‘Gossamer webs of Autumn
spun across branches of our lives,
reflect motes that gather’
The inspiration for Mary Cowan’s work came from these three lines of the poem. A mote is a tiny piece of substance, a spec or an atom. She began by looking at drawings of the atomic structure of Silver. She then looked at different compositions of these in the search for pleasing layouts. From these layouts, Mary produced a series of six ceramic panels which are heavily textured. She decorated with oxides and dry glazes to emphasise the texture of the clay.

