I made two visits to the BCB this year, and visited three venues, The Goods Yard where the main event was held, The Spode Factory and The Potteries Museum.
Ken Shoji - Kasama Potters
I particularly liked this work because of the colour and texture of the finish. Ken Shoji uses a 'uwae' overpainting technique to get a deep black colour. I have searched online to find out more about the artist and the process. There is a short video and some images where he seems to be mixing a black powder with oil, and where he is applying a black colour to a cup on a wheel, the translation describes this as on-glaze, but there is no further information. There are no mentions of this artist, or uwae in a library search. After a lot of searching on on-glazing I came across uwa-etsuke overglaze techniques, or iroestuke, which seems to be a general term for applying enamels after glazing. I cannot see examples using a matt black in the same way, and am wondering why there appears to be a texture on the surfaces, is this on the pieces before glazing?
Colour
I like the three pots above, because of the way they are coloured and textured at the same time. The colour is part of the process, not a separate task. I started my MA Ceramics trying to apply colour by avoiding glaze altogether. Then I began to enjoy glaze-making as a process, but bringing the two together is something I am struggling with. I feel that the glazing is separate to the making and I need to find a way that they are connected to each other and the concept.
Coil Pots
I wasn't a fan of coil pots until I studied at Winsford, but my tutor there went to Abuja after university, and had a pot by Ladi Kwali that I was able to see close up. I find making a coil pot to be a peaceful and meditative process, less painful than using workshop equipment and less stressful than aiming for a straight sided slab pot. The two pieces on the left are by Janet Lines, I love the way that the process is clearly visible in the work. The pot on the right is by Toni De Jesus, again the coiling process is visible, but I am not keen on the glaze. I first saw this artist's work at the BCB in 2019 and loved his terracotta coiled pots and the organic shapes.
The Potteries Museum - Porcelain
There was as exhibition at The Potteries Museum called Alchemy and Metamorphosis curated by Neil Brownsword. I spoke to Rita Floyd to ask her what porcelain she used to make her flowers, as Micaela had thought it might be soft-paste. Rita said that she used flower porcelain from Valentines made out of china clay and gum arabic, and she used olive oil on her fingertips to manipulate it. She said that this clay had been used since the 1700s for flowers in Stoke. She showed me the clay and it was very malleable, she said it did not dry as quickly as other porcelain clay. I also spoke to Neil Brownsword who suggested two porcelain clays from Potclays that he had used to make slab-pots.
The Spode Museum - Sense of place
The two images on the left are by Yunji Shin part of the Haptictacit Collective. The pieces were made in response to the Spode site. They are made of porcelain with oxides to bring out the impressed texture. I like these because they have an architectural quality, are related to a sense of place and are made of porcelain. I was keen to look inside, in case they were made from very tall porcelain slabs, but they were made from a mould, to tie in with Spode manufacturing processes.
Something else I found at the Spode Museum was a poster showing sprigged designs, dated between 1890 and 1910. It seems I am the owner of a large Spode Copeland jug that has the Franks Boat stamp, and is at least 110 years old.
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