Melanie makes ceramic wall panels that are layered with richly coloured slips and glazes and then stoneware fired to 1260°. These abstract pieces and stoneware wall panels explore the relationship between colour, form and light. Her work is a personal response to different landscapes. Some pieces evoke the rich landscapes of Provence and Barcelona drawing upon hilltop towns, mountains, cypress trees and weathered buildings. The surface textures, colours and proportions of stone and plaster walls, sun bleached shutters and doors are documented and abstracted in her latest work. Closer to home, the rock formations and coastlines of the Cornish and Welsh landscapes are also represented.
Melanie hopes to give a sense of place but also to leave her work open to the viewer’s own interpretation so that they can draw on their own experience and create their own meaning. Her work is hand-built from white stoneware clay. It is carved and layered with coloured slips and stains. She then apply multiple glazes to create rich, varied textures and contrasting surfaces.
Graduating from Buckinghamshire College in 1990 with a degree in Ceramics, Melanie now works from her garden studio in Kings Heath, Birmingham and exhibits across the UK. As part of Made in Kings Heath Open Studio Art Trail, Melanie Keevil will be showcasing her work at Silversoles Studio at 129 Hazelhurst Road, Kings Heath on Saturday 30th November 11am – 5pm & Sunday 1st December 11am -4pm alongside jewellers Miranda Sharpe, Rita Patel, felt maker Emma Jackson (Silversoles) and product designer Monobrow.