Fresh out of the kiln, still warm....
Tuesday 17 February 2015
Saturday 7 February 2015
In the contemplative mood
If you remember the post about "testing" all the way back in December, You might remember me mentioning that about the half of the bigger triangles have cracked in the glaze kiln. I have no explanation. Pieces were on different positions in the kiln,on different thickness shelves, cracks are on different positions on the triangles. The only thing the same is that they are all on the bigger size triangles, the one which has almost equal sides ( but not quite).
I have "lost" another 50% in the second glaze firing. If it continues that way, instead of making 90 triangles "A" I will have to make almost 180. Not acceptable.
I remember attending a workshop by UK potter Peter Hayes, about a decade ago if not more... I thought of him now, as at the time he was making large raku fired work, broken to segments and glued together with red resin. I have also researched repair methods and Kintsugi .“The term “kintsugi” means ‘golden joinery’ in Japanese and refers to the art of fixing broken ceramics with a lacquer resin made to look like solid gold” (….and often actually using genuine gold powder in the resin).Some contend that many Japanese have come to cherish the imperfection of a broken pot repaired in this way….seeing it as a creative addition and/or re-birth to the pot’s life story. Others say that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.
Lakeside Pottery has an excellent web site on restoring broken pottery ( among other goodies), and I decided to give it a go....with red resin.
The result was quite surprising... Not so much visually, but how it changed the interpretation of the work (as tested on the family members).
If you remember the post about "testing" all the way back in December, You might remember me mentioning that about the half of the bigger triangles have cracked in the glaze kiln. I have no explanation. Pieces were on different positions in the kiln,on different thickness shelves, cracks are on different positions on the triangles. The only thing the same is that they are all on the bigger size triangles, the one which has almost equal sides ( but not quite).
I have "lost" another 50% in the second glaze firing. If it continues that way, instead of making 90 triangles "A" I will have to make almost 180. Not acceptable.
I remember attending a workshop by UK potter Peter Hayes, about a decade ago if not more... I thought of him now, as at the time he was making large raku fired work, broken to segments and glued together with red resin. I have also researched repair methods and Kintsugi .“The term “kintsugi” means ‘golden joinery’ in Japanese and refers to the art of fixing broken ceramics with a lacquer resin made to look like solid gold” (….and often actually using genuine gold powder in the resin).Some contend that many Japanese have come to cherish the imperfection of a broken pot repaired in this way….seeing it as a creative addition and/or re-birth to the pot’s life story. Others say that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.
Lakeside Pottery has an excellent web site on restoring broken pottery ( among other goodies), and I decided to give it a go....with red resin.
The result was quite surprising... Not so much visually, but how it changed the interpretation of the work (as tested on the family members).
While before everyone saw pieces as vaguely organic, those with red resin look hurt. They actually invoke empathy from viewers. Sense of exposed flesh, but luckily, no gore and oozing blood....
I like it, but do I dare incorporate it in the work?
To be on the safe side, I explored (first in Photoshop, and than on real pieces) some other options. I thought that clear resin might have a chance,but it looks like glueing gone wrong.
Red on the other hand has impact. With it's slightly waxy surface it looks strangely fleshy.
Intuitive Sense of Connection is reaching out to connect on the "flesh and blood" level.
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