My family of glazed ceramics

Good morning everyone!


I hope you are enjoying this wonderful winter weather. I just wanted to share with you all my photos of the pots I've been working on, in their newly acquired Glazed Glory!
I'm really happy with the ones I worked onto with pencil, it's great to see how that turned out after firing and I'll definitely be using them again in the future! 


The plain pots I've decided will become my guinea pigs for enamel paints, I'm not sure what I'll do in terms of pattern or image but I'm just really curious to see how the paint sits on the glazed surface.

Overall I am so pleased with how they have turned out and feel very proud to be their maker. I think I need to give them some kind of stamp to identify them as my own, so I'll work on that.
I hope you all like them! It's been a crazy first part of my second year and I'm glad I've finally got some products to show and discuss with tutors, it will be really interesting to see what direction I will head off into.


Let me know what you think, and have a lovely weekend! 
xx

Craft fights back, and still manages to look gorgeous.

Good Evening!


I have returned from an unwanted, lengthy break (due to internet issues) and can't wait to get you up to date with my latest arty adventures and discoveries!


So, I'll pick up where we left off with the pot-making! I have worked a design onto one of the fired pots with pencils that can be used on ceramic, and I glazed the group of them, so I will do another post once I get them back from another firing!


I have also been making small figurines loosely based on the horror fiction I've been reading recently, and after getting a few of them out of the kiln today I think I'd like to work onto them with an underglaze paint. I also got a pot back from the kiln today, and sat for a while staring at it's blank surface, stuck for things I could draw onto it. Then I looked at my Ed Hardy note pad and as simple as that, something clicked and I drew the tattoo design onto the pot!

It's quite an interesting development for me to use tattoo designs as imagery to put onto my ceramics, especially since I have always been fascinated by them and the idea of body art and permanence. The same principal of being tattooed applies to making a ceramic, a design can be permanently fixed onto the surface and creates something to admire. I never thought that my interest in tattoo art could be incorporated into my studio practice, but I think I will continue with this idea and see where it takes me. I was looking for a direction to lead me away from the 18th and 19th century designs and aesthetics I have been so heavily reading into, and an essay I read by Susan Sontag titled 'Notes On Camp' has encouraged me to not be afraid to make something for pure visual pleasure. I feel like recently I've been too involved in searching for a reason or a function for the things I've been making, but if I take a step back I'm sure they will appear in time as I continue to make more ceramics.

I've also been reading a lot of essays on 'Craft' and am hoping to get into some writing, which of course I will be posting on here for all of you! I went to a lecture at the British Museum a couple of weeks ago, given by the wonderful Grayson Perry about his exhibition 'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' and he brought up some interesting ideas about the art world and crafts, which were touched upon in another lecture I attended there about British Contemporary Ceramics (I know, it's a ceramic overload) where the gradual acceptance of craft into the art world means the difference between an artist who works with ceramic and a potter with a conceptual idea is very blurred. 

Anyway, I shall leave it at that for now, but I will certainly be reporting back soon with more exciting developments!

XX

Going Potty!

Good afternoon all!

I thought I'd share with you my latest lot of work! I've been busy making lots of pots and these three are the first to come out of the kiln!

I can tell you I was incredibly relieved they survived the firing, and my next step is to glaze these babies and get another batch of pots made to be fired.

It's all very exciting, the only problem I'm having at the moment is what to decorate them with! I've been reading works by Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde and HP Lovecraft, so perhaps something with literary influence.
There are a lot of options and ideas for me to try out so I'll be sure to keep you all informed of my progress over the next few weeks!


xx

It seems artists can hit a wall.

Good evening everybody!

With any luck I'll turn these posts into a weekly Sunday activity!

Anyway, a little bit about what I've been up to! I visited the V&A Museum this afternoon to see the two current exhibitions 'Power Of Making' and 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990'. The former was a delightful eye-opener to the craft and skill involved in making the absurd and the everyday, it's free admission and definitely worth going to see! My highlights were the dressmaker pin dress, Alexander McQueen's armadillo shoes and Charlie Le Mindu's fabulous lips wig!

