About me

Leah Jelf (b. 2003) is a British artist and ceramicist, born in Germany and currently based in London. Her practice is centred on contemporary ceramics, with a focus on traditional medieval encaustic tile-making and autobiographical storytelling. She holds an MA in Ceramics & Glass from the Royal College of Art and a BA in Fine Art from the University of the West of England.

Leah is a colour-blind artist, and she embraces this within her practice by exploring the material limits of the condition and working with them rather than against them. Through contemporary illustrative and sculptural work, she explores feelings of nostalgia, homesickness, sentimentality, and interconnectedness. Exploring themes of identity and grief, Leah aims to transform fragile memories into durable, tangible objects that preserve personal histories.

Jelf’s work draws from personal history, sentimentality, domesticity, and human ritual, incorporating encaustic tile-making and archival work to explore memory, identity, and emotional inheritance. Her use of historically accurate medieval techniques is central to her practice, allowing her to create contemporary artefacts that straddle both personal narrative and collective tradition. Leah sees historical craft not simply as something to preserve, but as a living process that can bring people together through shared making, storytelling, and creativity.