Tag Archives: found clay

Once More to the Dump, Dear Friends.

Moving house is proving very traumatic.  It is not so much the sorting, tidying and packing that is getting me down.  It is more the trips to the dump.  How on earth did I accumulate so much rubbish in the short time that I have lived in London?

The scary thing is that so much of what I have taken down to add to landfill is as a result of my ceramical activity; not something about which I feel terribly clever.

122
Oh dear!

The problem with ceramics is that, once fired, they last for ever which is why they are so useful historically.  I wonder if, in the millennia to come some poor archaeologist is going to be subjected to sifting through a deep hole in south east England and will happen upon the efforts of my ceramics misadventures!

 

Fair enough, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs but when I think about the number of trips that I have done with car loads of experiments and errors over the past few weeks it drives home the responsibility that we all have to think before we fire.  I realise that the fact that much of this work was created as a part of my Diploma and from which I learned a huge amount mitigates this waste to some extent but at what cost?  I suppose there are a number of questions that we should ask ourselves each time we load a kiln.

  • What do I expect to achieve in this firing?
  • What is the likelihood of achieving it?
  • Which pieces already look like a triumph of hope over expectation?article-1104741-017C6CA2000004B0-617_468x286[1]http://www.dailymail.co.uk

     

I am not suggesting that we should not experiment, Heaven forbid!  Indeed I adhere to the view that every firing should include some kind of experimental piece.  I am simply suggesting that all of us have a responsibility to care for our planet and that as ceramic artists we are sending the planet a double whammy which makes it even more important that we examine our consciences on a regular basis:  We plunder our natural resources in order to make work which, if we are not happy with, we throw away where it adds to the problems of landfill.

Less is generally More

This week I had a meeting with a client about a commission that I am doing for her.  We were discussing the decoration for the interior of the piece.  She had previously provided me with several architectural plans and I had spent a while trying to work out which to use.  Now she had some better plans and she also had a map of the area which is the subject of the piece.  This meant that we were both in danger of becoming a bit overwhelmed by choice.  We tried out all sorts of combinations; she was so attached to the story behind the commission that was hard for her to decide what was the most important part.

The Battersea Vessel low res
Tell the whole story –
IMG_8680
Or keep it simple?

 

In the past I have done very simple and, with equal success, included lots and lots of information all overlapping.  So which is best?  And how am I going to glean from a client which one they would prefer?

The problem is that until the images have been transferred onto the piece it is impossible to see how they work with the piece.  It is only when the transparency reveals the drawing and its relation to the markings on the vessel that you know if you have got it right.

A brainwave struck me as I was grappling with this.  I need to be able to see the impact of the drawn lines before I order the decals.  Why I didn’t think about it before I do not know but I am off to find an online stockist of transparent  film which will work with my antiquated printer right now!