Josie Warshaw trained in ceramics at Harrow College of Art. Her work has never fitted the ‘commitment’ category of repeating a successful ‘result’ formula; her past work was often led by vessel-based ceramic appreciation, but is less so now.
Warshaw’s work is made in small, one-off batches whose themes centre on personal events or life phases dealing with parenting, living in London, creative life, connecting with people in a community, and more recently looking back to youth and simply the quiet meditation of fixing push bikes. Symbols within the work are used to suggest parts of the overall thoughts or themes.
The piece in the Currell Collection is from a small group of work exploring isolation as a result of single parenting. To build a narrative, Warshaw brings together visual symbols such as keys, houses and cars to create a sense of the domestic home in an empty street, and the walk and view from workshop to home, while the perfume bottles represent a promise to look after oneself whilst caring for another.
Warshaw continues to make ceramics and teach part-time at the City Lit. in Covent Garden, London.
Artist website: www.josiewarshaw.co.uk