Mercedes Workman

Mercedes Workman

Bio

I am a self-taught artist; predominantly working in ceramics but also other areas of sculpture, painting and drawing. Art became a necessity as opposed to a choice; a way to survive, now it is my livelihood.

I appreciate the physicality of ceramics; the slow process is a juxtaposition to my innate urge to rush. Creating artwork that is deemed useful relieves (female/mother) guilt I have concerning my drive and reasoning. I predominantly make tiles, making something 3D combined with communicating and story-telling, small ways to evoke familiarity, accessible to everyone. An understood object and artform. And useful, often essential. This way of working is something I bring onto other objects and décor within my practice. Domesticity, feminism and the female gaze feature heavily in my work, always humorous, emotional and made with feeling. Inspired by small nuances, making is what I love. I draw and paint on paper and canvas, although my dedication to these practices isn’t as steadfast as ceramics. My painterly style is something which transfers across mediums. I also work in 3D with plaster and moulding. I started to call myself ‘an artist’ in 2022/2023, following the death of my mother while I had 3 very young children in 2020. I had a very short time at UAL Camberwell Foundation course in 2007; always in a rush I didn’t get to the end of the course, finding more satisfaction earning money in work. I made a tile of Tracey Emin’s ‘Everyone I have Ever Slept With 1963-1995’; when I met her I showed her this tile and a year or so later she offered me a studio space in her artist studios, TKE Studios. I moved into my studio at the start of 2023 and it has been here that I have put my energy into being an artist full time. I have exhibited a solo exhibition at the studios and also hosted a solo exhibition from my home in Margate in 2022. I work on private commissions and sales as an income for myself and my three children.

Selected Works