Since leaving Camberwell College of Art in 1998 I have been primarily working with hand built porcelain. My work addresses the boundaries between function and decoration. Form is paramount; function is a driving motivation, but it is the aesthetics of a piece that are key to my making.
My work is very much concerned with the simplicity and beauty of the clay and incorporating pattern and texture as well as glaze to create subtle, unique variations. Thinness and movement are very important in each piece.
‘Justine Allison’s intricately made vessels are eloquent and uplifting. Effectively so because of their unassuming presence. Light is attracted to them, held, and radiates from them. There is a quietude to Justine’s work that reflects both the meditative process of its making and the grace of the finished forms. They are not perfect, they are precise. They have strong lines and soft colours. They are fixed forms that convey movement. They are vessels that make us hold our breath.’
Ceri Jones Curator and Director of Mission Gallery.
I grew up, worked and lived in a busy part of London, and my work reflected that, as I drew inspiration from city life, (buildings, streets, windows, sounds). I now live and work in rural Wales, and encounter a different range of stimuli.