ARTIST STATEMENT
Gallery Tokonoma 2007
The material qualities of clay are essential to my work. They provide a vocabulary of earthiness expressing a language of rich raw textures, rhythms and tactile sensation.
My work approaches qualities of both movement and stillness that are echoes of the natural world and a testament to the effects of time.
The ‘Tokonoma’ pieces, wall works and other individual pieces have all been woodfired and saltglazed. They are made from Australian clays which I blend and mix myself. The kiln is fired for two days using Australian Eucalyptus wood and coarse salt is introduced at high temperature to provide surfaces from shiny through to subtle colour flashings.
The contrast of dry cracked earthy stoneware slabs with the refinement and delicacy of salt glazed porcelain expresses the transience and delicate balance of nature. They are pieces which invite contemplation over time.
ARTIST BACKGROUND
I have been making woodfired saltglazed work for more than 28 years.
I use clay and salt and wood and lots of heat. In short, salt is introduced into my wood firing kiln around 13000C. The sodium from the salt combines with silica in the clay to make sodium silicate (a glaze) which forms anywhere the kiln atmosphere touches the clay.
The material qualities of clay are essential to my work. Its vocabulary is of earthiness expressing a language of rich raw textures, rhythms and tactile sensation. Stretching clay produces qualities of both movement and stillness, an echo of the natural world. A testament to the effects of time.
My mother’s love of old things meant that my childhood was filled with visits to antique shops and museums in England, where I was born, and then later in New Zealand and Australia. My parents lived in Hong Kong for a while and we went to the Chinese markets and the antique shops and streets looking for old wares that had been part of daily living in another era or simple everyday objects. She collected gems that weren’t purchased for their future monetary gain but for a simple and direct emotional and visual response to the object. She placed the objects in her house with much care and thought and commented on how the light fell on them, how they reminded one of other elusive qualities. She was intuitively aware of their ‘wabi-sabi’ qualities.. Over the years her aesthetics and intuition developed, her choice and placement simplified and refined. She has an old round wooden grain mill that she uses as a table. It has a roughness of form and the patina of the old smooth timber conveys its many years of use. There are baskets from Thailand, a collection of Chinese wooden carvings with the paint half gone, a Tibetan metal drum and a Victorian glass vase all working together harmoniously. This poetic visual awareness of everyday objects has had a marked influence on my life and provides a strong background and inspiration for my work. I learned to ‘see’ during my childhood and that has meant that my inspiration has come from a wide variety of visually exciting and intriguing sources since then.
Naturally occurring patterns and markings, old weathered buildings, the strength of some architectural styles, old farm and household objects, have also contributed as reference material for my work.
Clay and its many faces and moods combined with the particular effects of my making processes are also a continual source of inspiration for me. I am constantly seeing new possibilities when working with this magic material. I think that if I was locked away in my studio for years I would never run out of possibilities for expression
Notes on ceramic pieces
These pieces have been made from a special clay body that I have developed over many years. The effects of the woodfiring and saltglazing combined with the special clay have resulted in subtle markings. Each of these ceramic pieces is unique. No two can ever be the same. The forming process is by making slabs of textured clay and then stretching these slabs on the ground until a look of rawness, age, and immediacy results. The movement of the stretching is evident in the final work and suggests the naturally occurring movement of wind and weather on the world around us.
Because of the air flow in the kiln, the work is more or less exposed or sheltered from the salt atmosphere and so one sees resulting variation in surface effects. During the firing I adjust the atmosphere of the kiln so that it has more or less available oxygen and this is a major generator of clay colour.
Artist CV
