Livia Garrod is a material and process-driven multi-media artist, whose current and ongoing Allotment Pots series explores the nature and quality of wild clay.

Pots have been and will always be a symbol of sharing and community. Allotment Pots are physical manifestations of the community working with clay, where the artist has discovered a messy and experimental collaborative process charged by pooling together technical support, experience, and advice.

They get their name from the earth from which they are conceived, starting as mud on the artist’s dad’s allotment plot. Having the opportunity to embark on this process with her dad has become fundamental to the work.

‘My Dad is a fixer and a maker. Working with his hands every day he holds an instinctual resourcefulness and know-how that cannot be taught but learnt through practice and experience.’

The distinction between knowledge and know-how has felt a constant splinter to the artist’s university experience, where the former often feels more valued than the latter. Therefore, it is no surprise that the artist has found refuge in clay and its non-discriminatory quality; refusing to be taught but urging to be learnt through patience, nurture, and experimentation.

Instagram: @_liviagarrodart