Artist Story

The Story Behind the Work

I am Michaela Haynes — a contemporary sculptor working in ceramic and mixed media, based in Derbyshire. My practice has grown from a deep personal need to make sense of the world through material: clay pressed by hand, fragments reassembled, surfaces that carry the marks of making and memory.

For collectors considering an original work, I want you to understand not just what I make, but why — and the journey that has shaped every piece.

Training & Foundations

My formal training began with a BA (Hons) in Sustainable Design — First Class from the University of Derby (2004), where I first explored the relationship between material, environment and meaning. That foundation in considered making has never left me.

Two decades later, I returned to formal study, completing a PGCE at Nottingham Trent University (2024) — a reflection of my ongoing commitment to sharing creative practice with others, not just developing my own.

The Tate Modern & A Practice in Public

In 2019, my work was selected for Inside Job, an exhibition held at Tate Modern, London — one of the world's most significant contemporary art institutions. Being part of that exhibition was a pivotal moment: a recognition that the themes I explore — vulnerability, repair, emotional survival — resonate far beyond the studio.

That same year, work from my practice featured in SHEROES – Revoluciones in London (2019–2020), a group exhibition celebrating women's resilience and resistance.

Earlier, between 2014 and 2019, I worked as a Facilitator at Tate St Ives, delivering gallery-based workshops in response to live exhibitions. That sustained relationship with Tate — both as an exhibiting artist and as an educator — shaped how I think about the relationship between artwork and audience.

A Career Built Across the UK

My exhibition history spans more than two decades and reaches from Cornwall to London, from Derbyshire to Yorkshire:

  • Look Up — Solo Exhibition, Springs Church, Ripley, Derbyshire (2025)
  • It Starts with Men, London Borough of Camden (2024)
  • York Ceramics Fair, York St John University (2021)
  • Earth & Fire International Ceramics Fair, Rufford Abbey (2011 & 2021)
  • Inside Job, Tate Modern, London (2019)
  • St Ives Festival, 54 Lemons Gallery, St Ives (2016–2018)
  • Landscapes for Dad — Solo Exhibition, Buxton Art Gallery (2014)
  • The Hepworth Wakefield Ceramics Fair (2020)
  • New Designers, Business Design Centre, London (2004)

What the Work Is About

About

My practice is rooted in faith. The thread connecting everything I create—from my earliest ceramic pieces to my current sculpture, painting and mixed media work—is my relationship with God and the enduring influence of Scripture.

From the beginning of my career, biblical verses have been physically embedded within my work: carved into clay tiles, impressed into sculptures, inscribed inside vessels and woven into ceramic forms. These words are not decorative additions but foundations, quietly shaping the ideas of restoration, hope, grace and transformation that continue to underpin my practice.

Working across clay, reclaimed ceramic fragments, paint and mixed media, I explore vulnerability, repair and emotional survival. I am drawn to materials that carry evidence of time, damage and change. Broken ceramic forms are repaired rather than concealed, becoming metaphors for the way lives can be restored through grace. Clay itself reflects this journey—formed, fired, broken and remade.

The female torso appears throughout my work as a symbolic vessel of human experience. Fragmented yet resilient, it speaks of both our vulnerability and our capacity for renewal. Alongside these sculptural works, expansive skies, botanical forms and layered landscapes offer spaces for contemplation, inviting moments of stillness and hope.

While my work is deeply informed by the Christian story, it is created for everyone. I hope each piece offers an invitation to pause, reflect and encounter something of beauty, healing and transcendence, whatever a viewer's own beliefs or experiences.

As both an artist and educator, I believe creativity has the power to restore confidence, build community and reveal dignity. Whether exhibited in galleries, churches or community settings, my work seeks to create places where conversations about identity, faith, loss, resilience and hope can unfold naturally.

Ultimately, my work is an act of worship. Every sculpture, painting and ceramic piece is a response to the beauty of creation and to the God who brings life, healing and restoration out of brokenness.

Community & Teaching

Alongside my studio practice, I have taught drawing, painting and ceramics through Wakefield Council Adult Education (2013–2014) and have worked as a private art tutor since 2012. I believe that art-making is not a solitary pursuit — it is a practice that grows through sharing, teaching and community.

Collecting an Original Work

Each piece in my studio is made by a long thinking period and fairly quick making time. Most of my work starts with ideas or a verse from the bible, followed by sketches and  sometimes paintings. When you acquire an original work, you are not simply buying an object — you are taking home something that carries the weight of a practice built over more than twenty years, shown in some of the UK's most respected galleries, and made with genuine intention.

If you would like to discuss a work or commission, I would love to hear from you.