Flapper Pot II

The second in the Flapper series. Started making on the 17th April 2013, I did the shape in one day and put a 7% crimson stained coloured slip on it. It is now waiting to dry so I can bling it out with a bit of my beloved lustre. I am thinking shiny and matt red with splashes of gold.

Initial sketches....

The humble beginnings...

The shape, again a bit more squat than the design.

Carved and ready to be slipped. Next step bisque. So far about 6 hours or so on Flapper II.

Flapper Pot I

These range of vessels are inspired by the detail on ornate 1920's flapper girl dresses

The pattern work is intricate and although the cut of the dress doesn't follow the form the pattern suggests what is going on underneath. These dresses represent a period of female liberation, freedom, and expression.

Initial sketches developing the patterns and exaggerating the female form. Tall and elegant.

I started making with un grogged clay and thought I should make the vessel smaller to avoid structural problems. However this resulted in the form becoming more squat and less elegant. Each to their own.

I have painted this one with slip with 7% crimson stain. I am hoping for a matt finish with sure but subtle coloration. I plan to work into the head with gloss glaze and lustres.

Time Out

Thought I would check in as it has been a while. I have been working full time at school, teaching. The money has been great but the ceramics has been on the back burner since November last year. I am itching to get back to the studio, and I will be soon.....It's the age old problem of pursuing what you love and paying the bills. I love ceramics, and I love teaching. They feed each other but doing half and half means I don't earn quite enough. Teaching pays more.

I want to push my work forwards, but unless I have the time it is slow. I have so much I want to say and do through my work and my teaching. I need to get the circumstances just right.

I have been sketching new shapes, revisiting the human form. Somehow they are not enough. I want to make them speak to people, appeal their humanness, the fragility, beauty and impermanence of everything. I don't want my work to be about me, I want it to communicate ideas, feelings and thoughts that are relevant to the human condition, that cannot be explained with words alone. In a sense I want them to be functional, to play a role in communicating.