The Apple

The Apple is my first ceramics project. One that began with a rediscovery of the artist I once was. A part of me that had been set aside over the years in pursuit of stability, only to realise that the feeling of emptiness was slowly creeping up on me, and something essential had been left behind.

The idea for this project was sparked by an apple I sculpted as a child. A piece I had long believed was lost. Seeing it again reignited something within me, and became the starting point for this body of work.

I’ve come to believe that a craft can evolve alongside the maker. Some projects are not defined by a single moment of completion, but instead unfolds over time, growing through different stages of life.

The first pieces of The Apple were finished in black. Intentionally subdued, allowing the form to exist quietly rather than demand attention. It reflects how, in life, we are often drawn to what is immediately striking, and in doing so, may overlook what holds deeper meaning beneath the surface. The apple was made as a jar to suggest that what appears understated may hold something of real value within.

In the next stage, I began creating apples without glaze, stripping back the surface to reveal something more raw. It became a way of expressing a shedding of the old self, and a movement towards something more essential.

The apple then evolved to a red finish. A return of colour, symbolising a renewed sense of vitality and passion. Because perhaps the greatest loss is not the absence of recognition, but the loss of the ability to express oneself fully and passionately from within.