“Now Is My Time to Go for It”
A Newtownabbey mum who’s recently bagged a prestigious Royal Ulster Academy Award is turning her passion for pottery into a full-time business.
By Mandi Millar
As a trauma nurse co-ordinator in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital, Newtownabbey woman Denise McAuley sees daily the fragility of life.
It’s why the mum of four is determined to grasp the unexpected opportunities she’s been given and forge a new path in her mid-fifties. Fired by a lifelong passion for pottery, she’s now hoping to become a full-time artist.
“My last 20 years in nursing have been a privilege, you get a wee window into people’s lives,” says Denise (53).
“I’ve met so many people in that time and you see that life is actually very short. We only get a certain window in which to do things and it’s why you should always go for it rather than wait.”
“So many people can feel capped when they leave school, feel that’s all they’ll achieve, yet increasingly women especially are realising this needn’t be so,” says Denise, who’s gradually developed her childhood interest into a hobby and a potential career.
What began with a toy potter’s set from Santa when she was eight recently culminated in the Royal Ulster Academy’s prestigious Best Newcomer Award. And that’s been the catalyst to moving full-time into her business, Moneyvart Ceramics.
“I was so shocked to get the award as I genuinely suffer from imposter syndrome,” admits Denise, who actually channelled that emotion into her winning entry, Materia Medica, a series of four ceramic bottles inspired by antique pharmaceutical vessels.
Each bottle is distorted to represent tension, labelled with the ailments of modern life and contains a delicate porcelain scroll, a prescription if you like.
“The concept is based on the idea of a prescriptive message in a bottle. The vessels embody the human form, fragile yet resilient, speaking to the strength and vulnerability within us all: burnout, imposter syndrome, vulnerability, estrangement,” explains Denise, though she’s also keen to ensure her audience knows there’s humour there too.
“The writing on the vessels draws you in. The quirkiness of them and their messages lightens the mood a bit, for gallery spaces can often feel like very serious places.
“And it’s important not to lose that sense of fun. You see this in The Great Pottery Throwdown for instance. It’s the fun that really connects with the audience. It’s like there’s a dance, a kinetic energy, between the clay material and your hands, a playfulness.”
That light touch is arguably one of the reasons Denise’s work is speaking to a growing fan base and comes from the fact she’s largely self-taught. Having never taken art GCSE or A-level at school, she isn’t afraid to break rules.
“Because of that I might try something with a glaze or the clay that a formally trained ceramicist wouldn’t. Sometimes I don’t get the effect I was expecting but I like the outcome anyway. I call those happy accidents!” laughs Denise, who left school and spent seven years in insurance before embarking on her nursing degree when she was 27.
“I had always been a very creative child but despite being creative at secondary school there was an attitude that if you weren’t going to become a ‘great artist’ there was no point pursuing art.”
However, a chance conversation at a party one night inspired her to revisit her early creativity and, as a result, in 2017 she enrolled in a 10-week pottery class at Ulster University, which she did for three years running until the outbreak of Covid.
“I was completely hooked. I just felt at home amongst the wheels and kilns. It was such a creative and inspirational space to be in and I felt like I found my tribe,” says Denise, who by now had invested in a second-hand wheel which she installed in her garage.
“After a nursing shift during Covid it was great to go into the garage with a bag of clay and just make pots.”
Over those months Denise honed her technique before taking the plunge and enrolling on a full-time HND course at Belfast Met in ceramic product design, working her nursing rota around that as well as her busy family life.
“It was an amazing experience with only about 12 of us on the course, each bringing something unique to every project,” says Denise, whose own inspiration was fired by her love of nature.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors since I was a child. My mother’s family comes from the shores of Lough Neagh in Tyrone and I spent every summer there, so nature and the outdoors are a huge part of who I am and what my art is about.
“I then discovered the Antrim Coast through my husband Ciaran’s family, some of which originate from Cushendall, Co. Antrim. That is how I chose the name of my business, ‘Moneyvart Ceramics’, the name of the townland we frequently visit.”
“For me the stone walls, coastal erosion, geology and land slippage translate perfectly into the world of clay and glaze. Inspiration comes also from the structure of organic matter, flower shapes and things created in nature,” says Denise, who’s looking forward to a busy year.
Her work is already on display at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace and other outlets. She’s featuring in a new exhibition with County Antrim Open Studios and fellow makers at Antrim Castle’s Clotworthy House Oriel Gallery until February 27. From March 6 to 8, you’ll find her at the Love Your Home Exhibition at Lisburn’s IKON Centre.
“It’s been a natural progression but pottery has really become my main job. My nursing colleagues even appreciate there’s something there that I should pursue,” says Denise.
“It’s been an exciting time with a lot of chain reactions happening, but opportunities don’t wait for you. You have to go with them to maintain that momentum.
“Thanks to the support of my family though, I feel that now is my time to go for it.”
For more, visit instagram.com/moneyvartceramics or moneyvartceramics.co.uk.
