Frances Priest is a leading figure in the world of ceramics with a distinct hand and a clear voice as to the relevance and power of craft in contemporary life. Edinburgh has been her home since she graduated from the Ceramics department at Edinburgh College of Art in 1998. With a practice that spans ceramic art, design and craft, Frances’s work has a keen following from private collectors and cultural establishments alike. Her ceramics are part of permanent collections at The National Museums of Scotland, The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and The V&A in London. She is a Homo Faber selected maker and a QEST scholar, too.

In Frances’s own words: 

“I am a pattern obsessive and lover of colour, exploring cultural histories and narratives of ornament through studio ceramics and installations in the built environment. Central to the work is an interest in pattern books as a means of documenting and disseminating languages of ornament, reflecting upon the ever-changing interpretations of ornamental motifs as they move between drawing and material form.”