Held in Form – Sussex Craft Week

Held in Form – Sussex Craft Week

As part of Sussex Craft Week this June, we’re hosting Held in Form — a curated exhibition celebrating the humble bowl. Featuring beautifully made pieces in wood, ceramic, and basketry, this collection explores the bowl as both a practical object and a work of art.

Sussex Craft Week 2025 is the first edition of a new festival of craft to celebrate Sussex’s place as the hub of contemporary craft revival, and the home of heritage craft.  It will be held  14-22 June, in venues across East and West Sussex.

Sussex Craft Week is curated by Review of Sussex Arts, an independent  Community Interest Company, publishers of ROSA Magazine. You can find out more about Sussex Craft Week here

This exhibition, titled Held in Form, explores the bowl as both function and expression. It brings together makers working in wood, ceramic, and basketry—each piece shaped by hand, held in use. From the turned to the woven, the sculpted to the coiled, these vessels embody the dialogue between tradition and contemporary craft. A celebration of form, material, and the artistry of making. We're excited to bring together the following makers:

 

Makers in detail:

Kate Brigden

Kate Brigden is an artist and potter, working from her garden workshop in rural East Sussex. Kate began her creative journey as a painter but turned her hand to clay in 2012. Kate's pieces are all hand-painted,  with a wide range of influences,  from British folk art, the Bloomsbury Group, Matisse and Miró. @katebrigden_pottery

Lisa Dear

My work is is direct relationship with the landscape I inhabit. Willow is woven to the sound of birdsong, handles are sourced while I work with the trees.It's a joy to bring natural materials into the everyday lives of people. @Lisa.dear.maker

Bill and Anthea Gowans

Bill and Anthea of Ashdown Pottery make colourful stoneware pottery inspired by classical forms with a modern twist. Living and working in Ashdown Forest gives them so much inspiration for texture and colour.  Bill makes the glazes which he keeps developing to bring new tones each year.  They make robust pieces that can be enjoyed in a home or garden. @ashdownpottery

Jessica Jordan

Jessica Jordan is deeply inspired by the beauty of corroded surfaces — the contrast between rough and smooth, the intricate lines, patterns, and textures found on weathered stones, wood, glass, and metal. These natural materials, shaped and broken down over time by erosion, are central to the visual language of her work.

She is fascinated by the ever-changing landscape and how it evolves month by month, shaped not only by the forces of nature but also by human activity. From an aerial perspective, the marks left by farming and natural processes create striking patterns across the land. These formations inspire the surface decoration of my ceramics, where I translate the textures and rhythms of the landscape directly onto clay. @jessica_jordan_ceramics

Sarah Line

Sarah Line is a local, weekend ceramicist who forcusses on functional pottery, creating everyday objects that are both beautiful and purposeful, gracing homes across the county and beyond under the name The Coppers Potter.

For the Held in Form exhibition, Sarah is venturing into new territory with sculptural elements and surface design. This new collection marks an exciting and bold step reflecting tactility whilst retaining a functional form. @thecopperspotter

Jubal Prevatte

Jubal has been a lifelong woodworker and began his turning practice in earnest early in 2021. What began as just another process in his furniture and custom carpentry studio soon became a pursuit all of its own. To this day he tries to do his best to let the wood speak, seeing his job as simply one of listening to what the wood is saying and helping it express its own story to the best of his abilities. @jubalprevatte

Sarah Ruthven

Sarah Ruthven is drawn to wild places like the west coast of Cornwall, the Sussex coast line and the undulating and expansive South Downs. Sarah’s ceramic and painting practice feed into each other. Oil paints, palettes, slips and glazes all retain the flowing and malleable landscape that she experiences. @sarahruthvenart

 

 

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