TECHNIQUES & PROCESS

CERAMICS

My making process begins with simple sketches or models which are intended as gestural notes or reminders. These are developed, emphasising some aspect of the idea.

Most of the works are formed – using either Stoneware or Porcelain – by slabbing and/or pinching techniques.

There are no short cuts involved, every millimetre of the surface has been examined, worked and re-worked to produce the effects seen.

Small, sprigged details and stamps are used for texture and decoration.

Porcelain slips are stencilled and painted onto the greenware.

Oxides and glazes are applied after biscuit firing and fired to 1245ºC.

Small amounts of onglaze enamel and/or metallic lustre are added for the third firing, which further enrich the surfaces.

PAINTINGS

The painted works employ both Acrylic and Oil-paint, sometimes with sand added for extra texture.

The paint is built up in layers – combed and scumbled to echo the textural qualities found in the ceramic works. The canvas is treated roughly – the surface washed and scrubbed with wire-wool and the dried, sandy paint scratched so that sparks fly from the surface!

The works are usually inspired by simple shapes found in nature.  These may be plants, bones, the bodies of living creatures, the contours of a map or the shape of a field. The shapes become intermingled and abstracted in the sketchbook, so that what begins as a landscape may very easily become a bird. The resulting images are not intended to be illusory – they explore the qualities of paint on the surface of the canvas.