Blue + white
My ‘blue and white period’ started in an adult education class 10 years ago when I was introduced to using tin glaze with cobalt oxide. I was immediately mesmerised by the way the ‘black’ and highly toxic powdered cobalt oxide transformed into a deep mineral blue when fired.
I started experimenting with using this old craft skill in new ways . I set myself the goal of making 100 tiles by hand, and then tin-glazed and fired them. This allowed me to learn about the properties of clay, how to get tiles to dry flat and so on.I also taught myself the traditional image transfer technique of ‘poncing’ with ground charcoal through a pin-pricked outline. These images are then hand painted with cobalt oxide onto the tin glaze –a delicate job because the tin glaze is powdery and mistakes cannot be corrected.
I like the way traditional deft tiles often reflect everyday life and my ‘Elements of hip-hop’ series riffs on this idea -by combining a 16th century technique with modern iconography.
Around this time I also developed a more gestural style where simple mark-making, brushstrokes and splatters allowed the blue and the white to take ‘centre stage’.
Plate
Beads
Bowl
Tile
I have used this style in my own kitchen tiles and also in some collaborative work using porcelain with a silver smith friend Chloe Paull, to make silver and porcelain jewellery https://www.chloepaull.com/about
Kitchen Tiles – Easton Bristol
Some examples of my blue and white period work... made in collaboration with Arborhouse Bristol https://arborhouse.co.uk/
‘Elements of hip hop’ table
Fireplace - Easton Bristol – ‘elements of hip-hop’
In 2014 I visited Delft which evolved into a broader interest in the history of blue and white china and the efforts of European potters to reproduce Chinese porcelain from the 16th century onwards. This in turn led to the next bit of my clay journey where I have explored ideas around cultural exchange and the post-colonial imagination. See ‘Mongrel Culture’
Although I am currently not doing much blue and white work it was through a deep engagement with the techniques and craft processes of ‘delftware’ that I learned most of my ceramic craft. I’m happy to discuss commissions.
Arborhouse founders Theo Weywood and Mon Merttens have now ‘moved on’ in their craft design journeys but are both still making beautiful things and can be contacted through their website. https://arborhouse.co.uk/