About

Hello! I’m Kate Russell. I design and make Skratch Studio products at my home in South Wales. I established the business in 2017 after discovering my love of creating decorative ceramics, and I have since expanded my practice to include painting and printmaking.

I use a variety of techniques, including slab-building, pinching, coiling and slip-casting, to handbuild my ceramic pieces in porcelain or white stoneware. I then decorate them by painting with coloured underglazes and scratching designs in the clay surface. Each piece is unique and handpainted.

Carving clay has evolved into carving lino to make prints, and now I'm also experimenting with etching and painting. There is never enough time for all the routes I want to expore!

Many influences feed into my work. I grew up in Cumbria, with the beautiful Lake District on our doorstep, then went on to study History of Art at university. My heart is happiest when I'm in the mountains and much of my current work is focused on rugged landscapes of mountains and coastlines. The Scottish Highlands and Islands, Donegal in Ireland and South West Cornwall are some of my favourite holiday spots, and the places where my mind tends to wander back to when I have a paintbrush or carving tool in my hand.

Plus, of course, there are the gorgeous landscapes of the Welsh countryside where we've made our family home. Welsh culture and folk art - especially quilts, embroidery and love-spoons - have been a huge influence in my work. I'm drawn to the continuity of these traditional arts and their translation into contemporary practice. I also often reference antique Welsh and Delftware pottery, but always with an intent to create original designs that build on the centuries of art and craft tradition that have gone before me.