The Postmodernism exhibition was also an eye-opener and a complete lesson in the attitudes of the time period. I was most interested in a few postmodernist potters and ceramic artists, naturally I also loved the music and pop culture side to the movement.

I went and looked around the permanent collections too and gathered some more visual information in the ceramics and porcelain areas, but I can't help feeling that me making pots or failed paintings just isn't enough. 

I'm interested in the decorative, and how it sits on a pot or a plate. I thought about this further, asking myself 'Why pots?' It's the curve and shine of the surface, and the colours. But the nature of the raw material means the making process is very tactile, almost fetishised. Worked with hands that warm the material. It becomes a body, that is then decorated and is fired to ensure it's permanence.

Bodies, decoration, permanence...

...Tattoos

Bingo! I seem to have worked out the reason why I am fascinated with tattooed bodies and take great joy in designing them. I have one myself and no doubt I will get more. 

However, one thing is still niggling in the back of all this reading and research. There's nothing to act like a spanner in the works. I've got two pots made, drying out before they can be fired, and a large number of watercolour sketches of pots and vases that caught my eye in a book on European Ceramics. But I don't feel like I can just reproduce images of finely made objects, or attempt to make the shapes I find pleasing to look at, without having something to mix things up a bit. Otherwise I fear that's all they are, knock off reproductions that are nowhere near meeting the level of skill the originals were made with.

The worst thing is I simply don't know what to do about it!  I saw Grayson Perry's fantastic exhibition 'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' at The British Museum and was so interested in the way his own works and artefacts sat with those from many years gone by whose makers are unknown. I admire his imagination, he has the ability to conjure up his own unique pattern and history and put them into his works, giving them a dimension that goes beyond the historical context behind his choice of shape or method of decoration.

Gahh. Is this the artist equivalent to writer's block?

I sure hope I get past it soon, wish me luck! 

xx

Frieze Art Fair 2011

I just thought I'd share with you all a few works that caught my eye!

Yee Soo Kyung (Timothy Taylor Gallery)

With my love for ceramic surfaces and odd shaped forms, seeing this actually got me rather excited about the prospects of where my work can take me.

Katy Moran 

I've looked at Ms Moran's work before but I found this piece of great interest and find the marks she's made on the glass surface quite beautiful.

Carl Hammoud (Galleri Magnus Karlsson)

Yes, call me shallow, I only like this painting because it's of an antique!

Klaus Weber (Andrew Kreps Gallery)

I quite liked this combination of imagery, the face also creates quite a humorous, slightly tense atmosphere I think.

Cornelia Parker (Frith Street Gallery)

I love love love the aesthetic of this, 30 pairs of silver objects, its magical and delicate and a pleasure to look at.

I don't have the artist's name (Gagosian Gallery)

I just loved the obscure perspective you get by placing what would normally be seen horizontally, upright on a wall.

Ryan Gander (Lisson Gallery)

Am a big fan of the movement of the paint around the glass, it has an almost glazed look about it.

So that's Frieze over for another year, no doubt I'm sure I will put myself through it all again next year!

xx

Meanwhile, back in the Slade...

Good evening everyone, hope you're all doing well!


It feels great to be back in a busy studio now that my incredibly long summer break is officially over! I thought it would be a great idea to show you my latest completed painting and to tell you all about the exciting new directions I'm moving in.
As you all know, I am a very big fan of all things ceramic - especially the ugly stuff - and I am also partial to a cluttered interior. So in my latest painting I decided to combine some different pieces of imagery in a bid to fuel an unclear idea.


Here is the finished piece...

Untitled

Oil on canvas 4ft x 4ft

As you can see it's pretty different from the work I was making at the end of my first year. I think this is because I have been influenced by the reading on the eighteenth century I have been doing and my search to find a platform for the development of my fascination with these objects. I didn't find this painting satisfying once I completed it, although it's the most time and detail I've put into a single work (4 Days), I think the interior is the wrong setting for what I'm trying to portray through the ceramic objects.

My 'touch' when I paint the objects has been likened to the glazes used in making ceramics and for the past week I've felt that I need to take a more tactile approach and actually make some of my own 'objects d'art'. Of course they won't be anywhere near as skillfully crafted as the real deals, I simply do not possess the know-how, but I think my ignorance to the skill of the craft could work in my favour to produce some interesting outcomes. 

