The piece on the left represents All Saints church. This was a landmark in the area I have chosen, on one of the main roads into the city centre, so was familiar to many people. It was bombed during the Manchester Blitz, and there are many images in the press of the time, showing the destruction. Maps and archive images, show the church before and after this event. The graveyard of the church is now a public park, and the paths represent the outline of the former church. In the park there are still shards and blocks of church masonry.
The piece on the right was not fired in time to make it to Ceramic Wales. It was made quickly with leftover slabs, based on my impression of Central Library after dark. Library Walk had huge curves like a ravine, and this came to an abrupt end on either side. On winter evenings it was very dark, quiet and menacing between the buildings, with an unusual echo, and few people took this route. There were windows, but on the town hall side, they were in darkness as the council counters had closed by that time. We ran as fast as we could through here, as in the middle it was not possible to see where the end was, or where you had come from. As I plunged into the darkness I looked for the tiny sliver of light that would emerge between the buildings, where the hustle and bustle of the city and normal life could resume. I wanted to get away from pale colours, and have been reading about the Victorian development of aniline dyes in the city, and the Perkins family connection with the university in my chosen area, so wanted to try some in my base glaze, as it seemed to fit with my memory.
I spoke to Rob briefly about these two. He likes the first one as it shows the clay material, but has suggested I make closed forms from now on instead. He doesn't like the one on the right as it is a vessel, and he doesn't like the dark colours. He has recommended I go back to muted colours and slips, (like Practice 2), and do it immediately.
I am not totally happy with the fact that these are 'vessel' forms, and would like them to be more sculptural, so agree with that, but closed forms are not what I see in the city. I knew he would hate the colours. I am glad I tried the darker colours on this particular piece, and they do remind me of the city at night. The base glaze is now working well, and I have got over the application issues and transparency issues in the last few pots by changing the specific gravity. I am also happy with the abstraction of the buildings. If I can put each building I have researched in more of a 'street' rather than a vessel, that should work better.
I think the architecture in Practice 2 was more literal, and clumsy and don't really want to go back there. It seems I am totally off track, and I feel wretched . I am a bit confused about what he said, and think practice 2 is a step backwards. He was in a hurry, so we had no time to talk.
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