Hi, I'm Kelly, founder, creator and teacher at Kalina Woods!

Originally from Sydney, Australia, I dreamed of studying Art at Central Saint Martins College.  So, in 1998 I  moved to London and enrolled there.  I learned many artistic disciplines on my course (with the exception of ceramics!) and ultimately earned a BA (honours) in Fine Art.

After uni I stayed in the UK and embarked on a career in film-making. I wrote and directed a number of short films, which played at festivals around the world.

By 2016 I was living in Split, where I joined a weekly ceramics workshop to meet new people and develop a new creative outlet. I soon realised that this was what I was born to do and my love affair with clay began.

After mastering handbuilding, I went to Amsterdam in 2018 to learn wheel throwing on a short 4-day course. It took 2 days just to learn how to centre clay on the wheel! I headed home with my first wonky wheel-thrown pot, bought my very own pottery wheel, and practiced every spare moment I could find. The learning curve was steep, and regularly punctuated with mistakes, but gradually I gained new skills and confidence. 

In 2020 I decided to open my own studio, Kalina Woods Ceramics.

My approach to ceramics is to create functional objects that are elevated beyond the ordinary by using sculptural elements or hand-painted decoration.  I’ve learned to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process and I love learning about and experimenting with new techniques.

I hope that my pieces are used in everyday life to bring beauty and joy into people’s lives.