Set against a backdrop of what seems like never-ending conflict, not only between whole nations but also within our own smaller communities, perhaps it shouldn’t come as any surprise that a sculpture representing peace and tranquility now resonates so strongly.

I first came up with the idea for ‘Peace’ sometime back in 2020, when I was in the process of writing my fifth novel. It’s hard to remember which came first, the book or the sculpting, as I was also dabbling with oven-bake clay at home, but to cut a long story short, the novel features a ceramic sculptor heavily influenced by the works of Gustav Klimt – in particular his tendency to feature women with their heads tilted to one side.

In order to find the words to describe these fictional sculptures, I had to of course visualise them in my imagination first and soon found myself also sketching out crude drawings of them. Once the idea was on paper, like an itch I couldn’t help but scratch, I just had to make this fiction a reality. The oven-bake prototype of ‘Peace’ is hidden away now, neglected in a box somewhere, as once my ceramic journey progressed to the next level with a studio and kiln installed at home I was able to recreate it to a much higher standard. ‘Peace No.2’, featuring the ‘crackle’ glaze which, along with the tilted, oblong head and benevolent smile have become the series’ trademarks, was born in 2022 and quickly garnered much appreciation. It sold easily and I naturally moved on to other creations, thinking little more about it, that is until recently when alongside the more familiar low-level buzz of interest, a serious enquiry came in as to its availability.

I immediately found myself rising to the challenge to see if I could recreate it a second time and with that a bigger idea began to form. What if I could create a whole ‘series’? During the interim period since ‘Peace No.2’ had sold, I had already been considering other designs in a similar vein. So, not content with just one, I went ahead and created two brand new poses for this symbol of serenity and contentment. Much to my delight, both ‘Peace No.3’ and the brand new ‘Peace Curl’ sold before they could even reach the website and I am now in the wonderful situation where there is a waiting list for further editions. It would appear Studio EJM may have found its ‘signature’. If only it was as easy to find an ending for book number five.