Seal Ceramics

Nicola Seal is a self taught potter, living and working in Westhill, Aberdeenshire. Nicola has always had a love of the outdoors. Once a keen mountaineer and climber, she still loves spending time exploring Scotland’s stunning wild spaces.

 

Nicola trained as an entomologist/ecologist. Initially working on malaria mosquitoes and midges, moving to Scotland to work on a project at the University of Aberdeen. She became a freshwater ecologist, spending her days either travelling around to sample bugs and beasties from Scotland’s Burns, Rivers and Lochs, or looking down a microscope at the species collected. Working mainly in the River Spey catchment was an absolute joy, such beautiful scenery.

 

A change of career was needed to accommodate the demands of small children and two chronic illnesses -Lyme disease and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She had long done pottery as a hobby, so decided to turn professional and has never looked back.

 

Now she creates handbuilt pottery from her home studio. Working without the use of a pottery wheel, her pieces reflect the imperfections and asymmetry of nature. No two pieces are alike. The microscopic details of diatoms, algae, and insects are reflected in her work via hand carved textures in the surface.