About

The ingredients list I draw on to make new work is long and varied: clay, drawing, ornament, pattern, form, colour, composition, movement, process, the human hand, place, people, stories, memories, collections and collecting, with each new project bringing a different weight or emphasis. I enjoy the movement between my solitary studio practice and working collaboratively on commissions in the built environment. Ideas cross pollinate and the boundaries between art, craft and design are pleasingly malleable.

A short film by Cro+Kow

Languages of ornament form the building blocks of my work. The process by which a pattern is constructed is endlessly fascinating, even soothing, as gestures of making and material build up to create a whole. Motifs seem fugitive to me, always on the move, popping up in different forms and in different places.

The desire to ornament is almost universal, even the most devout minimalist will make decisions about embellishment. I enjoy the democratic nature of the art form. Patterns can describe and define a place, they can reveal personal histories and cultural identity, or they can simply be a joyful expression of what it is to be a human.

Finding places to apply these interests is under constant investigation. Give me your walls and your floors! I can clad them from corner to cornice, or I can subtly intervene with a perfectly placed decorative detail.  Both options hold a delight. I like to collaborate, with commissioners, architects and interior designers, with manufacturers and with fellow makers. Tiles are a particular passion but I am open to suggestions on what, why and where.  Please get in touch if you would like to talk about an idea - Contact

Otherwise you can find me working away in the studio, inscribing, inlaying, painting and constructing ceramic surfaces and forms. These works can predominantly be found with the brilliant galleries I work with. Get in touch for a chat about available work - Galleries

A small selection of tiles and objects are now available exclusively through the new studio shop. Browse through the first in a series of Encaustic Floral Motif Tiles, suitable for walls, floors and table tops. Plus a new group of Bud Vases, Roundels and Decorative Jars to be relased in June 2025 - Shop

Commissions

From an exquisite embellishment in a private residence,
a vibrant backdrop to a theatre space or thoughtful way finding along a hospital corridor, Frances has a unique understanding of how to introduce ornament into the fabric of the world around us.

“there is an intellectual clarity to how she approaches things…she is telling stories in her work, it evokes memories, her ceramics are a device. It inspires, it nourishes, it encourages you to think more about how ornament is important”.

Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites interviewed by Sarah Rothwell The Decorative Arts Journal 

Got an idea for a commission ...

Get in touch with Frances

Awards

Logo 1

HIGHLY COMMENDED
PATIENTS CHOICE

June 2020

Logo 2

HIGHLY COMMENDED
BEST COLLABORATIVE ARTS PROJECT

June 2020

Logo 3

BCB AWARD
SHORTLISTED
OCTOBER 2009

Logo 4

Arts & Business Awards
Commendation

February 2016

Logo 5

COVE PARK
SCOTTISH CRAFT RESIDENCY

MAY 2012

Logo 6

CREATIVE SCOTLAND
ARTISTS BURSARY
JULY 2021

Logo 7

EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART
ANDREW GRANT SCHOLARSHIP

AUGUST 1998

Logo 8

INCHES CARR TRUST
CRAFT BURSARY

MAY 2012

Logo 9

HOPE SCOTT TRUST
AWARD
APRIL 2025

Logo 10

JOHN SMEDLEY CRAFT PRIZE
SHORTLISTED
MARCH 2022

Logo 11

QEST Johnnie Walker
Scholarship

June 2020

Logo 12

SCOTTISH ARTS COUNCIL
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD

AUGUST 2002

Logo 13

WESLEY BARRELL CRAFT AWARD
SHORTLISTED
JUNE 2014

Collaborators

Logo 1
Logo 2
Logo 3
Logo 4
Logo 5
Logo 6
Logo 7
Logo 8
Logo 9
Logo 10
Logo 11
Logo 12
Logo 13
Logo 14
Logo 15
Logo 16
Logo 17
Logo 18
Logo 19
Logo 20

Press & Publications

Take a look through the studio press archive, from Scottish Homes & Interiors to Harpers Bazaar. For a more in depth view of recent studio work, read the exhibition essay by writer, Ashley Thorpe, commissioned for the 2024 solo exhibition, Unfixing. For an overview of Frances’ evolving practice, explore work held in the National Museum of Scotland with curator, Sarah Rothwell in her essay, Capturing Decorative Art for The Decorative Arts Journal 2021.