I have been thinking about colour for my series of interlocking pots. I would like to use this to reflect the deeper research involved in my cities project.
Skyline
Initially I want to consider the physical form of the urban skyline, to reflect the geometric shapes, the angles and lines of the building, as if seen in an aerial photo or at a distance. The buildings reflecting the sky, and almost merging into it, the cool colours of pale blue and grey. I want to use transparent glazes, like watercolours, ideally celadon.
Images by Tomasz Kozak (2020)
Weathering
The second aspect of my research is concerned with the history of architecture, architecture, architectural detail and the effects of time and weathering. In practice 2, I experimented with oxides, slip and glazes, and had some good effects on sample tiles using copper, manganese and iron in particular. Whatever colours I choose I could use these oxides over or under the glaze to create weathering effects.
Victorian Palette
As my chosen location for this project is a Victorian City I have been reading about popular colours of that time, so there is the option to incorporate some of these.
Image Rosena Mac Fazdean
Aniline dyes
During the industrial revolution Manchester was responsible for producing 80% of the worlds cotton, and consumed vast amounts of dyestuffs. In 1856 William Perkin from London accidentally discovered the first chemical based aniline dye; Mauveine, a shade of purple. Chemical production began in Manchester shortly after and accelerated at a rapid pace. One of the first manufacturing companies in the city was founded by Ivan Levinstein, originally from Charlottenburg in Germany, who synthesised Rosaline, Blackley blue, Manchester Brown and Manchester Yellow dyes. Other aniline colours were to follow including, magenta, aldehyde green, verguins fuchine, martius yellow and magdela red (FIT Student 2019) as well as aniline black. Other Mancunian firms included Roberts Dale and Caro, and Clayton Aniline, the later set up by Charles Dreyfus in 1876. These colours were vivid and rich compared to previous dyes which were plant or animal based. The dyes were initially celebrated in the British press, as a field of industry dominated by British scientists, even Charles Dickens wrote about mauverine, or purple as he preferred to call it, as he refused to use a french term. (Cobbold 2019). These dyes were quickly taken up by fashion houses in Paris, and produced and developed further by German Chemists. France and Germany would dominate industrial dye production within a period of fifty years. Aniline dyes would go on to appear in food, printing, cosmetics and a range of products, replacing arsenic, and mineral and metallic elements considered harmful. However as they migrated to other uses they would in their turn, be viewed with suspicion by the press and public.(Cobbold).
These colours were like jewels, I could try to use these bright colours. Potters using bright colours include Barry Stedman and Kirsty McCrae, and I admire the freedom with which they apply colour.
Alternatively, I could tone these down to represent fading due to the passing of time since their invention. A subtle version of these colours would blend with the palette of pale blues and celadons I have already used. I will try each approach and then decide.
References
Cobbold, C. (2019) ‘Adulation or Adulteration? Representing Chemical Dyes in the Victorian Media’, Ambix, 66(1), pp. 23–50.
FIT Student, 2019. Aniline dyes | Fashion History Timeline. [online] Fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu. Available at: <https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/aniline-dyes/#:~:text=The%20first%20was%20'Perkin's%20mauve,from%20the%20traditional%20natural%20dyes.%E2%80%9D&text=Figures%201%20and%202%20represent,in%20different%20shades%20of%20purple.> [Accessed 30 March 2022].
MacFazdean, R., 2011. Victorian color schemes. [online] Slideshare.net. Available at: <https://www.slideshare.net/Rosena/victorian-colors-schemes> [Accessed 12 April 2022].
The Manc. 2020. Local photographer rates his top seven hill views in Greater Manchester. [online] Available at: <https://themanc.com/trending/local-photographer-rates-his-top-seven-hill-views-in-greater-manchester/> [Accessed 30 March 2022].
Travis, A., 1994. From Manchester to Massachusetts via Mulhouse: The Transatlantic Voyage of Aniline Black. [online] Frontiermaterials.net. Available at: <https://frontiermaterials.net/teaching/manchester_to_mass.pdf> [Accessed 30 March 2022].
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