Level 5 End of Year Show

After weeks of blood, sweat and tears, the show was put up, seen, then taken down again in the first week of May 2010.
Time to move on and make some more work!

Glass puddles

First attempt at casting the glass puddles using float glass. Have cut some fusing glass and given a bit more surface area around the mould for it to 'splurge' out a bit more when the glass goes molten. Will compare these two to decide which works best for the form. Using the grogged clay as a mould gives the form texture, which brings out the ripples. Will get some bubbles powder and some eggshells to experiment with bringing bubbles out in the glass.

A bit of spit and polish..

Well, it's getting there at any rate. I quite like the imperfections so am going to leave them but it needs the patination and wax finish sorted. Looking at notions of the vessel in contemporary ceramics and craft based disciplines eg metalwork, stone and woodcarving. Looking at the vessel in organic forms and the female body, and involving these ideas in my work. After attending the Ceramic Art London 2010 show at the RCA today, I have realised I do not want my work to have that overly polished and perfect look to it. I want it to retain an essence of 'rawness' (of material and assemblage), and for it to reveal the structures that build it. Layers, holes, dips and curves all compliment the form and give insight to the workings behind them.

Bronze casting update..

Bronze pour today - it is HOT! Felt like I was studying archaeology at some points - on a building site next to a volatile volcano the next. Amazing process. Loved helping with pouring the metal and hacking into the investment to release the 'placenta'. Tomorrow we're angle grinding off the airs and runners. Can't wait.

Large installation update..

In between casting the 'placenta' in bronze, working for an artist on a barge, and trying to source somewhere to slump my glass puddles, I have been (slowly) progressing with the installation I've been working on. The general layout is shown in the first photograph. I have cut into some of the stalagmites purposefully to show their fragility, as they are hollow and it reveals how thin they are. I have fired them low to create a crackle in the glaze which also makes them look fragile and delicate. The bottom photo shows them painted with bright gold lustre in an unfired state. I will be leaving some of the stalagmites plain and show them in a group together on the floor. Have been looking at artists that work with bone china, as this material is well known for its fragility and translucency, which are properties I am looking to incorporate in my work to realise my ideas.

Lustred Placentas..

The lustre enables me to draw out delicate details in the form. The 'veins' are creeping into the opening and give the impression that it is living.

Peer Project - A Mundane Week.

These are some of my drawings from the peer project we have been assigned. We decided as a group to base our exhibition around the mundane activities we do every day. I have incorporated my obsessive compulsive interests into my contribution to this group work. I arranged the hairs that fell out during my daily shower on the tiles in the bathroom, photographed them and drew them on small sections of watercolour paper. This involves my interest in turning something grotesque into something beautiful - or at least, more acceptable. There were 7 drawings altogether - one for each day of the week we were recording our mundane activities.