One of my current projects involves exploring the impact of the mining industry on the landscape of Cornwall. 
I want to incorporate waste, of which there are many tons, from the slag heaps close to the mines. Cornwall would not look the way that it does were it not for centuries of mineral excavation. It has formed some of the most poignant vistas of industrial archeology; the waste has silted up the rivers; the inland villages and towns were constructed to serve the mining communities.
I have been conducting a series of experiments using this waste material but trying to bring out the colours of the minerals which I know to be present: copper and tin for the most part. By adding tiny quantities of glaze to the material I have been trying to obtain slightly more fluxing at higher temperatures in the hope of drawing the colour out. I think my results have a little way to go but I like where this is heading. The colours are being drawn out and the interiors are beginning to show blues, greens, reads and blacks. I am so excited about this, I think the time has come to go large!
Bridget Macklin 