Art Ceramic Vessels - Essay Example

?Running Head: Art Ceramic Vessels Art Ceramic Vessels [The of the will appear here] [The of the id will appear here] [The name of the course will appear here] [The name of the course number will appear here] Introduction Ceramic Art is one of the most ancient arts of the world. This art form has been practiced by Potters in civilizations as early as the Indus and the Mesopotamian Civilization. While potters originally worked with clay but with time other materials have been included in this art; by new and old potters to add more charm and diversity to the art form. In the beginning, ceramic pieces served two purposes: functional and decorative purposes. Early potters created their pieces so that they may be used as pieces of tableware, crockery or other functional items. With time, potters began exploring the limits of ceramic art. They introduced art pieces that carried no functional purpose and yet became master pieces for the thought they represented. Contemporary ceramic artist had moved from functional to aesthetic to experimental and even to garish pieces. The diversity added by these artists adds more charm to the art. In this paper, I would be exploring my ceramic pieces that I have developed for this course. The art pieces that I have developed have been inspired from contemporary ceramic artists including Ken Eastman and Alison Britton. This art form explores how vessels can be reshaped to acquire the form of architectural landscapes; and most specifically modern architectural buildings. I have reflected upon my art pieces in reflection with the work of other notable ceramic artists. While I have found certain lacking in my art forms, I believe that my art is in the right direction. This paper will discuss contemporary artists also while reflecting on their art pieces and the idea behind these pieces. Ceramic Art Ceramic Art is a three dimensional art form whereby objects from clay are made. These include pots, tableware, tiles and many other figures. The process of converting clay into figures is known as pottery. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Keramikos, meaning pottery. While clay is the main material used in ceramics, artists nowadays experiment with different inorganic material and the art produced is still termed as ceramic art. Ceramic Art, like any other art form, can be completed through different techniques. There are four basic methods through which pottery can be produced. These include hand work, wheel work, slip casting and slab building technique. Often a combination of two is used to complete a piece. Hand work is one of the most basic and primitive methods of producing pottery where the potter uses a ball of clay to fashion a piece of pottery with his hands. Because of the inconsistency in design, many potters prefer wheel work. In wheel work, a potter’s wheel is employed where the potter places a ball of clay in the wheel head. With the help of a foot pedal, the wheel is turned and the potter gives shape to his piece through pressing, squeezing or pulling. The advantage of the wheel work is that is allows the designer to produce similar mass products. These products can also be altered through bulging, fluting, faceting, carving, incising or impressing the pieces. Often a combination of wheel work and hand work is employed where hand work is used to finish of the pieces. Potters add handles, feet, lids and other design elements to the original piece through handwork. The third technique, slip casting is preferred to create small delicate pieces. It involves the use of mold whereby liquid clay is poured within the molds, dried and then removed. Slab building technique is another technique that is preferred by contemporary ceramic artists and came from the Mesoamerican Pre-Columbian ceramists. In this technique, the clay or any other material is rolled out through the help of the rolling pin. Once the clay is rolled out, it acquires a soft finish which can easily be molded into the required shape. A ceramist might use a number of rolled out clay pieces in order to construct the entire shape. Once the piece is produced or also while it is in the process of production, various finishing and decorating techniques are applied. These include: Sgraffito: This is a technique whereby the top layer is scratched to reveal another color beneath. The base color is often kept in contrast with the top color. Burnishing: This is a technique where the surface of the piece is polished and smoothened through the use of a polished surface. Polished surfaces include wood, stone or steel. To get a smoother feel, potters either used fine clays or wait for the clay to dry. Agateware: In this technique, different varieties or colors of clay are mixed to produce one piece. The clay is often slapped together before being given any shape. This method is usually employed in the case of hand work pieces and also in some wheel work pieces. Glazing: Glazing is a process through which the art form acquires a shiny surface after being fired. Silica is the most common material used while glazing. Glazing adds finish to the product and makes it waterproof (Turner, 2012). Ceramic Artists Alison Britton Alison Britton is an acclaimed British ceramic artist who has been working on ceramics since 1970s. Apart from being a ceramist, Britton is a curator and a writer. Being a graduate of the Royal College of Art, she has been teaching there for 30 years. Britton has been proclaimed as one of the best modernist ceramic artists on account of the fact that she formed part of the RCA radical graduates who were later termed as the ‘New Ceramists’ Britton uses the slabs of clay method where she stretches the clay into long flat pieces and then defines their shape. She does not employ the wheel work method. While using the slab method, she ensures that her edges are soft and transition easily. The slabs of clay used are molded in bold shapes, which though conform to a domestic ware; define a new way of perceiving the ware. While Britton uses brightly colored clay, she sticks to a limited color palette such as Deep red and Turkish Blue Her art pieces are modernist in nature. Her focus is on mostly on jugs, pots, vessels etc. Her ceramic pieces have been termed as a blend between ceramics and modernist sculptures. While she mainly focuses on jugs and vessels, the art pieces are developed unlike any domestic wares. They give a new meaning to ceramics. She mostly employs the use of brightly colored clay where the designs on the exterior often are extended towards the interior (Frank Lloyd Gallery, n.d). Gordon Baldwin Boldwin is yet another modernist ceramist who was born in 1932. He completed his education in painting and pottery from the Central School of Art and Design in London. Quite like Britton, Boldwin’s ceramist pieces are also a combination of sculpture and ceramics. He also uses painting on his art form and it is this combination of sculpture and painting that has made Baldwin