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Lithophanes – carefully etched porcelain panels lit using an internal light source to expose beautiful delicate and sculptural images – were a 19th-century passion. But they were just one example of the landscape patterns used on industrial ceramics, driven by the fashion for Chinese and Japanese porcelain decorated with idyllic and picturesque scenes. It was in effect a rural nostalgia, the result of a confl uence of technological development and urbanisation. Beth Lewis-Williams, who received the 2016 NADFAS/Cockpit Arts Award, uses a similar technique to create innovative and thought-provoking porcelain lighting. “My work examines our intense urban landscapes though the elegiac atmosphere that lithophanes create,” she says. The lights are realised using 3D printing technologies, hand carving, the latest LED and lighting controls.Beth says the most valuable part of the Cockpit Arts award has been the one-to-one tutorials. “They have given me focus and insight, and a drive to push my practice further,” she explains. Her studio is in central London, which Beth also says has made a huge difference.“There is an energy about Cockpit arts; you are in a hub of working around creative people with big ambitions. The Open Studios mean I can invite people to see my work and also meet new clients and opportunities.” Earlier this year, Beth worked on an exhibition at Fenton House run by the National Trust. “It was a big goal of mine to make a piece in response to a historical object,”she says. It’s an area she’d like to develop further in future, alongside individual commissions and work for high-end galleries.“My main target is to successfully deliver lighting installations on major design projects in response to historical buildings,” says Beth.“I want to thank all the partners for this most valuable opportunity, it is proving most rewarding for me and I am most grateful.” ■Above: Tower Block by grant recipient Beth Lewis-Williams, who specialises in porcelain lithophanes Bright ideasEvery year, NADFAS grants help to bringchildren and young adults closer to the arts.For a confi dential discussion about leavinga legacy to NADFAS, contact Chief ExecutiveFlorian Schweizer on 020 7430 0730. Beth Lewis-Williams combines modern methods with historic ideas to create stunning – and surprising – porcelain lighting designsThe National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies. Registered charity no. 1089743www.nadfas.org.ukGive a helpinghand to anew generation www.nadfas.org.uk NADFAS REVIEW / SPRING 2017 33