Mella is a ceramic artist who, in her own words, ‘uses clay to make objects and site-specific installations centred around reoccurring themes of balance, tipping points, thresholds and edges’. Mella’s professional career has been fascinatingly rich: from documentary film-making to a curatorial role at the V&A in London, rising to become head of exhibitions at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and then the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge. Following her long-held interest in ceramics, in 2009 she embarked on a diploma at City Lit, London, and then an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art. Based in her hometown of Edinburgh again since 2017, today Mella is the Ceramics Tutor at the Royal College of Art, and also at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop nearby Bard, where she has her studio. Mella was the recipient of the British Ceramics Biennial Award in 2013 for her spellbinding project ‘Sounding Line’. The installation addressed the devastating effect of marine sonar on whales and other cetaceans. The sculptures were made from clay that included bone from a beached whale, wrapped in rope that vibrated with the pulse of sonar. Visitors were invited to touch the rope to feel the vibration through their bodies.

What role does craft play in daily life?

Being a maker I get to work with a material I love, draw attention to things that are important, tell stories, make connections through and with clay. It is quite literally life. All the fun. All the play. All the attention to detail. All the hard work and satisfaction. That’s the role craft plays in my life.

What does Scottishness mean to you?

Home; pure and simple. Where the heart of my family lies. That and the sea. Swimming in the sea with all the other hardy souls on any day of the year. No fuss, just a bracing walk in and a hot drink and a wee shivery bite afterwards. The euphoric sense of achievement when shivering in a wet towel on the sand (in August or in January, the same!). I love that