Carol Sinclair trained as a designer-maker with a BA (Hons) in Ceramics from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. She now combines her studio practice with her work on a variety of international craft projects, bringing makers from very different backgrounds together to exchange skills, ideas and to collaborate on the creation of new work.  Working in Canada, Iceland, Mexico and Thailand has greatly influenced the focus of her practice that currently addresses broad societal issues of equality, identity and sustainability. Carol promotes the role of making to enhance health and wellbeing and to draw attention to environmental issues and the climate emergency.

For the last 3 years Carol has been part of the Green Plastics research group. This group brought together makers from a variety of material disciplines (ceramics, metal, resin and fibre) with polymer chemists and botanists to discuss, experiment and better understand naturally occurring and man-made plastics. The aim of the project was to gain a better understanding of the responsible use of plastic and to encourage others to reconsider their own relationship with this remarkable material. Carol believes that if we consider plastic to be a precious resource rather than a cheap disposable option, we can create ways of working with it that are respectful of our environment.

For this exhibition Carol is creating a new mobile work titled Tipping Point made from recycled, reused and repurposed plastics. Wherever possible, Carol aims to have a ‘closed loop’ approach to her making with all materials reused, repurposed and recycled to reduce waste and the carbon footprint of production. She now incorporates plastic, paper and unfired clay into her pieces, reusing each material in new ways. Tipping Point incorporates recycled existing plastic but will also be using a completely new type of material that uses unfired studio waste, white and black porcelain powder, with a plant-based plastic called Polylactic Acid (PLA) which is biodegradable.  Working with Napier University researcher Dr Sam Vettese, Carol has been experimenting to create a material that has the robust and flexible qualities of plastic, the finish and feel of porcelain, while also being biodegradable and non-harmful to the environment.