Lesley McInally’s works are one-of-a-kind, non-functional vessels inspired by changing landscapes, seascapes, weather and historical monuments.
She says, “For me these themes are a starting point from which memories and emotions coalesce. The finished result becomes a vessel with reference to the natural drift and change of forms exposed to the elements over time.”
The clay is manipulated and stretched into a slab. Each slab is then cut, altered and joined to form a vessel. The work is often finished off with a luster firing to highlight the subtle markings.
Lesley is a Scottish ceramic artist now living and working North of Toronto, where she has opened her own studio. She has been a full time artist for the past ten years, exhibiting and selling work through galleries and craft shops through the United Kingdom. McInally also has experience as an art teacher. Her skills as a business owner and her work with ceramics have earned her numerous awards in Scotland.
Following a successful career as a full time ceramic artist producing both functional and sculptural work Lesley immigrated to Canada in 2004. There she continues to explore the medium of clay, selling her ceramics in many galleries, high end craft shows and exhibitions.
Graduating in 1994 Lesley McInally gained her honours degree in Ceramic Design from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, Scotland.
Artist Statement:
Landscape, seascape and historical monuments have had a strong influence in my approach to clay. The new series of work examines the relationship between landscape and manmade structures which were at some point in the past abandoned, leaving it to be transformed through time by the natural forces of its environment; sun, sea, wind and rain.
