Investigations/ Lines of Enquiry

In week four I started to create plates to put my patterns on. I specifically chose Victorian plate designs to suggest the era that the servants worked in.

Here is one of the plates I made a mould of.

I made a hump mould of the smaller plate.

During this process I realised I needed to create a press mould as I wanted to stamp and mono print onto the inside of the plate. Therefore I made a press mould for the biggest tray so I could work on the clay in the mould when it was still soft.

Creating this mould was difficult due to the tray’s large size and having no cottles large enough to go around the tray. This meant I had to create a Perspex cottle instead. In order to be efficient with my time whilst my original mould dried I started to test out how to make plates in a pre-existing mould.

I discovered by using small stamps that larger stamps gave a more powerful image as I felt the smaller stamps lost their impact and were easily over looked .

Our collaborative crit allowed us to present our work and to discuss how we could develop our ideas further. By discussing ideas and listening to others it enabled me to focus on what aspects of my work needed to be developed further i.e. rekindling the playfulness and eccentricity of my earlier designs now lost in my drive to create an end product.

When I last met up with Stephanie we had decided to create some collaborative drawings which you can see below.

I liked the surreal element she added to my drawing of the kitchen. This has influenced my own work regarding my design for a tree of whisks. I liked our contrasting drawing styles and her use of colour to enhance my line drawing. This made me consider moving away from my mono chrome colour palette and adding colour to my designs.

Collaborating with Stephanie has allowed me to realise the influence a differing perspective can have on my work. In the future I intend to continue with creating collaborative drawings as it provided me with some interesting ideas.

I intend to create a set of plates illustrating the importance of servants and their daily chores. These plates will be adorned with pattern and gold embellishment however when you examine the pattern closely you will realise that the flowers on the border for example are not flowers but are kitchen utensils.

Here are some of my initial designs.

Here are my final designs for my plates. 

My ceramic pieces are decorative however not functional, this relates to my previous work and area of practice. This body of work has a conceptual content as I am communicating through imagery the importance of the servant's daily chores therefore I feel this work could be found in high end galleries exhibiting contemporary ceramics.

I was inspired by Adam Buick’s work at Ruthin Craft Centre. Below are some of my drawings of his work. I liked the unpredictability and variation of his pieces, for example his use of pebble inclusions to add texture and metal in his pots. This pebble inclusion determined what the pot looked like once fired. I liked the texture, contrast in surface and interesting forms of these vessels. After seeing Buick’s work it’s made me consider the potential of exploring a more materials driven process in the future.

I admire Chris Taylor’s pieces for his use of surface decoration, vibrancy of pattern, colour and the forms he applies his patterns to.

I appreciate Barry Stedman’s pieces for their simplicity in form, colour palette and abstract shapes on the vessels surfaces and how his vessels interact together.

I like Anna Lamberts playful use of form and illustrations.

I admire Eric Hibelot’s playful and abstract forms, his bold use of colour and pattern.

In order to exhibit on time I have made a timetable for my plates' construction, glazing and firing. I have allowed sufficient time to conduct gold lustre tests before I apply it to my finished plates as it's something I’ve never used before and may provide unexpected delays and challenges.