MY CERAMIC JOURNEY FROM SYDNEY TO DORNOCH
I have been making ceramics for over ten years now and it a medium I really enjoy. In Sydney I slip cast my pottery and was using polystyrene to make the forms from which I made moulds.
Since moving to the highlands I have started making forms from found objects, shells and feathers. I make images from
the feather balls and make porcelain bowls from the shells I collect on the beach. Each piece is unique taking its form from where it lands on the mould, and then finished when its leather hard.
I then add gold leaf to the interiors leaving the un-glazed porcelain exposed. I love the juxtaposition of the white porcelain
and the gilding on the beach foraged shell textures.
MAKING THE MOULD
Here I have stuck shells onto a polystyrene sphere
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COVERING THE SPHERE
The shells cover 2/3rds of the sphere
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LIMPET SHELLS
Here just half the sphere is covered
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THE MAKING PROCESS
Here are a few photos of how I make my ceramics. Its a very organic process and each piece is unique depending on how the clay slab
falls onto the mould and then how I finesse it in the leather hard stage.
ROLLING OUT THE CLAY
The clay is rolled out between two batons to about 2mm and then pushed onto the shell moulds.
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REMOVED FROM THE MOULD
Before the clay dries out completely it is removed from the mould and left to dry.
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WAITING FOR CLEANING
Once the clay is dry the bowls are ready to clean up in the leather hard state.
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AFTER CLEANING AND FIRING
After the delicate cleaning process the Porcelain is fired at 1200 degrees celsius. If it survives this then they are ready for the gold leaf.
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DORNOCH BEACH SHELL BOWLS
The step from shell to ceramic seems obvious to me as they share a similar weight and feel. Embellishing them with 24.5 carat gold leaf.
MOON SNAIL BOWL
£165.00 / SOLD​
LIMPET SHARD
£80.00 ​
PERI WINKLE BOWL
£125.00 SOLD​
OVAL COCKLE SHELL BOWL
£180.00 / SOLD​
ROUND COCKLE SHELL BOWL
£180.00 ​
ROUND COCKLE LEAF BOWL
£175.00​
POOL BOWL
The gold leaf in these bowls covers the porcelain up to the level filled when water is poured into the bowl.
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£165.00
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TIDE LINE BOWL
£160.00 ​
COCKLE SHELL SHARD
£105.00 ​
SMALL COCKLE SHELLS
From £55.00 each.​
OTHER CERAMIC SERIES
Before I moved to Dornoch I was experimenting with other ceramic forms and processes some of which are below.
DINO BOWL
An organic form with cracks to the exterior reminiscent of an ancient egg fosil.
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£115.00
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JENGA VASE
Made from a mould of stacked polystyrene
blocks and glazed interior​
POLY VASES AND FOAM BOWL
Various sizes and styles. These are slip cast from polystyrene forms and have glazed interiors.
THE SLIP CAST PROCESS
In Sydney I was lucky to find a place where I could slip cast. Its a challenging process but one I enjoyed very much and I hope I can pursue this technique in the future as I think the polystyrene forms I was making were interesting and quite unique. Below are some pics of the process.
MOULD MAKING
The polystyrene form is in-cased in clay before plaster is poured around it to make the mould
FILLING THE MOULDS
Clay slurry is poured into the plaster molds. Over a period, a layer builds up against the mold surface.
THE REVEAL
After about 15 mins the mould is opened to reveal the hollow vase form.
BUBBLE BOX
This Bubble box was one of my first slip cast ceramics and still one of my favourite. It was a complicated cast to make and taught me a lot about the process. I will cast more I hope ​