Form has always been paramount in the aesthetic of the sculptures I was trying to make, connected pieces are a very important part of this as it is intrinsically linked to the narrative behind my work. I still wanted shapes to emerge that were inspired by fungi without being too referential, so I decided to experiment more with form as I was seeking both a change of tone and a way of resolving the breakages that I had experienced to date. The above is a piece that I did not feel worked, it looked too clumsy and off balance, it also did not survive in the kiln so became another piece that was discarded. The piece below I felt was more successful, I liked the combination of spheres and ovoids in this and inserting ovoids into hemispheres was also a new way of working with the forms. Am pleased to say this did survive the firing and I decided to use a glaze that I had done a little bit of experimenting with previously. It was a lava glaze recipe on Glazy made by Akiko Hirai, In the initial tests of this glaze it had expanded a great deal so I knew I needed to be cautious in applying it. Above is an image of the piece before the glaze had been fired, I had taken to doing this to ensure I had a record given the high rate of kiln disasters I had had previously. I was really pleased with the way this glaze behaved, I knew it would be too much to cover the whole piece, but I love the way it has joined up and 'grown' in the kiln, feel very relevant to the work I am making. The only thing am not really convinced by is the colour of the red clay body when fired to Cone 8. At bisque it has lovely rich red tone that is warm, but this reminds a bit of offal! Am not sure if red is the way to go anymore.
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AuthorStella Boothman Archives
August 2024
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