Winter Wastelands artist development commission

Keeping The Fires Burning is a reflective ceramics project by Clay Comrades, a volunteer-led collective based at the British Ceramics Biennial Studios at the historic Spode Works. Working with clay as a social and communal practice, the group used their Winter Wastelands commission to explore the theme pause, return and transform, drawing on shared experiences of uncertainty, isolation and resilience during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Comrades created a series of 10 × 10 cm raku-fired ceramic cubes, each capturing personal concerns, emotions and reflections from 2020. Some were made at home during online making sessions; others were created in brief periods when small groups were able to meet in person. The work documents a community holding itself together through creativity at a time when connection felt fragile.

Clay Comrades describe the studio at Spode as a place of shared learning and mutual support — where ideas, skills, cups of tea and life’s ups and downs are exchanged freely. During lockdown, the group met online for weekly check-ins, keeping creativity alive and maintaining a sense of belonging despite physical distance. Over time, these digital sessions evolved into regular making gatherings, with members working on whatever creative project they had close to hand — clay, knitting, drawing or simply talking.

The project brings together the Comrades’ words and reflections on what it meant to stay connected, to keep creating and to return to the studio after such a long and challenging break. Together, their voices form a portrait of how a creative community survived disruption, supported one another and continued to “keep the fires burning.”