This is a page for my Mum’s work. She was an artist and maker and made drawings, paintings and textile pieces throughout her life. She most recently focussed on ceramics, which she got into in 2014 when she started accompanying my Grandpa to a local ceramics course. She completed her MA in Glass and Ceramics based at The National Glass Centre, University of Sunderland in 2022. She was awarded 1st prize - best in ceramics from Sedgefield Pottery Supplies at her MA show.

She spent a lot of time in recent years in her garden shed studio trying things out, testing techniques and ideas, practicing, and creating. Her work was very process-focussed and curious. She was initially more shy and reserved about sharing her work, unsure about it being ‘good enough’. I’m really happy that she was spending time doing what she loved and was feeling more confident about sharing her work when she died, though that of course comes with the sadness that she hasn’t gotten to make and share more. I’m really proud of her. She was an incredibly encouraging mum and I’m really glad to have my art practice as a way of connecting to her.

Artist Statement written by Mum, Salote Koto (1969 - 2023)

My practice is an exploration of my heritage; a visual interpretation of simultaneously belonging to and moving between three very different cultures. Marks and pattern combine the ancestral with the contemporary, and strive to connect the past with the present, and Oceania with Europe. From this diasporic perspective, I create imaginative, tangible objects exploring the notion of “home”.

I use a variety of techniques and materials to create the familiar and familial, the decorative and the functional. I carve, weave, draw, mark, colour and just simply enjoy the physical act of making with my hands to create pieces that hopefully give joy to others.

My heritage is of Fijian (iTaukei) and Finnish descent, and British and Finnish nationality. Koto is my Fijian birth name, and also happens to be an old Finnish word meaning “home”.