Meet The Geelong Artist Making Adorable Tiny Ceramic Chairs
Studio Visit
Emily’s recent exhibition Common Folk brought her tiny chairs to Boom Gallery in December last year.
The collection was a celebration of the utilitarian items we seek comfort in every day.
Each piece is handbuilt in her Geelong studio before being painted with unique glaze details and fired.
Emily with her detailed tiny chairs!
The pieces measure in at around seven centimetres tall!
Ceramic artist Emily Brookfield always knew she would do something creative.
Perhaps what she didn’t expect is that this love of making would lead her down a path making miniature chairs from slabs of stoneware clay.
‘I’ve tried my hand at graphic design, visual merchandising, illustration, ecommerce styling, copywriting, retail, soap making, photography. You name it, if it’s creative I’ve probably given it a go,’ Emily says.
‘But nothing has ever captured my focus the way ceramics has, and I think that’s because there are so many avenues to take and you’re forever a student learning the medium. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing it for one year or 50 years, there is always something to learn.’
After first falling in love with the art form during a ‘humbling’ local pottery class about a decade years ago, Emily has gone from student to the teacher, now educating others at various studios around Victoria alongside being a full-time maker.
‘My practice is driven by how we relate to one another, what we place value on, our sense of belonging, like where we’ve come from and what shapes us now,’ she adds.
This nostalgic lens first pushed her to focus on the stories between us, and our functional wares, having made everything from vessels to mugs, bowls, and more before turning her attention to a different kind of household object: chairs, reimagined at just seven-centimetres tall!
Inspiration for her these tiny pieces started with her interest in a unique wooden chair she’d found at the op shop. Slightly damaged, it wasn’t used for sitting in her home, but it still held her interest whenever she laid eyes on it.
‘So I decided to take the chair, a common household item and alter the scale so that its original function is no longer functional,’ she explains.
‘I wanted to make something that we use every day and turn it into an heirloom. Something that conjures feelings of nostalgia.’
Her recent exhibition at Boom Gallery brought these ideas full circle.
Drawing on Emily’s own memories learning to paint folk art at the back of a haberdashery shop, the collection is full of storybook-style handpainted details, and despite the collection’s tiny scale — installed in the gallery’s vibrant front window — the work has inspired a big reaction.
‘I have a lot of people reaching out to me telling me that the chairs remind them of a moment in their childhood or a memory of their loved ones,’ she says.
While Emily’s proud of this quirky niche, she’s confident the only constant of her work is that its always changing.
‘I don’t like boxing myself into one style,’ Emily says.
‘I can guarantee I’ll be making something completely different in five years from now, but I am sure these tiny chairs will be featuring in my practice for a very long time.’