North Devon Artists Vicky Lindo and Bill Brooks create highly sought-after ceramics inspired by cats, owls, bears and horses. One series has also focused on Vicky’s lost father. Find these collectables at the V&A or online.
UK’s North Devon has a lot to offer. Beautiful coastlines, stunning countryside, and artist, Vicky Lindo whose work, alongside partner Bill Brooks, has caught the eye and the imagination of the art world. With international clients as well as inclusion in UK galleries they also have a collection at the Victoria and Albert in London.
You have to move swiftly to purchase the work which sells out rapidly.
A vase, Cats with Medieval Faces, is a £14,500 investment in British art.
Vicky comments, “I heard the phrase ‘People with medieval faces’ on the radio and it immediately conjured a grim looking group. If you Google cats with medieval faces you are bombarded with hundreds of images. I have tried to capture a gruesome collection, although any gang of cats is a dream for me.”
After art school in Hereford, Vicky and Bill returned to North Devon, to Bideford, a small market town. They took jobs – Vicky in a local museum and Bill at Barometer World. From there, things took off.
From Pottery Class to the V&A
After having her daughter, Vicky took a pottery evening class, and the couple’s reputation grew. They now have adjoining studios in Bideford and work full time on their collections.
Vicky and Bill work mainly with ceramics. Bill casts the clay, which is an art form in itself and Vicky decorates. She uses the ‘sgraffito’ technique where a layer of different colour is carved through to reveal a contrasting colour. Their work also has a strong narrative element which makes it even more interesting.
Ceramic Cats, Bears and Horses
Vicky loves animals, and her work is inspired by them. She is known for her cats – she said every time she sees a cat she wants to be near it, and her ceramic cats are stunning. The faces on the cats have evolved over time and she decorates them in different ways with different messages.
There are bears, horses and plates in their collection as well as pots. It is a collection of pots that belong to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The V&A has one of the best ceramics collection in the world. Having your work there is something most artists can only dream of, but Vicky and Bill, in 2020 achieved that.
The Dead Dad Book
From cats to people, Vicky’s inspiration is intensely personal. The V&A bought a collection of twelve pots inspired by Vicky’s story, ‘The Dead Dad Book.’
This refers to a book kept by her mother and siblings after her father’s death. He left them when Vicky was young and they only learned of his death 7 years after he passed away in a wood in Ireland.
The book inspired a collection of 12 pots, each one telling a different aspect of her father’s story. Beautiful, creative and personal, it’s something of an honour that she shared them with the world and fitting that they reside in the V&A.
Learn more about Vicky and Bill and their work with this YouTube video
Vicky Lindo
X (Twitter): @Vicky_Lindo
Instagram: vickylindo
