Empty Vessels is the atelier of ceramic artist Jeni Westcott, based in Montalembert in the Poitou-Charente. Jeni and her husband Andy moved to France this year, having decided to change their life; Jeni changed career from IT Manager to her long term art interests, and Andy gave up arable farming in rural Buckinghamshire to become a trainee builder. They moved into what was their holiday home (and major renovation project for two years previous), it is still a renovation project! Moving to start up a ceramic workshop meant some more serious work on the "atelier-to-be" and now a derelict "spare house" has been converted to a large, light and airy studio and office.

Jeni works mainly in stoneware and porcelain, but sometimes in earthenware. She trained as a fine artist and worked as a graphic designer prior to concentrating on her IT management career. Ceramics has long been a particular interest and she has trained and worked with it for three years. Her work is influenced by natural form, sinuous curves, trees, leaves, water and the colours all around us in nature. Jeni still uses her grapic design and brushwork skills and likes to integrate this with the three dimensional quality of clay. She also figurative sculpture pieces and commissioned tile and mural work.