The biggest challenge I'm facing is what to put on the things I make! I'm a fan of the decorative and take influence from the aesthetic movement - William Morris' wallpapers playing a main role. I still feel paint will be my medium of choice when it comes to putting something on the objects, partly because it's something I am familiar with and partly because I'm worried about the work being seen as a Grayson Perry rip off.

I'm currently reading some of Edgar Allen Poe's works and am a fan of how he uses description to create tension, and I'd love for that literary influence to come through into my work, but I'm not quite sure how that will surface as yet.

It's all very exciting and I have no idea how I am going to house all my little creations, I'll probably have to make a slapdash shelving unit. The next step for me is to get a load of clay and make make make! I'm also looking for a reasonably priced pottery course that's preferably local to me so let me know if you can suggest somewhere!

Thanks for reading! xx

Living with all the best rubbish

Grayson Perry 'The Revenge of the Alison Girls' (2000)

Good Evening you lovely lot!

Just thought I'd give you all an update on what I've been up to recently.

I start back at the Slade tomorrow, I've ditched the First year label and am now a big scary Second year!!

So to prepare myself for the return to a studio space, I decided to start focussing all the things I learned from my summer reading and my ideas and try to work out what I want to make with all the information! (It's harder than it sounds)

The result was that I'm still not so sure what it is I want to make, BUT, I did find a museum that hit all my ideas and inspirations on the head - The Geffrye Museum

Just a short walk from Old Street tube station, the museum is dedicated to the history of the English interior *squee!* and has 11 rooms to show the trends of the times from the 1600's to the present day. *mega squee!*

The museum is a gorgeous building and has several gardens all crafted around trends throughout the centuries, I would definitely recommend a visit if you're into interior design or lifestyle from a certain era.

CLICK HERE  to visit the museum's website.

Unsurprisingly, I found myself interested in the rooms from the 18th and 19th centuries, and got some great images which I hope to use as subject material for some work!

Photo of the 1870 Drawing Room

Taken by me

The 1745 Parlour

Photo taken by me

So that's that! And I treated myself to a book on Worcester Porcelain, a book of William Morris wallpaper prints, and a couple of lovely postcards!

There is also a book I retrieved from the depths of the Archaeology library that is simple a massive pleasure to read and has really hit on some of the thoughts and questions I'm tackling in my art practice.

The book is called "All the best rubbish - The Classic Ode to Collecting" by Ivor Noel Hume

I'll let you know of any impacts it has on my work, but for now I'm off to pack my materials up for tomorrow and go watch the X Factor! 

Tata for now xx

A Few Pretty Things...

I bought myself a lovely new camera a few weeks ago! My DSLR was in dire need of replacing (It's 4 years old!) so I went for a bridge camera, the new Canon Powershot SX30.
I was playing around with the features today and the subject i inflicted my skills upon was a Royal Vale bone china cup and saucer (Part of Nan and Grandad's posh tea set)


I thought I'd play around a little with the results on the computer just to tweak the colouring, thought I got some rather lovely results! Let me know what you think!

I was also playing around with the contrast of a photo I took on my compact Panasonic Lumix when I visited a Forge day on my holiday in France, love the smoke, I think I was really lucky to catch this composition!

From Limoges With Love

Images my own

Good evening everybody!


I have returned from my trip to Limoges and have some comments to make on a few things I found whilst out there. 
On the days we weren't working/sunbathing, I managed to visit a couple of flea markets and the gift shop of a porcelain factory! This meant for some interesting discoveries and my passion for 'ugly' stuff flared up again!
My first discovery was that the district of Limoges is renowned for its fine Porcelain and has a very large museum full of examples - although I didn't manage to visit it, I did find many ugly substitutes to the high quality, hand-painted pieces I would hope to find if I do go and visit it.


My previous interest in methods of display managed to reignite itself at a pottery fair I visited in a nearby town called Rochechouart. The ways the stall holders displayed their wares sparked many questions about the line between a functional object and one whose sole purpose is to sit and look pretty. The use of plinths and pigeon holes made me change my view of the products, are they more sculptural forms? It seemed clear the makers had both function and aesthetic admiration in mind.


