Create with joy
Kerrie Illsley
BA Hons Applied Arts
Welcome
I'm a ceramic artist with a deep interest in childhood, kinship, and the quiet ways we carry memory.
My work explores how personal and inherited moments layer over time - how they stay with us, shift, and resurface. I reflect on ideas of nostalgia and preservation, capturing meaningful moments in ceramic form.
Studio practice
Sculptures are created from high-fire clay using traditional coiling and hand-building techniques, made thoughtfully one at a time. Every piece is original, signed, and numbered.
About the Artist
Kerrie Illsley is a ceramic artist whose work centres on sculptural beings known as Nummias - devoted vessels that sit somewhere between object and companion.
Her practice is shaped by the instinctive creativity of childhood, revealing unexpected humour and emotional presence in the everyday objects that share our spaces.
Formed as singular ceramic pieces without moulds or casting and released in small batches, the Nummias balance playfulness with sensitivity. While they often appear humorous or gently mischievous, they also resonate on a deeper level - inviting reflection on companionship, presence, and the subtle comfort of the things we live alongside.
As her practice has developed, Kerrie’s work has become increasingly shaped by an awareness of memory and mortality - a quiet understanding that the objects we surround ourselves with often outlive us, holding traces of humour, tenderness, and human experience.
Working from her studio in the UK, Kerrie creates sculptures that explore how even the smallest forms can carry a surprising emotional presence within the quiet rituals of everyday life.
