I used reading week to conduct some artist research around sculptural and model-making based art. I read: ‘The Sculptural Imagination – Figurative, Modernist, Minimalist’, ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’, ‘Ceramics in Studio’, and ‘Painted Clay’. The following are scans of pages I found especially interesting from these books, which will be labelled and referenced in the bibliography. I plan to conduct further artist research from what I found through this reading.
Page 142 from ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring painted earthenware by Elaine Carhatt.
This piece caught my eye as I enjoyed the simplicity in terms of shapes and block colours, resulting in an overall aesthetic that worked very well.
Page 193 from ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring glazes on porcelain sculptures by Elena Karina.
I was fascinated by this sculpture as it seems to represent something naturally occurring like some kind of crystal geode or mushroom growth and it looks so beautiful.
Page 270 of ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring ‘Alligator Holding Painting’ by Ann Adair, porcelain, oil on canvas.
I think the Alligator sculpture was an interesting use of basic mixed-media to create something interesting and adorable. I feel like meaning and purpose speak well through this piece.
Page 277 from ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring ‘The Harlequinn’ by Barbara Cichoka, ceramic, colour and clay.
I found this piece very horrifyingly beautiful, I like the aspects about it that relate to clowns and jesters, alongside the geometric and monochrome composition.
Page 280 of ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring ‘Vida Eterna’ by Judo de Vegetales, painted ceramic.
I think that this ceramic piece hold so much talent and time in it’s form, and I admire the use of colour featuring and detail to bring focus to certain aspects of the piece.
Pages 28, 29, from ‘Ceramics in Studio’ featuring 11.’Jar with Lid’ and 12.’Vase’ by Richard Slee, 1981/1982 earthenware.
A lot of Richard Slee’s Ceramics are inspired by playful shapes and natural sources, such as is evident with these two pieces. I think I am fond of his work as the finished product clearly communicates the inspiration behind the project.
Pages 34, 35, from ‘Ceramics in Studio’ featuring earthenware 18, 19, 20 and 21, by Richard Slee; ‘Happy Plate’ (1982), ‘Bowl’ (1982), ‘Spiral Dish’ (1982) and ‘Lattice Dish’ (1984).
These pieces are also very beautiful works by Slee, and should all belong in a fairytale tea party set. The childish innocence matched with natural inspirations create something really magical in his work.
Page 21 from ‘Painted Clay’ featuring: ‘The Car we Bought together just began to rust’ (Ceramic, 1990) by Rimas VisGirda.
This two-part piece caught my interest as the artist uses clay as a canvas for painting. Additionally there is a clear story to be told through the piece based on an important memory, which is similar to what I am trying to achieve in my project.
Page 68 from ‘Painted Clay’ featuring: ‘Jardin de Papillons’ by Raoul Dufy and Artigas, 1926/27.
I am really fond of the idea of a memory and a place being captured in a small physical form like it was in this piece, as I am aiming for a similar idea. I liked the involvement of a place such as a building to bring the memory into the physical world and place it easier.
Page 120 from ‘Painted Clay’ featuring: ‘Spirit Realm A-VI’ by Thomas Kerrigan, 1994.
The Spirit Realm piece (top left) was very interesting to me as it uses black and white alongside simplistic shapes and patterns to convey something very detailed and beautiful. I think the repetition and symmetry also aids to the effect of this piece.
Page 131 from ‘Painted Clay’ featuring: ‘Surplus Fabrics’ by Paul Scott, 1985.
As I wrote with ‘Jardin de Papillons’, this piece speaks to me as a memory of a place which I find incredibly interesting and relevant as research towards my project.
Page 16 from ‘The Craft and Art of Clay’ featuring: ‘Nude Descending the Staircase’, mixed media with ceramic, by Michal Lucero, 1982.
I liked specifically the surrealism combined with the contrast in scale used in this piece, it is such an interesting interpretation of a concept so simple as walking downstairs. I think I am most impressed by the creative transformation from base idea to outcome with his piece.
Bibliography:
Louise Bourgeois: Moma (no date) The Museum of Modern Art. MOMA. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/710 (Accessed: February 22, 2023).
Tate (no date) The art of Louise Bourgeois, Tate. Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/louise-bourgeois-2351/art-louise-bourgeois (Accessed: February 22, 2023).
Peterson, S. (1995) The Craft and Art of Clay, A Complete Potter’s Handbook (2 vols). 2nd edn. London: Laurence King Publishing (The Complete Pottery Course).
Potts, A. (2000) The Sculptural Imagination – Figurative, Modernist, Minimalist. London, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Scott, P. (2001) Painted Clay (1 vols). 1st edn. London: A&C Black Ltd.
Slee, R. (1990) Ceramics in Studio (1 vols). 1st edn. London, 7 Southampton place: Bellew Publishing.