I’m now officially a 2nd year student on the Ceramic’s Masters course. It’s very exciting but also daunting. I know this year will encourage me to transform my work, refine it and hopefully leave the course with a strong body of work and artist identity.
In my assessment at the end of 1st year, we discussed how we could bring my work forward and continue the development. I understood that in the last semester I submitted a vast array of different works and approaches to making, as I wanted to fully delve into the experimental aspect of the course. I knew prior to the assessment, this would all need refining in a way that lets me identify the type of work I want to be creating. I was recommended to begin making repeating forms. This would allow me to develop my skillset yet also reduce the intensity on deciding a new form every time I make. It also creates a stronger and more cohesive body of work.
Furthermore, I was encouraged to explore new clays and try out varying thicknesses of slabs. The thickness would determine the flow of the work, the thinner the slab would mean more movement in the piece, the thicker would create structure and stability. Exploring with this idea within my forms, could open some doors to some interesting outcomes. I have also recently brought some new clays. I got a white crank, a black stoneware and a groggy white (ish) stoneware. Therefore, these clays would also react differently depending on the thickness of the slabs.
Some of my glazes were successful last semester. The special effect glazes, such as the Lichen glaze, created some visually interesting results and provided a great way to add texture. I also made a handful of glazes which worked well. I’ll bring forward the ones that were successful. However, there were some results from last semester which weren’t too great, mainly due to the large amount of reduction firings I did. The gas kiln tends to drink up glaze and a lot of the time, my pieces came out very brown, with no glaze really showing. Although, I will continue to use reduction firing on occasion, I will predominantly now be using oxidation firing so I have more control over the outcome.
Lastly, we discussed the use of vessel forms in my work. We came to the conclusion that if they don’t serve a distinct purpose or reason for them to have a base or vessel form, then I should continue just exploring more sculptural forms oppose to sculptural vessels. This may help refine my forms and give each sculptural form more purpose.
I have a lot to consider moving forward and I look forward to the challenge of moving into 2nd year.
