Modern Childhood 1 Sculpture

Jemma first trained for a BSc in Engineering Product Design, and worked in the fields of industrial design, production, and architectural model making before becoming a teacher of Design and Technology. With experience in making using a very broad range of materials, for a wide range of purposes, ceramics has become the abiding interest with its unique versatility and surface possibilities, the technical challenges and opportunities seem endless. This work explores the constraints imposed by upbringing, expectation, and the need to fit with society. Using cast doll face, fired pins, and necklace, along with the disrupted porcelain surface, and intricate porcelain clothing. The figures show the girls dressed for display, as a plaything, entertainment or ornament. Looks and behaviour are already prescribed. But the work also describes strength, attitude, sisterhood and resistance, the mask as disguise to fit us into the world.