What are your views? 

 I was also reading 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, which has gone hand in hand with the book I wrote about in my previous post about the infamous author and playwright's influence on interior design in the 19th Century.


I've managed to gather loads of pockets of inspiration that I simply cannot wait to dip in and out of. I would like to create some made pieces in response to the displays I saw at the pottery fair, perhaps bringing elements of Limoges' history of producing hand-painted porcelain. 


Basically I cannot wait to get back into the studio.


x

Some enlightening reading and wonderful news!

Good afternoon all! 

I do hope you've all been making the most of the *shock horror* summery weather!!

I've certainly made the most of the sunshine and sat outside in the garden getting on with some reading. The image above is the latest book I've been sinking my teeth into, it's an incredibly interesting read about the rise of artistic interior design in the late 19th Century, led by the infamous 'Aesthete' Oscar Wilde.

I'm really enjoying reading about the influences and developments in the arts around this time period. It's great to learn about the rise and reign of the Royal Academy and it's alternative, more quirky rival exhibitor at Grovesnor Gallery. I'm also learning a lot about the evolution of the purpose a painting holds within the home and the gallery, and how the reproduction of masterpieces as prints meant owning a product of fine art was opened up to the masses and no longer remained exclusive to collectors and royalty.

It's all rather coincidental I've taken an interest in the history of the gallery space as I received some wonderful news today! I was informed by the National Gallery that I was successful in my application to work for them as a gallery assistant! 

I'm over the moon and I can't wait to get started there, I think it will be a brilliant opportunity for me to gain some experience as well as insight to the workings of a gallery, and hopefully work my way up the career ladder! 

It's only for a few hours on Friday evenings but with the up and coming Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition I might get a few hours extra work!

It's a fantastic piece of news and puts me in a more relaxed mood before I jet off to Limoges on Sunday for 10 days hard renovation work on my boyfriend's family's property out there! 

I'll be sure to post a lengthy update when I return :)

x

Salon Art Prize 2011 - Call For Entries

I thought I'd share this with you all, the prize is run by Matt Roberts Arts and the exhibition will take place at their gallery on Vyner St, London from 7th - 29th October, 2011.


Just CLICK HERE to visit the website and find out how to enter


Be quick! There's only 2 weeks left until the deadline!


It's a fantastic opportunity and I've entered in the hope that I can get some exhibiting experience. 


Fingers crossed for all entrants! 


x

Ryan Mosley

Carnival magic ... detail from Ryan Mosley's The Rest of His Natural Life (2011). Image courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques gallery

One I will be seeing soon, an exhibition of the work of Ryan Mosley just opened at Alison Jaques Gallery in London.

Click here to visit the gallery's website.

And a great article of his work was just posted by The Guardian on their website, his work sounds very interesting, a throwback of Titian and Manet proportions! 


Click here to read The Guardian article.

That will be all :)


x

I always thought I was ahead of the times, turns out I'm behind them.

Cup and cover, Philipp Senger, Florence, Italy, about 1680
Image courtesy of V&A website

Morning all!

Just thought I'd update you all on my progress with reading up on culture in the 18th Century!


It's been an interesting week for me, I went to the UCL Library and took out the books I mentioned in my last post, so I've been delving into those and making some interesting discoveries.


I was reading a chapter in John Brewer's 'Pleasure of the Imagination' last night and came across a chunk of text about 'Taste' and how important it was to have 'Taste' in 18th Century London. To obtain good taste, one would own the finest paintings and literature of the time. People would also collect and display 'Objects d'art' which is of particular interest to me. It was so fascinating to read about how people in London slowly became more educated in fine arts. Literature and paintings were no longer restricted to the Courts and royalty. The book is giving me a general overview of the social developments but I feel that soon I'd like to focus more on the methods of interior design to try and find out more about the types of objects furnishing the houses of the Georgian period. Luckily I have the book for just that!


