Peter Collis is back!!! What a great way to start the year. Peter has kindly agreed to work with us again to help develop our throwing skills, while introducing the idea of working conceptually from a ‘Hunch’. The hunch can be anything that grabs your interest, from something tangible in your local environment such as landforms, or the more abstract notions of balance and stacking. In my case, I began with an introduction to the thrown and altered forms of German/English artist Hans Coper. As I found Coper’s work very compelling, I decided the best place to start might be to attempt to throw and alter forms that allow me to make a copy of one of his pieces. In the past, when I have approached my projects in this way, I come to understand not only the complexities of the construction process, but also gain insight into what makes the artist’s work so satisfying. Considerations of mass, shape, form, balance, ratio between height;width;depth and surface treatment become very relevant when you are making yourself, rather than simply observing and interpreting them in someone else’s work. These concerns start to become more internalised and can then be brought forth when planning the ‘where to’ and a more personal body of work.
The development of the hunch begins from an initial IDEATION, which might consist of a series of sketches, prototypes and brainstorms. My first attempts to reproduce Coper’s vessel from two thrown cylindrical forms below. You will see that I did not achieve the ratio or refinement that his piece demonstrates.
Moving on to the finishing stage of these works. Some oxide wash to begin with.
The yellow iron wash did not accentuate the texture as much as I had hoped it would with perhaps the more red hue to blame for this. Adding a further copper/manganese wash over the top and pouring a white glaze on the interior will be my last attempt at bringing these works to completion. The results below.
From ideation, ITERATION plays an important role. Repetition of the process to generate an outcome moves the work from a starting point onto something more personal and meaningful. My first interation came as the result of a throwing demonstration by Peter, where he showed me how the form of a pinched cylinder is affected by the way in which the walls are either wider at the base or the rim. Beginning from this basic form, I was to alter it in any way I chose. What I aimed to achieve was another version of a Coper vessel, adding another cylinder to elevate the work. Unfortunately my actual throwing skills are not yet in sync with my perceived throwing skills, so rather than another tall wide cylinder, I set myself the task of throwing three cylinders of roughly the same height and diameter.
After making some alteration to Peter’s cylinder by pinching the base together and bellying the walls to a personally satisfying curve, I attached to three cylinders I had thrown and altered.
Although my cowardice kept nagging at me to leave the form alone, one or two Rose’s later, caution was thrown to the wind and some textural marks made. A basic engobe was then applied to this lecture and scraped back to reveal and enhance the mark making.
With the end of the year fast approaching and the works for my end of year exhibition nearing completion, I again turned my attention to my three-legged vessel. A couple of considerations for this piece is that due to clay body being a red earthenware, I wanted to keep the temperature down to avoid the dark chocolate colour that my red clay work so often becomes, and instead aim for a more lighter orange hue. I also wanted to use up some of my oxide blends to bring darker colours to the surface and add highlights to the form. The result of a 1000C firing with an oxide blend and white engobe interior below, with a couple of test tile suggestions for the inside.
Having returned all but a couple of my glaze books to the library before the fines began to mount up, I remembered that John Parker spoke about the website Glazy as a source. With a turquoise in mind, and a lower temperature to help maintain an orange clay body, I decided to make and spray the inside of the work. A temporary spray booth and third firing later, this work has been completed. I rather like it.
Spray booth 
Interior detail 
Baber Ceramics 