Buttons

As things have developed, I have become more interested in the form of the ceramic objects as opposed to them as a new surface to add marks too. The smaller poured pieces have a very satisfying thickness to them and i've started to think about them as buttons to be added on to paintings. I've added in holes to the newest batch and will sew them on.  

Its something about letting the materials show off their specificities. The digital print on paper has been abandoned, the printer paper it comes on is too white and flat. Whilst I thought I wanted to incorporate this readymade aspect, I found it hard to work with when it came back to the studio. The digital print on ceramic is still a possibility, progress has been very slow with this.

Some stained newsprint which was a leftover from a childrens workshop has proved to have much staying power in the studio, both as ripped fragments and most recently, as full sheets. I'm now going to attempt to recreate these to make more. 

These elements will come together for the showcase on 22nd March. It feels like a welcome sidestep from making paintings, and exciting to see what impact they might have moving forward.

Pancakes

For the London Creative Network program my proposal was to experiment with ceramics - digital print and hand painting. Steve Brown, ceramics research fellow at the RCA has developed printing methods which really embed a digital image into the surface of the ceramic. My idea was to apply glazes and brush marks in between printed layers, to mimic some of my painting processes.

I've been experimenting with slip casting, pouring the liquid clay, the consistency of tahini, on to plaster slabs. They came out like pancakes. What then to do with my clay pancakes? I visited ceramicist Jane Cairns in her studio who was kind enough to show me a few tricks.  She showed me how to paint with coloured slip directly onto the plaster and then pour the slip over.

As the pouring slip dried, it picked up the marks. This was a fascinating way of getting a brush mark on a surface, but at one stage removed and to have it really embedded into the surface. The mark still feels like a brush mark, you get the feeling of the action, but it’s all sitting as one layer.

These first experiments have gone off for firing at Ceramics Co Op in Greenwich after which I’ll be cracking on.  My wares shall be shown at the LCN showcase on Thursday 22nd March at Space on Mare St in Hackney. More updates to follow!