I also had another look on the V&A website and found their Rococo collection interesting as this was art movement happening during the 18th Century. I'm rather irritated at myself because the website tells the the Rococo rooms are now closed until 2014 for refurbishment. But I think I should visit there soon to inspect their porcelain and ceramics.
I also found an art history course offered by the V&A on 'Rococo to Modernism: 1720-1920' which looked absolutely fascinating, however, sadly I cannot afford the course fees. But there was a reading list for the course which I found very useful for what I can read next! 


These are the books that caught my eye...


M. Snodin & J. Styles - Design and the Decorative Arts: Georgian Britain 1714 - 1837
M. Snodin & J. Styles - Design and the Decorative Arts: Victorian Britain 1837 - 1901
C. Wainwright - The Romantic Interior: The British Collector at home 1750 - 1850
R. Hildyard - European Ceramics


Now I just have the hard job of finding copies of them! I checked the UCL Library Catalogue and they have C. Wainwright's book, however it doesn't have any of the others.
Does anybody know where I might be able to borrow copies of these?
I checked out the British Library at St. Pancras but I can only reserve them to look at in the reading room which isn't ideal but if I can't find anywhere to borrow them then I shall have to go for this option!
If you can help I would really appreciate it!


x

Keeping boredom at bay

Good evening all!


It's good to be back posting again, I've got a few things to share which I'm hoping won't bore you!


Firstly, I went on holiday to the beautiful, sunny Montpellier with my boyfriend about a month ago. It was our first holiday together and we had such a wonderful time. I managed to drag him round the Museé Fabre and look at some traditional and contemporary paintings, needless to say that my boyfriend just didn't "get" the more contemporary works but he really tried his best to understand and appreciate what he saw. I fell in love with the buildings and sights of the old town and, in true tourist style, we came back with hundreds of photos to show our unyielding families!


Since I returned from France I have been trying to keep my artistic interests going. When I finished up at the Slade for the summer I wanted to make sure I didn't just abandon the developments and discoveries I had made towards the end of the year. So I have been investigating my interests by way of gallery visits and BBC iPlayer!


I stumbled upon a programme on iPlayer called 'If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home' and became intrigued when I saw the episode was on the history and development of the 'Living Room'. It was absolutely fascinating and confirmed my recently developed interest in late 18th century and early 19th century interiors. I learned so much and I definitely recommend you give it a chance! (I've put the link to the episode in the programme title above)


Watching that has sparked a chain reaction of sorts as I then took myself to The National Gallery to specifically look at some 18th century paintings, a few of which I have researched before on my foundation course.

Vision des heiligen Clemens (1730-35)

The first painter I sought out was Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Venetian painter. It wasn't his religious subject matter that was of interest to me, but the use of movement and colour. I first saw his paintings while I was studying my foundation at Chelsea, and the tone of his palette is something I particularly admire. 

The Swing (1767-68)

Another painter I researched on my foundation course was Jean-Honoré Fragonard. This French painter's work makes me smile, his style and subject reflected the culture of the 1700's and I have always been fond of the crisp colour and use of light in the paintings.

Marriage a-la-mode: 2. The Tête à Tête (1743)

 

This painting is by British artist William Hogarth. The part of this work that interested me most was the collection of objects proudly arranged on the mantlepiece on the right of the image.

I found it exciting to see a painting based on the era of interior I am interested in, it has made me think, how can I use this information in my painting? Can I perhaps tighten my technique and use this to create my own language?

At the moment it seems to be question after question. I know I need to get some imagery and get some painting done to find out how what I've seen and questioned will emerge onto canvas, and it's exciting.

I also found, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum's website, a few books from a reading list on 18th Century interior design. 

John Brewer - The Pleasures of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century

Christopher Simon Sykes - Private Palaces: Life in the Great London Houses

Oscar Wilde - The House Beautiful

So it looks like I'll be visiting the UCL Library tomorrow! I'll be sure to let you all know how I get on and if I progress.

That's me updated... for now.

x

Honestly, it feels too good to be true... But it sure is true!

