Today I took part in two online artist talks, and both were very inspiring.
This morning Deiniol Williams gave a talk to MA Ceramics students about his work. My work has become very controlled, since I came to Preston, I have become a bit of a perfectionist. Deiniol adds inclusions to his clay and then throws it on the wheel. He does not know in advance what will happen. Sometimes he manages the smooth clay and the inclusions with little difficulty, at other times the clay and inclusions seem to fight each other, and the clay tears, and sometimes collapses. There are further surprises when the pots are glazed, as sometimes then contain oxides that colour the surrounding clay or run down the pot. it would be nice to have some element of randomness, if just as a contrast. I feel as if my work has become very controlled recently, especially at Preston, where I have become a bit of a perfectionist. Whilst in real life I am more relaxed and unpredictable.
The second session was a workshop visit to the studio of Amercian potter Lisa Orr. She makes highly coloured pots, using slip and sprigs to create texture. She talked about an experience that changed the way she made her work. Her early work was thrown on a Shimpo wheel and was trimmed and precise. She attended a throwing workshop where the teacher said that her work was so precise that it looked machine made, and he questioned whether it was the purpose of a ceramic artist to try to recreate machine made pots. This led her to buying a kick wheel, and laying slabs into a bisque fired mould before 'throwing' them on a wheel, adding further slabs to go above the original mould. She then draws freehand with slip, often representing animals or fruit, then adds further sprigs and textures. Finally she brushes and pours several layers of brightly coloured glazes, greens, blues turquoises and reds.
Both potters, directly or indirectly, were advocates for the qualities of work that can only be hand-made. I like minimalist pots, but I don't really want my work to look too machine made. It was a reminder to cherish the hand made elements and the malleability of ceramics.
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