Venessa Skye - Middle Pocket Pottery
Venessa Skye’s ceramic practice is deeply informed by her lineage and extensive travels. She draws primary inspiration from ancient pottery traditions of the Middle East, Malta, and North Africa. The amphoric forms of Malta, in particular, resonate strongly with her, evoking a sense of ancestral memory—a feeling that her work carries an innate remembering of her bloodline.
Functional ware lies at the heart of Venessa’s making. Raised in a Maltese family where life revolved around celebrations with food, friends, and family, she continues this tradition through her ceramics. She creates everyday pieces—vases, platters, cups, and teapots—that are meant to be used, loved, and lived with. For her, it is vital that people feel a connection to the pieces they use daily, especially those who find joy in sharing meals or savouring their morning coffee or tea. Each vessel is crafted with care, spirit, and intention, inviting a relationship between object and user.
Her larger works are typically vases, often adorned with richly layered surfaces that incorporate glazes, oxides, and slips. These are brought to life through reduction and wood firing, resulting in dynamic, unpredictable finishes. Venessa sees each finished piece as a collaboration between herself and the kiln—an alchemical process that merges the maker’s hand with the transformative power of fire.
