Matthew Collings purports that art since the Impressionists is created by artists to reflect Western mans uncertainty in understanding the world around him. Previously, art was used to support man’s understanding of the world, backing up political and religious doctrines.
As advances in science provide answers to the fundamental questions of how we relate to the natural world, some of which were previously answered by religion, many people question their relationship to the society with which they are obliged to engage.
In the part of the world that I inhabit, employment for most people brings wealth well beyond their basic needs. Though potentially rich in material terms, the price paid in both physical and mental health terms, relationships with partners and family members etc. are considered by some to outweigh the gains. However, there are few alternative ways to successfully negotiate our modern world. Rejection of the system usually results in economic hardship and alienation from conforming members of society. Frustrations are sometimes negatively channelled into excessive consumption and violence, but can also lead, perhaps subconsciously into acts of creativity like gardening, and other outdoor activities that bring us into contact with the elemental forces.
The creative process can also be engaged with indirectly, through visits to galleries. Artists have always operated at the fringes of society, and are seen in many societies almost as shamans. They are the natural conduits through which questions can be asked, not to provide definite answers but to encourage debate and allow the participant to find their way of engaging with the modern world. Installation artist Clare Twomey says:
“I hope my work raises more questions than answers; the viewer is in control of the level in which they engage” [2]
Where does ceramics fit in to this dialogue? Only at its fringes? Studio ceramics, though a dominant force through the middle 50 or 60 years of the 20th century is now seen by many as side-lined, having no relationship to contemporary art. The word ‘Craft’ has been under attack for some years, being seen as the poor, or no relation to Art. There are now attempts to rehabilitate the word in exhibitions such as the joint V & A/Crafts Council ‘Out of the Ordinary – Spectacular Craft’. It’s not the craft that we are comfortable with; there may be superb craftsmanship but there’s no function, it’s cerebral work, posing questions, making observations. The exhibitors [what do they call themselves?] may specialise in the materials and techniques of one craft, but perhaps for the first time that is the subject of some of their work, not just the vehicle. The viewer takes away an experience, not a gewgaw.
The ‘Out of the Ordinary’ exhibition is the flux that is helping to forge a new definition of ‘craft’. With our world juggling sustainability and over-consumption, green issues and the latest ‘must-haves’ craft is beginning to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
[1] Broadcast on Channel 4, 15.12.07
[2] ‘On the Cusp’, Clare Twomey. Ceramic Review 229 Jan/Feb 2008, p.48.
Sunday 27 January 2008
26.01.08
This week has been a rollercoaster- with some good progress made at College in both areas of writing and making.
My Tuesday morning train journey was spent designing some glass pieces that could be produced using rapid prototyped moulds. The moulds need to infiltrated and cured and then will withstand considerable heat. They can also be used for low temperature metal casting. When I was previously at the company in Paris, I saw a mould that had been used to cast aluminium. The surface didn’t appear to have been affected at all by the hot metal.
On Wednesday I went over to Paris to collect the Wedgwoodnt Tureen that had been made in black for me. It is to have a black ceramic coating made to look like Wedgwood black jasper. Unfortunately when I arrived Gilles was rushing between labs trying to prepare the right mixture for the coating. As the afternoon continued it was clear that he was struggling and I came home empty handed in the evening. The black tureen looked excellent, it appears more ‘see through’ than the white version. On Thursday I heard that the Wedgwoodn’t Project has been shortlisted for the RSA Ceramic Futures competition. The interview is on March 11th and there’s some preparation work to do beforehand.
I then had a tutorial with Martin, primarily to discuss the ‘Context’ section of the thesis. He raised a few points that I need to address, but fundamentally he was happy with it. I now have to start tackling the ‘Making’ section, once I’ve gone through the whole ‘Sensing’ section to see how its three parts read as a whole.
Through the week I had been casting and firing the kiln, on Thursday I added some manganese dioxide to the Potclays glaze in an attempt to make it more metallic.
The results came out on Friday and they are the most successful yet. The cone form looked very interesting with red or white light inside it, creating a volume of floating light in the central space.
Friday afternoon was spent at the V&A having a look around Collect. I felt overwhelmed by so many beautiful objects, but underwhelmed by a lack of content in quite a lot of the work. As Chris Lefteri says in his introduction to ‘Ingredients’ “…the importance of an object and its physical manifestation has diminished… new technologies have provided consumers with a new level of engagement with the object.”[1] I was looking for story telling in the objects, something that I could emotionally engage with, and something beyond the well crafted.
I returned to the V&A later for their Friday Late, an evening of themed ‘craft’ related activities, some of which were participatory. There was Ballroom dancing on a beautifully stencilled, icing sugar dance floor, casting your finger or toe in chocolate, a graphic design ‘playgroup’ and some interesting time-lapse films. I managed to be roped into a Charlie Chaplin impersonators Victoria sponge production line, having to dress in bowler hat, false moustache, walking cane, apron and latex gloves! It was a bit of fun and I was given a piece cake as a thank-you.
