Ceramics

I have mixed emotions about ceramics - I wasn't very taken with it to start off with as I couldn't get the clay to work in the way I wanted it to work which infuriated me and made me want to fight against it, this I feel was particularly evident in the Raku project which I struggled with on a scale front as well as a building front.

It was only when I went away over Christmas, thought about things and spoke to my Aunt that I began to develop an understanding and appreciation for the material I was working with. this lead me to re assess my Raku project and take it in a new direction, that and I really got into the bird project - I've enjoyed the whole process and feel like I've developed and improved my ceramic abilities. I've especially enjoyed exploring the Aboriginal world which has influenced my work, as its something I had never really looked into before, but I have found it to be a fascinating area and I really feel it has pushed my work in a positive way and understanding more about another culture has most definitely enriched me as a person

Something I have been struggling with for the past few years is how to express my thought process and how to explain and extrapolate what is going on in my head. I have been finding it difficult to draw these thought processes and to explain them, because they never seem to look on paper how I see them in my head and I'm not brilliant at explaining my thought processes in a form I can get down onto paper as they are going on in my head. I think I have begun to understand how to do this after a lot of problems and conversations with different people - including one of my tutors Claire. I think in 3D this is partly because I come from a background of dressmaking, where I'm constantly making 3D items and therefore designing garments and solving problems in my head. I have never managed I find an easier way to work, which works for me, but I've never had to use it the way I am now having to use it on this course.

Claire suggested that a way to overcome this problem to a certain extent is to combine drawing with the making of mini sculptures which I can then photograph, draw onto and annotate. This idea made a light bulb go on in my head and I'm looking forward to trying out this technique, although I don't have the time to do it on this project, so it will have its test run on the next project I undertake.

I made a trip to the Ceramics Galleries at the Victoria and Abert Museum, this was very inspiring and made me truly realize the full possibilities in ceramics. I now want to push the techniques and skills I've learnt further. One of the things that really struck me was the idea of making items which at first glance appear to have a function, but actually don't, or have a very limited function due to the nature of the design. I feel I've begun to explore this idea with my bird vase, but that I can push it so much further with the next projects I undertake. I'm also intrigued by the idea of cutting out imagery from the clay before firing.

looking back now - although I am (from a personal perspective) proud of what I have managed to achieve and create I wish I had done more planning and drawing of my peices before hand as I know with a little more effort in these areas I could have created so much more, especially if I had know more about the processes and time planning involved in ceramics work. This was the first time I had ever really created anything using clay  - particularly as complicated and on such a large scale.

I have learnt so much from this experience though and now have a much greater understanding of time constraints, the processes and what is achieveable in clay so that any future work I create will be much more sucessful and planned in a more effective manner. I have also learnt a lot a bout the glazing and Raku proesses and their limitations - especially when it comes to Raku - I love the process and the look it can create, but I ended up creating pieces which are far to complex to withstand the firing process and be cleaned properly afterwards - this can be seen with my final Raku piece which I ended up glazing with the intention of Rakuing the leaves which accompany the main body of the piece. I would - if given more time - create something much simpler in its shaping or build it in more pieces than I did.