Katie Braida is a ceramicist who creates hand-built sculptural vessels and forms, guided by an intuitive response to clay. Her practice is rooted in material exploration—allowing the process of making to inform the final piece. Working with soft clay coils and slabs, she lets the material dictate movement and direction, resulting in organic, evolving forms.

Surface and texture play a vital role in her work. Inspired by the rhythms and patterns of both natural and man-made environments, Braida layers her forms with intricate markings, creating a tactile surface that invites interaction. Colour is built up gradually using slips, oxides, and underglazes, producing subtle tonal variations and a sense of depth. She often incorporates terra sigillata slips, achieving a satin-like finish reminiscent of raw clay before firing. The contrast between exterior textures and darkened, metallic, or light-filled interiors adds another dimension, encouraging curiosity and exploration.

Braida sees touch as integral to both the making and experience of her work. Whether arranged on plinths to shift perception from functional to sculptural or displayed as a collection to invite rearrangement, her vessels exist in conversation—with one another and with the viewer.

Having worked with clay since childhood, she studied ceramics at degree level before teaching for several years. For the past seven years, she has worked full-time as a ceramicist, exhibiting at national ceramics fairs, completing commissions for both private and public collections, and creating pieces for homes, gardens, and corporate spaces.

Awards & Recognition

• Exhibited at national ceramics fairs

• Public commissions, including work for local hospitals

• Work held in private and corporate collections