Saturday morning was spent in College, continuing to develop the glass mould design, and then it was an afternoon spent on the slow train home to Cumbria, writing up this entry.
[1] Ingredients, a Materials project by Chris Lefteri. No. 2 Sept 2007 www.moreingredients.com
My Tuesday morning train journey was spent designing some glass pieces that could be produced using rapid prototyped moulds. The moulds need to infiltrated and cured and then will withstand considerable heat. They can also be used for low temperature metal casting. When I was previously at the company in Paris, I saw a mould that had been used to cast aluminium. The surface didn’t appear to have been affected at all by the hot metal.
On Wednesday I went over to Paris to collect the Wedgwoodnt Tureen that had been made in black for me. It is to have a black ceramic coating made to look like Wedgwood black jasper. Unfortunately when I arrived Gilles was rushing between labs trying to prepare the right mixture for the coating. As the afternoon continued it was clear that he was struggling and I came home empty handed in the evening. The black tureen looked excellent, it appears more ‘see through’ than the white version. On Thursday I heard that the Wedgwoodn’t Project has been shortlisted for the RSA Ceramic Futures competition. The interview is on March 11th and there’s some preparation work to do beforehand.
I then had a tutorial with Martin, primarily to discuss the ‘Context’ section of the thesis. He raised a few points that I need to address, but fundamentally he was happy with it. I now have to start tackling the ‘Making’ section, once I’ve gone through the whole ‘Sensing’ section to see how its three parts read as a whole.
Through the week I had been casting and firing the kiln, on Thursday I added some manganese dioxide to the Potclays glaze in an attempt to make it more metallic.
The results came out on Friday and they are the most successful yet. The cone form looked very interesting with red or white light inside it, creating a volume of floating light in the central space.Friday afternoon was spent at the V&A having a look around Collect. I felt overwhelmed by so many beautiful objects, but underwhelmed by a lack of content in quite a lot of the work. As Chris Lefteri says in his introduction to ‘Ingredients’ “…the importance of an object and its physical manifestation has diminished… new technologies have provided consumers with a new level of engagement with the object.”[1] I was looking for story telling in the objects, something that I could emotionally engage with, and something beyond the well crafted.
I returned to the V&A later for their Friday Late, an evening of themed ‘craft’ related activities, some of which were participatory. There was Ballroom dancing on a beautifully stencilled, icing sugar dance floor, casting your finger or toe in chocolate, a graphic design ‘playgroup’ and some interesting time-lapse films. I managed to be roped into a Charlie Chaplin impersonators Victoria sponge production line, having to dress in bowler hat, false moustache, walking cane, apron and latex gloves! It was a bit of fun and I was given a piece cake as a thank-you.
Saturday morning was spent in College, continuing to develop the glass mould design, and then it was an afternoon spent on the slow train home to Cumbria, writing up this entry.
[1] Ingredients, a Materials project by Chris Lefteri. No. 2 Sept 2007 www.moreingredients.com
Thursday 24 January 2008
18.01.08 – Thinking about Making
The decision of what pieces to produce for my examination is not an easy one to come to. The torus form is satisfactory, but the big question hangs over the cylinder/disc pieces. I am concerned about how they relate to the torus form and their similarity to Martin Smith’s work. This is a risk when similar themes are being explored through simple geometric forms. The inclusion of light [and possibly liquid] in my pieces will distinguish them to a certain extent, but links are bound to be made. It is a subject that I must raise with Martin at my postponed tutorial.
I took 3 more successful casts of the torus, biscuit fired the first three, two of which are seconds but were used as glaze tests later in the week. The metallic glaze that I made from Liz Aylieff’s recipe is causing me problems that I cannot afford the time to deal with at present. It is still blistering so I bought a small amount of similar glaze from Potclays. I managed to get a test into another student’s firing on Wednesday, the results are OK, black and shiny but it doesn’t have the metallic quality of the one Liz gave me. I may be able to add more manganese to it but that may risk a return to the blistering.
In preparation for making the cylinder series I threw a large wall section from which I took a plaster cast.
In contrast to the practical work, at this stage of the project the writing seems to be more manageable, or at least predictable. The thesis has a structure, I know what the contents are, the subjects to be explored, and I have just to get on with it.
On Thursday I had a rare evening out with other folk from College. We went to see Paso Doble at the Barbican, a performance by two artists using 10 tons of clay as their medium to tell the story of evolution and man’s impact on the environment. It was an extremely energetic performance, spectacularly creative. Clay and pots were pivotal to this theatrical event, so it will be interesting to see how [or whether] the ceramics media respond.
I took 3 more successful casts of the torus, biscuit fired the first three, two of which are seconds but were used as glaze tests later in the week. The metallic glaze that I made from Liz Aylieff’s recipe is causing me problems that I cannot afford the time to deal with at present. It is still blistering so I bought a small amount of similar glaze from Potclays. I managed to get a test into another student’s firing on Wednesday, the results are OK, black and shiny but it doesn’t have the metallic quality of the one Liz gave me. I may be able to add more manganese to it but that may risk a return to the blistering.
