Ceramic sculpture set of 3 pieces which form a complete haiku
Paperclay, underglazes, oxides, bronze glaze, matt blue glaze
January 2013
Ceramic sculpture with impressed haiku
Paperclay, underglazes, oxides, bronze glaze
January 2013
Working hard trying to get a bit more depth and richness to the surface of the rockpool boulders. Bringing in a few more sunset colours of purples and oranges as a background to the other stormy tones. Of course it always helps to have Sue Spencer’s wonderful haiku poems to work with http://the-grumponthehill.blogspot.co.uk/ I’ve even taken a few teetering steps and started incorporating some haiku of my own. A bit rough around the edges. Funny, I find it easier to impress them into clay than commit them to paper or blog – thinking of how the words physically work on a 3 dimensional object is one of my favourite creative processes, it really helps to form the rhythm of each haiku and the rhythm of each sculpture also.
Recently took a trip back to St. Agnes Primary School in Crawcrook to talk to some (absolutely fab) Year 2′s about Clarice Cliff. Took the opportunity to take some pics of the artwork that myself and the pupils created in 2010 whilst still in their old building. Artwork is now sited in the new building which they moved into last year. Wonderful installation courtesy of Jim (James Alderson) www.jpaartservices.co.uk.
sky ladder breaking
near heavy boot ruts
sparkle stone
Kiln broken down for the first time in 7 years. Feel a bit lost. Ah well, 7 years of solid service, can’t complain I guess. Haiku boulders queuing up – hope I’ll be able to get them fired soon.
Felt compelled to revisit my earlier ‘Wave Vessel’ forms and develop them further so have been working on a few tests. Mono-printed porcelain paperclay with cobalt and copper slips and added some painterly underglaze and oxide brush strokes. After bisque firing I glazed some with satin white glaze as I had done before but did some experiments layering up further glazes on top as trying to get more depth and colour range. Pictured pieces have swift brush strokes of pink and purple glaze on top of the satin glaze which seems to be working well. Pouring the pink and purple glazes onto the white glaze had some quite horrible garish results! Pieces are currently displayed at my studio during our open studios event this weekend then some will probably be heading off to one of my galleries, think they’ll go particularly well in coastal locations.
New selection of jewellery heading off to The Customs House, South Shields to replenish stocks.
At last! It feels like spring is in the air, thank goodness. Brain has started to come back to life and some ideas are bubbling away in there. Got some thoughts about revisiting some previous sculptural pieces and reworking them as a starting point to creating some new pieces. Images in my head of tumbledown factories, rusting machinery, things that moved and are now still or redundant but are being taken over and reworked by crystalline structures and mossy, licheny growths. Must remember to refind some photos of Steetley Magnasite, one of my top inspirational places of the North East – maybe I’ll even get my sketchbook out and do some real old-fashioned drawing! It’s been a while.
Getting some lovely effects combining, layering and splattering glazes in different combinations. This porcelain donut pendant glazed with turquoise and purple glazes and bronze pigment (manganese and copper) has worked out particularly well I think. Soon to be available on my Rockfin jewellery site, at the moment available direct from my studio and The Hearth Cafe.
