I just couldn't resist...

...one more picture! Taken with my new camera this is a preview of the current direction of the work for degree show

I'm really pleased :) 

The colours make me happy :) 

The textures sing and the forms speak :) 

It's all starting to come together - yay!

It's all about the Making...

After treating myself to the wonderful book Making and Drawing I feel inspired to update on some of my recent making.

Making for me in very much a part of the drawing process, in fact, it could be seen as an exploration of line and mark itself. 

Surface, texture, form and conversations.

Let's have a look at what's been going on...

Exploring the relationship between size, weight, line and clay body 

these two objects have an interesting dialogue:

I have taken a cast of the inside and reverse of the same mould here 

and the surface quality is again interesting..

The way it picks up the stitch is magical:

And the depth of the line draws you in further still:

I then stopped to think about what has been happening during the whole process of the making....

> During slip-casting you are always left with waste slip. 

> Reusing the flexible moulds pushes them to their limits. 

They begin to disintegrate and become unusable, but surely this is not the end of their use?

I started to consider how I could utilise all of this....

and through a process of composing with the waste cloth:

...using the excess slip to take a cast or in this case 'print':

I have been presented with some interesting results:

Taking this further into the positioning of stitch, line and altered surface - 

 you are offered a whole new line of enquiry still!

I'm quite excited by this process and see lots of potential in its capabilities longer term.... 

I wonder how this might work in to my current degree show set up however, 

could this become part of / a canopy in itself?

and what about these forms:

They are starting to take shape a bit more too...

It's not that long away now, when this work will be up on show

I can't wait to see it!!!

But for now, it's on with the making...

Construct, Deconstruct, Slip-cast, Fold and Pin

I've been having a great time with slip-casting recently, some exciting shapes and forms appearing! Here's what's been happening in the workshop:

unfired experiments, cast with terracotta slip

eddoe cast with nail/pin additions

The terracotta palette: unfired, bisque fired to 1000'c, fired to 1100'c and high fired to 1260'c

bisque fired experiments - the blackened pins are lovely! 

how I would use the palette tests to decide on colours (left sample is an 1180'c firing - so black cherry warm!)

experimenting with pins and porcelain

and more porcelain forms

I'm interested in what's happening and my next task is to consider how to include some of my latex sampling. I am keen to use some of the colourings and glaze tests that I did last week too so we will see where this takes me next...