Monday 20 April 2015

Experiments with Ceramics and Metal

Recently I was awarded a Feeney Trust Grant to experiment with ceramics - a new material for me. I am a narrative artist working in illustration and metal.  I have wanted to experiment with bringing ceramics into my work for years and the grant has enabled me to have the time to do this.  I have always thought the combination of printed metal and a ceramic surface had exciting possibilities but with little knowledge of ceramics, I knew I needed some expert advice.  The ceramicists Jitka Palmer and Phillip Hardaker have agreed to mentor me!  Jitka and Phil both work in quite different ways as ceramic artists, exhibiting nationally and internationally, gaining reputations for excellent and fascinating work. 

This is my first blog post for my experiments with ceramics and concerns my first two visits to Jitka's studio in Bristol in  February 2015.
Jitka Palmer in her studio in Bristol 2015.
I am interested in using porcelain which both Jitka and Phil informed me is one of the most difficult clays to use!!  I must admit that when Jitka gave me a lump of porcelain to play with, this fact quickly became evident !  Porcelain is very slippery and difficult to mold when wet and also drys very quickly being equally difficult to work with in this state.
Jitka's beautiful painted vessels and smaller objects in her studio.  Bristol January 2015.
During my first two visits to Jitka's studio I was really concerned with getting used to porcelain as a material.  I wanted to be able to play around and get a feel for it's qualities.  I was also very interested in casting and taking molds from objects as well as creating hand built items.  I brought along some very simple metal jelly molds to use to see if I could use them to practice mold making techniques.
Left: Me at Jitka's studio experimenting with porcelain and stoneware for the first time, making some very simple shapes. Above right: My metal jelly molds. Below right: Later in February - the bisque fired objects.
I was pleased that I managed to make some small hand built simple pod shapes and flower shapes as well as using the metal molds.  However getting to grips with porcelain even at this first attempt was much harder than I thought.  White stoneware felt much more easy to control and it was interesting to observe the different qualities.  White stoneware might be an option for me to use as well as porcelain in the future.
Left: At Jitka's studio mixing some glazes. Top right: my simple porcelain shapes drying out.  Below right: Dipping my objects into clear glaze.
By the end of the first session at Jitka's studio I managed to create a selection of objects that were bisque fired and ready for my second visit.  During this second visit Jitka introduced me to glazing and some very important and basic rules of firing and temperatures for different stages of applying glaze.  All very interesting and complex at the same time.  I felt as if I had a very comprehensive overview of the processes during these first two visits and can see the possibilities for my own work.  The issue if going to be practising with the material.
Top left and centre: Jitka demonstrating glazing techniques. Top right: Dipped and hand painted glazed pieces before final firing. Botton left: Jitka and I discussing my initial experiments. Right: Jitka's beautiful sculpture of her mother.