The inspiration for Rowena Brown’s ceramic Houses on Rocks sculptures comes from media images showing the aftermath of environmental and manmade disruption, and also from weather-worn and derelict structures in the Scottish landscape.

Her handmade ceramic buildings are distinguished by their individual surface texture, marks and features. The forms are part-glazed, then raku or stoneware fired. Each of the pieces has its own character. They can be seen as isolated forms, or as part of a group evoking human interaction and community.

The ceramic process reinforces a sense of destruction and irrevocable change. The pieces show a real and implied history acquired by their passage through fire and smoke. Yet they somehow have a stillness and solitude. They become vessels for reminiscence and contemplation.