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Zoe’s current body of work focuses on experimenting with ways to incorporate colour into clay. While she is drawn to the immediacy of colour in painting and drawing, the extreme temperatures clay bodies endure during firing make colour integration slightly trickier. Yes, of course, glaze can be applied to introduce colours into ceramics—but much like the raw, natural feel of paper, you lose that essence of clay when it’s covered with a glaze. Instead, Zoe wants to showcase and work with the natural beauty of the clay itself.
Drawing from the tradition of egg tempera, Zoe pigments egg yolk and applies it to porcelain at varying temperatures, allowing the colours to develop—or intentionally burn out—depending on the heat. The egg yolk binder creates a beautiful texture, but her favourite aspect is the luminosity it retains. When applied lightly, the porcelain sings through the paint, resulting in a deep, rich surface that reveals a unique glow where the materiality of the clay and the paint intersect.
From there, Zoe explores the relationship between drawing and ceramics, using each medium to influence and complement the other, allowing the qualities of both to shape her compositions.