In my latest show for Marianne Heller I am combining my two loves;
forms for Inside, and sculptural pieces which have a dramatic presence
Outside.
In my twenties I lived in Japan for five years, and first encountered
clay there. I loved the possibilities inherent in its tactile immediacy.
I like playing with the language of function; it is a rich field,
underexploited. My pots are seen as ceremonial.
The forms need to be simple, clear and strong, with a generosity
of material and a healthy robustness, fingermarks and all.
The pieces are not complete until they are painted; that is when
their identity becomes clear. Sometimes I paint with coloured clay,
inserting layers as on the big dishes and on the cake stand, so
that the rich earth contrasts with the colours blooming.
I paint with coloured glazes, using the palette of oxides available
at high temperatures. I love the contrast of the rich inky cobalt
blue with the soft peach, and the drunken intensity of manganese
with a blushy pink, and the translucent depths of copper oxide green.
It is a palette in which the character of the glazes is as important
as the colour.
Above all what I want to show is the joy in the freedom of the moment;
that you will be exhilerated as I was.
As time has gone by some of the work has got bigger and has become
more abstract and sculptural. It is about the balance of masculine
and feminine; of renewal and rebirth and new beginnings. Some forms
have an organic upward thrusting energy which is making them want
to be very tall indeed., as if to connect earth and sky.
And most recently it is incorporating inspiration from outside;
from the estuary environment in which I live, so that there are
forms inspired by the floating bouys and by the wooden pilot gig
boats in which I row and race. The work now is of a completeness,
a spiritual wholeness, an arrival.
Examples:
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