New work, open studio and experimental glaze development

Recovered from the hectic weekend of open studio last week; which went really well! Definitely doing it again next year. Lots of lovely visitors, thanks to everyone that made it along.Always nice to meet the public directly from time to time, and to give people an insight into how and why we make things. Quite a few older pieces were sold (always nice to make way for new work) but I've got more if anyone wants a reduced piece of work...
A few images below before the crowds arrived. There is work by my partner Chris Donnelly, Clare Andrews, Sally-Ann Provan, Hatti Pattison and Lyndsey Jean Henderson also in these shots; just a few of the other lovely Beaverhall residents!
More details on the Beaverhall FB page: www.facebook.com/BeaverhallStudios

The first new finished pieces were sent to Contemporary Applied Arts for their Christmas show; image below. Work over the last year has explored natural history collections, with different series of specific forms such as plate the focus. This new series focuses on collections viewed in UK based museums. The lidded jar or container is associated with collecting and containing historic specimens. It is sometimes directly connected with the animal (18^th/19^th century tobacco jars made from rhino feet for example), and so was chosen for this project (as yet untitled). Like the animal specimens themselves, the jars are hollow and function to 'contain' and permanently fix the images of the animals, frozen into their poses. 

The jars are intended in a sense to commemorate the animals and reflect their characteristics. Drawings were made of various specimens, which were then made into transfers layered over painted and printed surfaces. Selected photographs have been used, although the focus with this work is on the drawn image. Abstracted backgrounds refer loosely to the museum setting. They are handbuilt and individual, although part of a larger ongoing series which will develop over the next few months. 

 

And finally here is a image of some work made by product design post-grad student Jaume Miro at the studio; he is developing experimental glazes using reclaimed and recycled computer parts. I've built the vessels to his requirements based on traditional African pots (the black ones), and he has created glazes from scratch using the extracted raw materials...deceptively simple, but a lot of work to get to this stage and some exciting results so far! its been a really interesting process to work with someone else to help them develop their ideas and practical outcomes. Useful I think as an artist, when you are used to working on personal or specific concepts and themes, to step outside of this and create things to someone else's specifications. To date it has been a rewarding process to work with others at the studio and get differing perspectives on ceramics.