Good evening all,

 Today I received a letter from the Slade informing me I have been chosen to receive the Thomas Scholarship. The award is £5000 towards my course fees until my degree is complete, this means I will have £2500 of my tuition paid for this September, and another £2500 of my tuition paid next September! 
  Not only was I completely surprised to receive such an award, after some research I have found I am the only one this year to have received it. I feel very honoured and slightly confused as I had no idea such an award existed let alone be eligible to receive it!


So I would like to take this opportunity to graciously thank Susan Collins the Director of the Slade, and the Slade Scholarship and Prizes committee for such a wonderful award.


Thank you.

The hard work paid off!

I am very pleased to inform you all that I received a mark of 70 (a First!!!) for my year's work at the Slade! In my feedback the tutors explained they do not commonly award First's but they were impressed with my hard work and the amount of research and discovery I have made that they felt it was appropriate.


:)


I'm completely over the moon, everyone in the year did well I believe, with the majority of people receiving marks from 67-69 (which is a high 2-1).


It's really encouraging to get a high mark, and it makes me feel like what I'm interested in isn't all nonsense! Although of course getting a First doesn't mean I can kick back and relax! I will be working harder than ever in my 2nd year, and I'll strive to get another First this time next year!


Also, as promised, here is the photo of the most recent painting I did, still not sure about it as I don't think it's as successful as the two I made over Easter, but let me know what you think!

So that's the end of my first year, it's seriously flown by and I feel like I've definitely made the most of it.


If you want to see all the work I've made over the last year please CLICK HERE to visit my website!

Waiting around...

Hello everybody!


It's been a while, I've been up to quite a lot in the last few weeks! 


Firstly, the Slade degree show was a success, the private view was so busy and it was great to see the building transformed into an amazing exhibition space!


Next on the agenda was my assessment, leading up to it I wanted to make another painting so I was in the studio and found it quite a battle getting the right colour and composition after the breakthrough I had with my last two paintings. But I feel happy with the result now and the assessment went well I think, it was a really relaxed discussion about my progression over the year. 


So now I am awaiting my grade for the year, I feel I've worked hard and really established my interests and focussed on a subject matter. I'd be happy with a 2.1 if I'm honest, although as long as I pass it doesn't really matter what my grade is as it doesn't count towards my final mark.


Hopefully I'll get my grade by the end of this week, then next Monday I have a feedback session with a tutor, it's a sort of end-of-year debrief I guess. Between now and then I'm just trying to get organised, I have work to bring home from the studio and a holiday to organise! So for now, continuing with my work isn't a high priority but my interest is always there, in fact I saw there is an exhibition of 150 years of royal wedding memorabilia at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising so I'm really interested in checking that out and hopefully getting some new resource photos!


I'll be sure to post some photos of my latest painting soon and of course I will let you all know what grade I get! I can't quite believe this first year has gone so quickly!


xx

Bringing you up to speed

Hello all!

 Gosh I've had a busy couple of weeks. Since partaking in the last painting seminar of the year I have been packing up my work and materials and moved them over to the Slade's other building in Woburn Square! The whole school takes part in this annual move so as the main building can be cleaned, scrubbed and repainted for the BA and MA/MFA degree shows!

 This week I have been helping a graduating student Emily Cooper with cleaning, filling and repainting the studio space she is hanging her work in for the BA Fine Art degree show. It's rather rewarding actually, knowing you've helped a fellow student with what could be the start of an exciting career as a full-time artist, and in just 2 years time I will be in the same position she is now.

Terrifying really...

  The degree show set up is only for this week, then I can go over to the building a Woburn Square to make some more work next week before my upcoming end-of-year assessment.

So expect another post in about a week with hopefully new work to see!

Here are the details for this year's Slade Degree Shows, I hope you can come and have a look at the work, it's all rather exciting!

Slade School of Fine Art Degree Shows
BA Fine Art Degree Show

Open to the Public: Saturday 28 - Sunday 29 May 10am-5pm

                                   Monday 30 May - Thursday 2 June 10am-8pm

MFA/MA Fine Art Degree Show

Open to the Public: Thursday 16 - Friday 17 June 10am-8pm

                                   Saturday 18 - Sunday 19 June 10am-5pm

                                   Monday 20 - Wednesday 22 June 10am-8pm