In preparation for making the cylinder series I threw a large wall section from which I took a plaster cast.
In contrast to the practical work, at this stage of the project the writing seems to be more manageable, or at least predictable. The thesis has a structure, I know what the contents are, the subjects to be explored, and I have just to get on with it.
On Thursday I had a rare evening out with other folk from College. We went to see Paso Doble at the Barbican, a performance by two artists using 10 tons of clay as their medium to tell the story of evolution and man’s impact on the environment. It was an extremely energetic performance, spectacularly creative. Clay and pots were pivotal to this theatrical event, so it will be interesting to see how [or whether] the ceramics media respond.
Sunday 13 January 2008
11.01.08 - Decision time
I came down to College on Monday this week, planning to make an effective start to the term.
Everything was in place for the casting of the torus mould and I managed to cast one each day. I shouldn’t be surprised that there is so much to learn each time a new form is attempted. With the torus I had to develop a sequence whereby I could handle the heavy mould allowing for careful filling, emptying and the removal of the cast. Correct timing is crucial, the cast has to be of the correct thickness, it has to be left in the mould until it’s firm enough to be removed without it distorting etc. etc.
By Friday I had 2 perfect casts and two slightly less than perfect. Thursday’s had imploded, probably when the slip was drained from the mould. I had applied talc to the surface of the mould that may have contributed to the problem.
I had a quick chat with my supervisor, Martin Smith, about the writing that I had done over Christmas. He agreed that there should be a stronger narrative throughout the section, so that’s something I need to attend to before long.
I spent some time thinking about the rest of the practical work that I need to produce over the next couple of months. The torus form relates well to the thesis, the cylinder pieces explore perception but they don’t relate well to each other and the cylinder strongly remind me of some of Martin’s work. The mirror black glaze links the two forms but the resemblance to Martin’s work is something I need to discuss with him.
Meanwhile, I need to carefully think and design forms that relate well as a group, and can illustrate the thesis.
So the plan for this weekend is to work on the designs and reread the writing. Plus I would quite like a bit of home life!
Rhino rendering of disc 11. I plan to incorporate 'lightwire' in the groove just below the rim.
Rhino rendering of disc 12. In this one the 'lightwire' is planned to fit in the groove where the wall meets the base.
Everything was in place for the casting of the torus mould and I managed to cast one each day. I shouldn’t be surprised that there is so much to learn each time a new form is attempted. With the torus I had to develop a sequence whereby I could handle the heavy mould allowing for careful filling, emptying and the removal of the cast. Correct timing is crucial, the cast has to be of the correct thickness, it has to be left in the mould until it’s firm enough to be removed without it distorting etc. etc.
By Friday I had 2 perfect casts and two slightly less than perfect. Thursday’s had imploded, probably when the slip was drained from the mould. I had applied talc to the surface of the mould that may have contributed to the problem.
I had a quick chat with my supervisor, Martin Smith, about the writing that I had done over Christmas. He agreed that there should be a stronger narrative throughout the section, so that’s something I need to attend to before long.
I spent some time thinking about the rest of the practical work that I need to produce over the next couple of months. The torus form relates well to the thesis, the cylinder pieces explore perception but they don’t relate well to each other and the cylinder strongly remind me of some of Martin’s work. The mirror black glaze links the two forms but the resemblance to Martin’s work is something I need to discuss with him.
Meanwhile, I need to carefully think and design forms that relate well as a group, and can illustrate the thesis.
So the plan for this weekend is to work on the designs and reread the writing. Plus I would quite like a bit of home life!
Rhino rendering of disc 11. I plan to incorporate 'lightwire' in the groove just below the rim.
Rhino rendering of disc 12. In this one the 'lightwire' is planned to fit in the groove where the wall meets the base.
Tuesday 8 January 2008
04.01.08 - Christmas Vacation
I was home for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year and it was lovely to have the time to settle back into life in Cumbria with family and friends. Walking the dog across the fields, gathering firewood, cutting back brambles and that sort of thing mean a lot to me.
Some weekends during term it’s difficult to switch off from College, so the longer break allowed me to change gear a little and see the project in perspective. I think it’s essential to be able to step away from time to time.
Having said all that I spent a substantial part of the break writing up the Context section of the thesis. I feel quite happy with it so far, knowing that it is a useful starting point. I’m sure some revision will be necessary, but it’s one of the more demanding parts of the thesis so I’m pleased to have got it to this stage.
Some weekends during term it’s difficult to switch off from College, so the longer break allowed me to change gear a little and see the project in perspective. I think it’s essential to be able to step away from time to time.
Having said all that I spent a substantial part of the break writing up the Context section of the thesis. I feel quite happy with it so far, knowing that it is a useful starting point. I’m sure some revision will be necessary, but it’s one of the more demanding parts of the thesis so I’m pleased to have got it to this stage.
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