PAPER TO CLAY

exploring folds that i had seen in the paper

My object for this project was a garden glove.    I first made quck glove to get my head around it then I was going to do paper mache and I started building the glove but the piece looked interesting so I didn't go with the paper mache and thought I would translate the piece as best I would in clay.   This proved to be very difficult as the clay kept falling apart.   I then decided to use paper porcelain.   This was a very interesting process.  Really enjoyed using this.   While it took a good while to get it to work I eventually learnt how to manage the paper clay.   Learnt a lot about the whole process.   Firing proved to be difficult as well as the pieces did collapse.    I also tried to tanslate into clay my original paper glove and decorated this with ceramic pencil.   With the paper porcelain I didn't use any colour as the porcelain looked impressive in the white.

Historical object

Finished pieces.

Historical Object

Chinese urn from the British Museum

One of the forms that I now using ceramic pencils to decorate

Samples of my test glazes



After doing many test tiles I came up with some colours that appealed to me

A glaze that I got down in Thomastown

Historical object.

My historical object was a a very rare chinese urn dating back to the Tang Dynisty.  The piece had many aspect to it.   The top of the piece has a phoenix head which represented the female and in later years the Emporess. In the body of the jug was details inlay of the lotus flower.    After much consternation and exploring I found that I was drawn to the female aspect of the peice and would try and create a piece with with this in mind.   I started off by doing a lot of throwing on the wheel of different shapes.    What  I did then was assemble these pieces together to create both a functional piece (as the original piece would have been a funcation piece) and a form that would or could be preceiced as a female form.   Above you can see some of the original forms which I threw.  I subsequently glazed them and also used ceramic pencils to explore colour.

Josie Walter

Did presentation on Josie Walter today. Pictures to follow. Check out her webpage on techniques and
receipes for slips.

Exploring Knit through ceramics

                                               coils knitted and just been dipped in glaze ready for Raku

                                                     Just out of Bisque Firing

                                                         Closer Look at form

                                                   Plaster cast of knitted Aran Jumper

                                               Knitted with cotton,  Out of Bisqued firing at 1040

                                          Knitted with Jute

                                              This piece knitted with muslin

                                            Knitted a long piece with cotton.. just out of Bisque firing

                                                Closer look

                                            Knitted with Linen fabric, cut in strips.

                                         This piece was knitted with my fingers .Made it 6ft in
                                            length. Wrapped it around a round mould for the
                                            shape

                                              Another piece made with coils.  Biqued

                                                  With a slab of clay made a embossment of
                                                 the aran jumper

                                             This piece was made with the plaster cast. Just before
                                               firing

                                             Used a bag of red clay to make a charin

Ranking project week 1

After visiting a couple of neighbours farms near me.. I soon learnt that there was a lot more to faarming than I realised and how a farmer loves his tools...   Theres the disc harrow which I am really drawn to and the various types of ploughs and the potatoe seeder.  These were very large pieces of machinery but thanks to Franchesca she brought me in a piece of the seeder..  I also had a tool that sheep shearers use.   This is quite a very simple tool that does so much work.   The cutting tool that I got is very old but I belive that the modern wool cutters are still the same.  How these guys cut the wool with this tool I'll never know. 

Sheep shearer's cutting tool.  Realling like the different angles and curves to it.

                                           Taking a closer look

some mark making. 

in depth drawing of the tool

                                            this is a tool that farmers use for cutting the calfs hoofs

I spent a lot of time mark making and then created some 3d pieces.  Working with wire and tyring to deconstruct the cutting tool.  Then with the potatoe seeder, I used wire and plastice and cellotape again looking at the form seeing what different forms I could create..  I worked with plaster paris, wool.