Designer, maker and trained researcher, Dr Katie Bunnell is a creative practitioner who combines digital and traditional processes in the production of ceramic art and design. Katie graduated with a first class degree in 3D Design (Ceramics) from Bristol Poly in 1989, and completed an MA in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art, London in 1993 where she was a Darwin Scholar.
As a Research Assistant at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen she was awarded a doctorate for her practice based research thesis, The Integration of New Technologies in to Ceramic Designer-Maker Practice. Katie worked as Research Fellow in the Centre for Research in Art and Design at Grays School of Art until she took on the role of course leader for 3D Design for Sustainabilty at Falmouth University, Cornwall in 1999. Until 2015 she was Associate Professor of Design in the Academy of Innovation and Research at Falmouth, where she created Autonomatic, an award winning design research collective exploring relationships between craft making and digital technologies.
Now based in a studio at Grays Wharf in Penryn, Katie is involved in local, national and international ceramic initiatives. As a director of Brickfield CIC, a community brickworks based in a disused china clay pit in St Austell established with Rosanna Martin in 2019, she is part of a creative team that aims to connect people with the material beneath their feet, developing their skills, confidence and a sense of place. As a Whitegold Curator she has been responsible for producing the International Ceramics Prize which actively seeks out and celebrates artists and artist’s collectives who work in and with community. Whitegold is part of the Austell Project a broader regeneration scheme for the the region.
Katie enjoys working collaboratively with people from a wide range of disciplines, promoting creative dialogue and exchange through participatory projects.