By: PALMER, Naomi

Acq. Number: 906

Dimensions: height 46 cm (largest piece)

Artwork_Medium: Parian porcelain, foraged post-industrial materials

Purchased: 2024

Buyer: RENTON Andrew – CASW Hibbard Prize 2024

Location: Nantgarw China Works

Town: Nantgarw

Content: Naomi Palmer made these porcelain lamp shades as part of a larger installation for her ceramics degree show at Cardiff School of Art and Design in 2024. This selection of five shades was made to create a site-specific installation at Nantgarw China Works Museum. Inspired by the industrial heritage of the Valleys, Naomi combines translucent parian porcelain with post-industrial materials such as ironstone, iron slag and clay, sourced and foraged from the landscape around Blaenafon, layering the clays using the Japanese technique known as nerikomi. This work has found an ideal permanent home in the post-industrial setting of Nantgarw China Works. [Accession number: NGATM.2025.111] Image © Naomi Palmer

Notes: Naomi Palmer is from Pontypool and lives and works in the South Wales Valleys. After graduating with a BA in Ceramics from Cardiff School of Art and Design in 2024, she was awarded a Graduate Residency at Cardiff’s Fireworks Clay Studios for 2024-2025. She is inspired by the rich industrial heritage of the Valleys, aiming in her work to convey something of its landscape, geology and history. She combines translucent parian porcelain with post-industrial materials such as ironstone, iron slag and clay, sourced and foraged from the landscape around Blaenafon. She layers the clays using the Japanese technique known as nerikomi. The area’s specific geology and history, combined with light, enable her to create unique colours, textures and patterns.