The decision of what pieces to produce for my examination is not an easy one to come to. The torus form is satisfactory, but the big question hangs over the cylinder/disc pieces. I am concerned about how they relate to the torus form and their similarity to Martin Smith’s work. This is a risk when similar themes are being explored through simple geometric forms. The inclusion of light [and possibly liquid] in my pieces will distinguish them to a certain extent, but links are bound to be made. It is a subject that I must raise with Martin at my postponed tutorial.
I took 3 more successful casts of the torus, biscuit fired the first three, two of which are seconds but were used as glaze tests later in the week. The metallic glaze that I made from Liz Aylieff’s recipe is causing me problems that I cannot afford the time to deal with at present. It is still blistering so I bought a small amount of similar glaze from Potclays. I managed to get a test into another student’s firing on Wednesday, the results are OK, black and shiny but it doesn’t have the metallic quality of the one Liz gave me. I may be able to add more manganese to it but that may risk a return to the blistering.
In preparation for making the cylinder series I threw a large wall section from which I took a plaster cast.
In contrast to the practical work, at this stage of the project the writing seems to be more manageable, or at least predictable. The thesis has a structure, I know what the contents are, the subjects to be explored, and I have just to get on with it.
On Thursday I had a rare evening out with other folk from College. We went to see Paso Doble at the Barbican, a performance by two artists using 10 tons of clay as their medium to tell the story of evolution and man’s impact on the environment. It was an extremely energetic performance, spectacularly creative. Clay and pots were pivotal to this theatrical event, so it will be interesting to see how [or whether] the ceramics media respond.
I took 3 more successful casts of the torus, biscuit fired the first three, two of which are seconds but were used as glaze tests later in the week. The metallic glaze that I made from Liz Aylieff’s recipe is causing me problems that I cannot afford the time to deal with at present. It is still blistering so I bought a small amount of similar glaze from Potclays. I managed to get a test into another student’s firing on Wednesday, the results are OK, black and shiny but it doesn’t have the metallic quality of the one Liz gave me. I may be able to add more manganese to it but that may risk a return to the blistering.
In preparation for making the cylinder series I threw a large wall section from which I took a plaster cast.
In contrast to the practical work, at this stage of the project the writing seems to be more manageable, or at least predictable. The thesis has a structure, I know what the contents are, the subjects to be explored, and I have just to get on with it.
On Thursday I had a rare evening out with other folk from College. We went to see Paso Doble at the Barbican, a performance by two artists using 10 tons of clay as their medium to tell the story of evolution and man’s impact on the environment. It was an extremely energetic performance, spectacularly creative. Clay and pots were pivotal to this theatrical event, so it will be interesting to see how [or whether] the ceramics media respond.