Pippa Grace

I have been working in Bristol as a socially engaged artist, sculptor and writer for 23 years. I moved my sculpture practise to InBristol Studio in 2021.

I work mostly in ceramics, with some pieces then recreated in bronze resin. Occasionally I create larger sculptures for events, in willow, metal and paper mache. My sculptures are figurative, studying human, animal and tree forms. At times my pieces weave together stories from folklore and fairytale, creating mythical creatures and allegorical relationships. I am fascinated by working with figures in solitude, and in partnership, the different feelings these can evoke and the different stories they tell.

In my socially engaged arts practise I work with stories, both personal and collective. I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that the telling of these stories has an intrinsic value, both to the teller and their community. I run groups facilitating people’s creative telling of their stories, using a range of media. In turn, my sculptures explore the ways in which stories are frequently embedded within our bodies.

For the past 12 years I have specialised in working with women, exploring issues including motherhood, grand-motherhood, menarche, the female body and trauma. In 2019 I published ‘Mother in the Mother’, an anthology of local women’s stories of Maternal Lineage.

As well as sculpting, I run seasonal ‘Creativity for the Soul’ workshops. Groups that gently encourage participants to recover their creative selves, and connect at a deeper level with themselves, their communities and the natural world.

All of my work is grounded by an ongoing fascination with, and research into, the healing qualities of literature, myth, fairytale, storytelling, dream and archetype. Story, in all its rich forms, is one of my greatest interests and joys, and forms the backbone of my practise.