'There is a raw power to the work of Sarah Purvey; a directness. Her ceramic vessels and paintings on canvas or paper are not separate elements that are 'worked on' intellectually; rather, they are immediate expressions of her perceptions and feelings in a moment. In the same way that the wall of a vessel creates both an interior and exterior space, so her work represents a meeting point between the exterior perspective of the spectator and the interior emotions of the artist. She and her work are thus totally conjoined: each piece stands as a diary of unfiltered feelings, produced through a stream of consciousness.'
Ashley Thorpe, 'Forms of Expression', published by the Crowood Press, 2023. (Excerpt from Chapter 17.)
When working, the studio is a quiet space without the disturbance or influence of music or voices on the radio. The time is used to listen, to connect and to respond. The studio creates an intimate space, leaving nowhere to hide, drawing out and exposing the emotional connections found there and allowing the visceral language of drawing to speak for me. It is that responsive action and energy of drawing which leads my practice, resulting in the process becoming both a physically and emotionally charged act.
The sculptural vessel has long served as a carrier for my drawing practice, seeking to capture the flow of energy and dialogue between each form. This new body of work continues that very personal exploration between drawing and ceramic. Flow presents, in essence, as a three-dimensional sketchbook of responses and connections discovered and interrogated throughout the making process. The external surfaces of each monumental vessel are explored through a visceral, responsive language of mark making, each drawing carrying something forward of the last. The internal structure of each of the vessels lays bare the very rhythm of the build, sharing the meditative studio process of constructing a canvas for drawing with clay.