Kuunsilta, 2023

Nancy Fuller graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, with a degree in Fine Art Printmaking and went on to obtain a MA in the History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A Mandarin scholarship took her back to Taiwan, her country of birth, and it was there that she discovered the art of wood-firing. To design and build her own wood-kiln in Aberdeenshire, she undertook a year-long training with anagama master Suzuki Shigeji in Shigaraki, Japan. Since then, her wood-firing journey has taken her to Europe, Australia, and the US where she has both undertaken residencies and participated in symposiums.

‘The presence of mind and body required for wood-firing has brought me closer to nature and in turn myself. Over time, the results produced from my anagama in Aberdeenshire have increasingly felt like a collaboration with the natural world and a celebration of what it is to be human. Tangible within each piece, formed of earth and born from fire, is the combined expression of a specific landscape, a time of year and me, the maker. The discoveries made through working with the unknown is what continues to motivate me, with the ever-shifting factors contributing to an alchemical process, creating pots which reveal themselves over time, thus becoming holding spaces for contemplation.’ – Nancy Fuller