Inspired by our research into the Wellcome Collection’s votives, we created our own votive pieces under the tuition of ceramicist Bev Meyer. Throughout this project I’ve become increasingly interested in how images and mark making can inclusively share stories, and so it felt fitting to bring Bev into the project with her experience (see project blogs one and two for more about the process).

Drawing on the group member’s lived experience, what LGBTQ+ gynae health means to them individually, and the conversations we’ve had whilst exploring the Wellcome Collection, everyone designed and made their own votives. Although we all made something different, the initial idea was to make our pieces roughly the same size - so that they could be collectively displayed as one coherent piece. Sarah-Jane made palm-sized votives but also wanted to produce something different. So she worked with Bev over several extra sessions to realise her idea of creating a series of ‘Giant Endometrioid Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma’ votives. You can see some of her votives below, and read the background to the pieces in this artwork in focus blog piece.

I wanted to work with Bev as she takes a sustatinable approach to her practice. This was important to me and aligned with my commitment to green freelancing and the climate emergency.

“Sustainability is a key consideration in every project I undertake, and I always aim to make my ceramic practice as environmentally responsible as possible. Within ceramics, this can take many forms, including firing at lower temperatures, exploring unfired work, sourcing locally available natural materials such as clay and wood ash for glazes, recycling unused clay, minimising water use during making, and using renewable energy wherever possible. My studio is powered in part by solar panels, which contribute to the electricity used to fire my kiln, helping to reduce the environmental impact of the firing process. This project was no exception. My initial intention was to source clay locally. However, the naturally occurring clay around Manchester is predominantly terracotta, which is not well suited to raku firing and does not showcase the rich colours and tonal variations created by metal oxides in saggar firing. It also matures at a lower temperature, making it less suitable for the firing methods used in this project, and I was concerned that it would be more prone to cracking during firing. Saggar firing was chosen because it aligns well with my sustainable approach. The work is first bisque fired at a relatively low temperature before being wrapped in natural combustible materials such as dried plants and fruit skins, with small amounts of powdered metal oxides added to create surface effects. This process avoids the need for conventional glazes, many of which contain significant quantities of processed or heavy metal materials. The wrapped pieces are then fired in a barrel using sustainably sourced wood, allowing the natural materials to create distinctive markings and colours on the ceramic surface. Alongside the saggar-fired work, we also explored raku firing. Like saggar firing, raku is a relatively low-temperature, rapid-firing process, helping to reduce overall energy use compared with higher-temperature ceramic techniques. At the end of the workshop, all remaining materials were either reused, recycled, or repurposed, ensuring that waste was kept to a minimum throughout the project.” (Bev Meyer)

Below photography credits: All photographs by Marge (with the exception of Vulva Shrines taken by Bev Meyer)