Tag Archives: ceramics

Would you Like Chips with That?

For quite some time I have had a desire to ‘go large’ in the studio so when I saw a really enormous beach ball for sale in the village post office I simply couldn’t resist the temptation to make a really bit mould.  When I got it home, I discovered just how large it really was – maybe I need a bigger kiln!

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Houston, we have a problem!

In fact it isn’t TOO big.  Once I have done some manipulation of the clay and there has been a bit of shrinkage I am confident that my current kiln will be just fine.

The next thing to do was to create the mould from the shape.  As a general rule I would have built up the clay all the way to the mid point of the ball, constructed a wall around the entire thing and started pouring plaster of Paris until the cows came home.  If I had done that this time I would have used a ton of plaster of Paris and ended up with something so big and heavy I would never have been able to lift it so I thought I would go for something different.  The following images show the main stages:

 

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1. Make a clay barrier exactly on the mid line of the ball.
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2. pour a very thin layer of plaster of Paris over the whole of the top of the ball. (I made the plaster thicker than usual so that it didn’t run off.
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3. Put a collar on the outside of the clay wall and pour more plaster over tha ball, making sure that it filled the collar and was a fairly even thickness all over.

 

The result is that I now have a fabulously large mould.  It is light and easy to manoeuvre and I can’t wait for it to dry out fully so that I can get making.

 

Creativity Begins at Home

We began with a slightly unimaginative bungalow and we wanted to make a new home which would ‘fit’ the plot.  We wanted to be sensitive to the needs of those further up the hill to keep their view and we did not want to begin by knocking it down, lock stock and barrel before putting up something which occupied the entire site and disregarded any feelings of those around us.  Instead we took away the terrace, built rooms underneath it and then put it back on top.  View intact, house extended, neighbours happy.  

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It’s been hard work but so worth it!

Now we are in and I have a wonderful studio attached to the house in which I can work at any hour of the day and night but it has taken vast quantities of time and energy and my blog has suffered.

In addition,  I am working towards is a major exhibition in Great Walsingham, Norfolk in May and June and this has taken the rest of my reserves.

 

Jar. Burnham Overy Staithe
Jar for the exhibition in Norfolk using found materials from Burnham Overy Staithe

I am working with  Candide Turner Bridger , to  create a body of work about the North Norfolk Coast Path.  Because we are both very process-led makers we wanted to document our journey towards the exhibition and to that end we have set up a website and a blog on which we are detailing our progress.  A number of people have recently begun to follow me and there are also many others who must be wondering where I have gone. I would hate you all to feel neglected but I am not likely to blog on this site until the exhibition is up and running.  So if you want to know what I am up to for the next couple of months you might be better following me here for the time being.  Let me know what you think.