These images are from my sculpure garden. I enjoy working
with organic, flowing shapes, and I've experimented with those here.
The material is largely crank: a coarse textured clay that holds its
shape extremely well. Because of this it allows quite elaborate
and gravity-defying shapes to be created. I hand-built these
sculptures by pressing together flat pieces of clay. The 'pebbles'
were made by pressing together roughly semi-spherical pieces and forming
them into natural shapes. Everything is glazed in a variety
of overlapping colours - as a chemist by trade I am interested in
the interactions between the different transition metal ions in the
glazes. Some metal ions are more prone to oxidation, some more
prone to reduction, so it is virtually impossible to predict the colour
result when you start. For example, a glaze which is more orangey
in colour mixes with a greenish one to produce a creamy, slightly
blueish result. There are different textures too, since some
glazes have a more glassy/glossy appearance whereas others are more
matt once fired. This adds to the interesting, tactile nature
of the work. I created these pieces in Jane
Hanson's pottery: she has been teaching and making pottery for
twenty-five years. The glazes are mixed by her and she fired
the work in her own kiln. |
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