This year I have been making ceramics in groups of three, the images below show two sets that were exhibited this month at the Uclay exhibition in Preston.
The items above were quite complex to make and took a long time, because of the holes through them, and the pathways through the bases. The forms are based on sketches I made in 2022 of a street in the city centre where tall modern buildings are crowded together with very few spaces to allow a glimpse of the sky. The mixed materials and architecture resemble packed toy building blocks, unevenly stacked. The thin buildings reach out over the pavement, with cantilevered structures to grab an extra block of space, these give the impression of walking through the building itself.
.I had used these sketches as inspiration for a wall panel in my MA, but broke it before it was fired, I tried to reuse the idea in two L shaped panels, and was happy with both the colour and form, but overfired the clay. This was the third attempt therefore, and they are better from a making perspective, although making them as a closed form has made them less abstract and more literal, so I think I might have another attempt to resolve this in the future. There is a blue tinge to the gray and black slip. I added colour to these at Uclan, so this is not due to my own black slip. I am not sure of the reason, but have other items that will be fired soon that might provide a clue.
I made these geometric forms to provide a simpler, more economical set of vessels that I could sell at Ceramic Wales and other ceramic fairs. They are relatively easy to make. I am happy with the two smaller forms, but I think the larger form needs a slight adjustment, it also needs to be a little wider.
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