Future Lights
2017

In September 2017 Sophie became one of six ceramic artists to win the Future Lights competition, the third round of the European competition. 
 “The Future Lights competition is designed to build new bridges and provide a platform for recent graduates to further their careers.”Wilhelm Siemen, Director, Porzellanikon

Fellow winning artists Chloe Dowds, Maria Gasparin, Ahrun Lee, Weronika Lucinska, and Julia Schuster.  

The first part of the prize was to exhibit at Ambiente, Frankfurt in February 2018. The second part of the prize was a two week design project at Villeroy and Boch in Germany and Luxembourg. 

Image - work in progress at the Villeroy and Boch factory in Luxembourg

---

Villeroy and Boch Chateau

The two week workshop at Villeroy and Boch was split between two locations, the first week in Mettlach and the second week in Luxembourg. V&B was hugely accommodating, the winners spent the two weeks in two beautiful Chateaus. 
The project set by Villeroy and Boch was to design and make a surprising gift. Sophie designed a stacking Tea Caddy, made of three sections. Each section has a deep foot that sits within the top of the container below it. The lower containers are interchangeable.  
​

Week One

The first week was spent at the headquarters of Villeroy and Boch in Mettlach. Sophie and the other winners worked alongside master mould-maker Mr Helmut Frank to create their models in plaster. The group worked within the factory, staying across the river in a beautiful chateau. Sophie worked on the whirler to create plaster models correct to 0.5mm. From these models, she then made moulds. 
The accuracy of the models was incredibly important to ensure that the mould-making process went smoothly. 

Week Two

The second week was spent at the Villeroy and Boch factory and showroom in Luxembourg. With the help and support of Floriano and Mario Sophie began casting with her new moulds. Her design included a coloured foot to each container, with a different coloured interior. Sophie experimented with colouring the porcelain slip so as to achieve the colour palette in her design. The exteriors were left unglazed, with a transparent glaze coating the interior of each container and the lid.   

​