There is a stunning exhibition of ceramics by Pauline Bamden in the Rope Store Gallery at Quay Arts in Sea Street, Newport Harbour at the moment and I urge you to go and feast your eyes.

Pauline is an artist based at her studio and home on the Esplanade at Ventnor and is currently loving her creation of intense and dramatic pots, plaques and bowls which are mostly rich in sandy browns, deep purples, and iridescent blues and greens. She has spent a long time in the manufacture and application of these wonderful coloured slips and oxides and is constantly surprised and inspired by the unpredictable surface textures produced during firing. She is making both sculptural and vessel shapes which are truly gorgeous to behold and in the gallery you will see a comprehensive selection of her most recent work.

You will enjoy elegant, well-crafted, toasted stoneware and beautifully glazed and decorated porcelain clay. The shapes are clever and achieve eye-catching flow and balance. There are vases, several large dishes which are sometimes pierced, sometimes holding ammonite shapes and sometimes with the addition of glass, large and small wall mounted pots – ammonites, plaques and plates, and there is a variety of bowls, some beautifully cracked and crazed nautilus shells and a wide selection of ‘pebbles’ – pebble shaped pots of varying sizes and usually containing a riot or a mosaic of turquoise, blue and green. There are textured and landscaped forms, flowing and rippling lines, bright and uplifting colour, all reminiscent of the sea, the rocks, the beach and the trees.

The works are terrific and display not only talent and technical expertise but the artist’s lifelong affinity with her coastal surroundings and her enduring interest in geology and natural forms.

The exhibition is on until 6th May and Quay Arts is open Monday – Saturday, 10a.m. – 5.00p.m. Everything on display is for sale and there are some smaller items available in the arts centre shop. Her studio is at 3, Riviera, The Esplanade, Ventnor and is open most days from 10.30 a.m. until 4.00 p.m. Her phone number is 01983 853942 and she has a website at: www.beach-house.demon.co.uk Try not to miss the exhibition, it is knockout.