About

Nettle & Dandy is run by Lou Nicholson, Ceramicist, in Bath, UK.

Lou trained and practiced as an Architect before changing careers into the world of events. Having discovered her love of ceramics at evening classes seven years ago, she now works out of her home studio, her ‘shed of dreams’, where she hand makes and fires all the items you see here. 

"My work is an interplay between my formal architectural training and my affection for land and, particularly seascapes.

The architect in me is drawn to geometry and order, often of a brutalist form, but my heart loves the organic patterns found in nature, and their ever changing interplay with both the elements and natural light.

I love to forage for shells, driftwood, twigs and other found natural items that I can use in my work to create textured surfaces. I mark lines and patterns on to my pieces (sometimes on to raw clay and sometimes with glaze) to represent sketches I have done outside, often by the sea and sometimes of tiny organic forms, pebbles and stones.

I am drawn to forming circles (often pierced) in sculptures; this always represents my ‘focusing on the view’ and I enjoy how these can pull you into a piece.

All of my sculptures are hand built and painted with a number of glazes to capture the fluidity of my thinking at that moment in time and to reflect differing light conditions in the sea and on land. I enjoy how people react differently to glazes, creating their own observations, sometimes jogging a distant memory.

My constant inspiration is the wonderful Barbara Hepworth, and my favourite place in the world is her beautiful garden at Trewyn Studio, St Ives, Cornwall, where I have spent many hours studying her tremendous work."

Thank you for stopping by, I hope that you find a piece you will love having in your home.

Lou Nicholson

2024