When we meet Linda Pitcher she is standing behind a stall of her work at New Designers 2025. The hand-thrown porcelain vases instantly stand out for their bright pops of colour but getting closer we see the sketchy black outline of various British landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Trafalgar Square.
The wonderful energy and vivacious quality in the sketches comes from Linda’s unique approach to decorating her ceramics - she chooses to draw directly onto her pots on site.
“Drawing on location your heart beats! You are chasing that moment in time: The excitement when a person cycles past, or the stance of people when they interact. I want to capture the essence of the scene and translate that into my mark making.”
Linda throws each porcelain vase on the wheel in her workshop in Herefordshire - something she describes as "a meditative process where all I can hear are the sheep in the fields or can look out of the window and see the blackbirds sunning themselves on the lawn".
Time passes quickly at this stage, Linda explains, when you are engrossed in the process of throwing, trimming, drying and then bisque firing at 1060°C. Once bisque-fired, the pots are ready to be handled and taken on location for the drawing stage, and infused with the liveliness of their surrounding.
“When drawing on location, you are experiencing the noises, smells and excitement of the surroundings. You find you draw instinctively and only capture the essentials of what you want ‘to say’.
I also have discovered that drawing on location distracts the attention from myself, as people are genuinely curious in what you are doing. I am quite happy to listen whilst working about people’s lives and the history of the location and it becomes quite a sociable occasion.”
Painting and drawing on location wasn’t something new to Linda. Self-taught, she used to nurture her skills by taking herself on holiday or days out to sketch on location. One of her favourite locations to sketch is Trafalgar Square London as “the architecture and statues sit beautifully for balanced compositions, together with the hustle and bustle of people.” Linda also loves drawing and painting animals - “it's their expressions and stance that attracts me” she explains. But it is painting and drawing fast that truly allows Linda to express herself fully.
Linda is clearly very passionate about the work she is presenting at New Designers, but also seems surprised by her own success, having come through considerable adversity to get there. Attached to Linda’s ceramics is not just a fascinating story of the unique process behind their creation, but Linda’s own impressive story of perseverance and the power of art to aid on the road to recovery. “You won’t believe that I’ve made it here” she enthuses and hands us a leaflet containing a printed article - a written account of her story from The Guardian.
Linda experienced PTSD following skin cancer surgery which involved a large area of skin on her nose being removed. For months following the surgery, Linda couldn’t leave the house and avoided answering her front door. It was during a therapy session that Linda’s therapist asked her what she missed - “sketching on location” Linda replied.
Growing up with Dyslexia, Linda had often written herself off when it came to formal education but it was rediscovering her love for art that allowed Linda a new sense of freedom and aided her recovery considerably.
Having worked selling tickets at a bus station, as a graphic designer, a print sales representative and married and had two children (all the while continuing to sketch), Linda started her degree in Contemporary Design Crafts at Hereford College of Arts at 58.
“During my degree I was diagnosed as being dyslexic. I have spent all my life blaming myself for being stupid, as I struggled with reading out loud and writing. I have learnt that through art and ceramics, I can express my narrative through mark-making and colour without the need of written word.”
“I’ve also realised that through the actual process of making, such as throwing on the wheel, is good for your mental health: you gain self-worth through your achievements and become resilient to set-backs and learn to pick your head up and keep going.”
Linda also suffers from neuropathy in both legs and arthritis in both hands but she has noticed that during the process of crafting, the chronic pain lessens as you are distracted. Sketching on location has also had a similarly positive impact on Linda’s ability to socialise again.
“Through crafting, I have now discovered that the process of making and final ceramic piece distracts the attention off yourself, and you are able to socialise again. I didn’t realise this until I was having Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT for my PTSD in which I became agoraphobic and suffered social anxiety due to the skin cancer operation in 2019.
The therapist asked what did I miss and it was sketching on location. Hereford Cathedral very kindly allowed me to sketch within the cathedral itself, and I was able to converse again about what I was doing whilst sketching and was able to listen to people's lives.”
“To allow yourself to enjoy crafting and that it is so good for your mental health. Don’t let the setbacks stop you from doing what you love, as crafting gives you the strength to keep going.”
So it was ultimately this duel effect of the therapeutic impact of crafting, and sketching on location which created a way back to socialising - combined with Linda’s own steely determination - that led her to present her work at New Designers 2025, the achievement so much deeper and wide reaching than the expressive porcelain pots that initially drew us to Linda’s stall.
If anyone can show that the process of making art is as important as the art itself, it is Linda Pitcher.
To see more of Linda's work, follow her Instagram here!
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