Artists under Lockdown / Adam Buick

Adam Buick in his ‘thinking chair’ at his studio in St. Davids
COURTESY: Adam Buick

The Design Edit (TDE): How are you keeping busy in self-isolation?
Adam Buick (AB): I am really enjoying home life with my wife and two children, who are 12 and 13. For the most part this has been a positive experience. I live in West Wales and feel very blessed to be in this remote part of the world at the moment. I have my studio in an old farm building just two miles away, so I come up to work each day and keep going. I am approaching a firing, so everything has been made and now just has to be glazed. Then it all has to be loaded into the wood-fired kiln, fired for a day, then a day’s cooling. On Monday, 4^th of May, I am staging the kiln opening online.

Adam Buick, ‘Moon Jars’, 2013
COURTESY: Adam Buick

TDE: Everyone’s pace of life has slowed down considerably; what is the impact of this new rhythm on your work and home life?
AB: It feels strange to be saying that this situation, which is so terrible for some, has positive aspects – but there definitely are some positive elements to it for us, living where we do. The lockdown is very real but I do not know anyone personally who has had the illness. We can go for walks and bike rides in nature, and the silence is overwhelming. You get a real sense that nature is enjoying this time. On Easter Saturday our local beach would normally be crowded with people; it was totally empty, which felt very strange, but amazing. The children have to do a couple of hours homeschooling each day, but they are at a Steiner school and my wife is a trained Steiner teacher so that is not too much of a strain. They have just started to do maths related to time and distance, which is convenient for bike rides. They definitely miss their friends.

TDE: Do you have a favourite self-isolation recipe to share with us?
AB: I like making bread, but I hadn’t made any for some while, so it has been good to start doing that again. And we have all been collecting wild garlic to make wild garlic pesto. My wife is into vegetable gardening, so later on in the season we will cook with her vegetables.

TDE: What is saving your sanity under lockdown?
AB: Nature. And the sea. And being able to access them so easily. I am buoyed up by nature’s ability to rejuvenate and take control.

Adam Buick’s son finding isolation by the sea
COURTESY: Adam Buick

TDE: Which online exhibition/gallery viewing room, or other internet offerings have caught your eye?
AB: I do really enjoy Grant Gibson’s podcast ‘Material Matters’. Other than that, I would rather be on a walk. However, on Monday 4^th May I am going to experiment with doing my kiln opening online. This is usually a big public event – up to a hundred people come from all over the country. It will be interesting to see how it works online.

Adam Buick, miniatures from a firing, 2019
COURTESY: Adam Buick / PHOTOGRAPH: Layton Thompson