist and developed her work.
“It took us a whole day by train, bus and ferry to travel to the little cottage on mainland Orkney where stayed for the week. The cottage was a traditional fisherman’s hut that had been refurbished by our host and sits just a couple of metres from the shore, looking out over the Scapa Flow and over the islands of Flotta and Hoy. When exploring the little beach upon our arrival I almost immediately found pieces of ceramic.
Monday was our first day and I decided to head straight to the top attraction, Skara Brae. This site was at the very top of my list because of its World Heritage status and the unusual buildings located there. Skara Brae is one of the best preserved Neolithic settlements anywhere in Western Europe, the amazing artefacts discovered at this incredible site give us an insight into what life was like in Britain during that time.
I was a bit nervous starting out with this first pot as there were so many people around, but I quickly found that it just felt right, as clay always does."
"The Broch of Gurness was our destination for Wednesday, an Iron Age village with brilliant views over the water to neighbouring islands. I was surprised to see how similar the construction and layout of the buildings were to that of Skara Brae, even though they were built around 2,000 years apart. Whilst the two sites shared similarities such as built-in furniture, central hearths, and tanks set in to the floor, the main difference was the central structure which is a thick walled tower, presumed to be a defensive position. It was such a wonderful site to visit simply because we were able to fully explore all of the excavated structures and get a real feel for how people would have lived here.
We were also able to wander along a nearby beach to another Broch which had not been excavated. Every piece of this coastline seems to have its own character. I find the coastal diversity of such a small island really intriguing.
Thursday was set to be a busy one! Our first stop was the Kirkwall museum which has a pretty wonderful collection of exhibits chronicling the history of Orkney from the prehistoric to modern day. They had a brilliant display of Neolithic pottery which showed some beautiful patterns and I have since used some of these as inspiration for my own work.
Our next destination was possibly my favourite site of the trip, the Ness of Brodgar. The Ness is a Neolithic settlement which sits on a finger of land between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar and is still undergoing excavation. We were fortunate enough to have a tour of the site with one of the archaeologists who had been there since the beginning of the dig in 2002. The site is really quite sizeable, and that’s only the parts that they’ve dug, they anticipate that there is much more beneath the surface. The thing that I found so fascinating and utterly perplexing about the site though is that the people who built it did so with the intention of it being impressive, with painted walls and carved detailing, but didn’t bother to lay foundations. As such, it appears that the buildings were often in need of repair, and the archaeology shows that there were many more stages of building work than you would expect. Another interesting thing that our guide told me was that it seems that the people at this settlement were bringing clay for their pottery from all over the island, possibly as another symbol of status. This is unusual because most settlements at the time would simply use a nearby source of clay.
Our last full day was forecast to be a wet one so we began with a trip to Stromness to explore their galleries and shops. There is clearly an amazing wealth of artists on these islands and it’s easy to see why. You would have to have a heart of stone not to be inspired by these beautiful landscapes.
By lunch time the weather looked as though it was clearing, so we headed out to the Ring of Brodgar which was a site high on my list of places to visit. It was raining by the time we got there and we ended up soaked through by the time we made it back to the bus, but it was worth it. The circle is huge with 36 stones remaining today, though it is estimated that there were 60 originally. Our guide at the Ness of Brdgar had actually told us that the stones were brought from all over the island.
I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to visit Orkney and discover its heritage. It is possibly the most amazing place I have ever visited and it felt good to be able to explore my own creativity within this ancient landscape. It almost felt like home and I was sad to leave, but it’s something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life and I believe that it has had an impact not only on my work and how I approach it, but possibly on how I’m looking at my future as well.
Thank you so much to Mike Davies and the scholarship team. This experience has felt life changing.”