Discovering her artistic talent later in life, Swain spent her early years in Stodmarsh, joining the WAAFs and eventually settling in Mottingham. After taking Adult Education classes, a love of ceramics was ignited, and Swain became an avid potter. Drawing inspiration from her travels and regular visits to the British Museum, Swain’s shapes are based on ancient Greek storage pots. She would often sketch such forms and designs whilst visiting archaeological museums and later used these to inform her work.
Joan also spent time sewing, often making her own clothes and those of her daughters. According to her daughter: “there was always a surprise in the morning when we would discover she had dressed one of our dolls in a small replica of her latest creation”.
Every pot is hand-built using slabs or coils. Preferring the idiosyncrasies of the hand to the perfection of the wheel, Swain’s work engages with the subtle visual interest, warmth, and uniqueness that our hands can create.