popular in art circles. He is also inclined towards creating vessels. However, Boldwin relies on the hand work technique of creating his art forms. The material employed by Boldwin includes both clay and stone. Also the art work produced by Boldwin takes on an inorganic shape as opposed to a geometric shape. His ceramic pieces are asymmetrical in nature. The art pieces developed by Boldwin can be defined as minimalistic. The color palette adopted by Boldwin contrasts with that of the vibrant one produced by Britton, as Boldwin prefers to use muted and neutral colors. He decorates his art pieces with abstract painting as he cites his inspiration to be Jean Arp, a surrealist sculpture. Boldwin is inspired by many different art movements in history and he is often observed to incorporate these in his art forms. Examples include Developed Bottle were he used cubism and painting in the form of bowl where he was inspired from Dadaism (York Art Gallery, 2012). Ken Eastman Ken Eastman is yet another English ceramist who has been acclaimed for his art pieces. He has won numerous awards including the Italian Premio Faenza and the Korean Gold Medal at World Ceramic Exposition in 2001. Eastman is known for his slab building ceramic technique for building rigid and flat bottomed vessels. Though Eastman creates vessels as his preferred ceramic form, he does not do so to give his pieces any functional advantage. He gives his own form to his shapes in order to explore new boundaries. Eastman’s pieces can also be defined as dynamic. While he relies on rigid form and subtle colors, the artist manages to induce movement in his pieces. He does this through shaping the vessels in an asymmetrical form. A strong relation to architecture is also obvious in his pieces as the vessels have a strong foundation along with visual sense of weight. One can say that it is difficult to define the art form of Eastman in a specific category. While Eastman relies on movement and subtle structure, his vessels do not belong to a certain era. At times, they conform to the cubist movement while at others they gain a fuller form. Being a member of the Royal Crown Derby, Eastman is able to benefit from the pattern in the company’s archives. This allows him to paint his fluid, organic shapes with sophisticated designs (Eastman, n.d.). Regina Heinz Regina Heinz is yet another famous ceramist working from England. Her technique for creating ceramics includes the slab building technique using soft slabs of clay. Heinz is inspired from architecture and landscape of Austria, her home country. Her designs have an organic form taking inspiration from the nature’s geometrical forms. Heinz’s ceramist pieces include sculptures, wall hangings and even vessels. In these, she has incorporated forms that deal with line, color, form and volume to create pieces that are inspired from Austria’s urban geometry. Most of Heinz’s sculptures and works have a sensual quality where the forms seem dynamic in their undulating body. Her use of colors borders on the vibrant shades of clay. Heinz does not use paints or oxides to decorate the texture of her clay; rather she believes in using the natural properties offered by clay including its color, texture, glaze etc. She employs these craftily so as to add depth and volume to her art forms (Cermart, n.d.). Richard Slee Also known as the Wizard of Studio Ceramics, Richard Slee is a London based ceramist whose love for Disney characters transcends into his art forms. He art forms are cute and cartoonish. Examples of these include the wheelbarrow where Slee placed her daughter’s cast off toys on the top of the wheel barrow. To finish off his cartoonish pieces, Slee gives a high glaze to his ceramic pieces. The pieces produced by Slee are not termed as high art and are not favored greatly by art collectors. This is because Slee offers a pop art version of ceramics with their vibrant colors and popular relevance. His art forms have a happy ambiance. The bright colors such as bright yellow and red give off a happy look to the art form. This is the reason this art form is famous among designers and contemporary ceramic artists. The art forms created by Slee have not gained the favor among the high art circles. This is because Slee gives a different presentation of sculpture that borders on pop art ceramic pieces (Sherwan, 2012). Andrew Lord Andre Lord is an acclaimed British ceramist who has travelled quite around the world to explore and present his art pieces. Lord began with exploring the human figures and later experimented with amalgamating human figures into traditional vases and vessels. In this sense, his work is truly innovative. Lord has been able to successfully use the outlines of the vessels and incorporate within them the profiles of reputed artists such as Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp and Paul Gaugin. Lord’s inspiration from the art circles can be lined with Picasso, Monet and Cezzane. This is because his art forms are repeatedly developed keeping in mind the light and shade qualities that can be incorporated within the facial vessels. While Lord began with introducing the facial profile within traditional vessels, he moved a further step ahead with them when in the 1980s; he used other forms to incorporate facial profile within. These included architecture, poetry, landscape etc. Here his inspiration moved to his earlier memories where he used to paint landscapes. Along with clay, Lord experimented with different materials including bronze and plaster but clay seems to be his most preferred material. When developing facial profiles, Lord was found to rely on his own body parts including his teeth, nose, ears and tongue for impressions on the intended material. Thus, Lord used his own body as a tool by licking or biting the clay. This, however, gives his art forms a crude look which would be something that Lord does purposely (RoGallery, n.d). Naula O’Donovan Nuala O’Donovan is an Irish ceramist who works with sculptural ceramics. She takes her inspiration from the natural beauty of Ireland. Her sculptures showcase the irregular shapes of nature being replicated like a pattern to create a sculpture. Thus there is a blend of regular and irregular in her sculptures. The irregular are the original basic shape while the entire pattern is the regular. Each pattern takes its own time as the entire sculpture is constructed in week or even months. While O’Donovan is inspired from nature, she depicts the transient human quality in her sculptures. She aims to bring past, present and future all together. According to O’Donovan, her ceramic sculptures are hand made with each part given special attention. She sculptures, in part, depict the human DNA that is made up of organic patterns. These, like her sculptures, can take any direction and this is the beauty of the sculpture. All of O’Donovan’s sculptures have one common material, which is the material. She exclusively uses porcelain as her material of choice. Furthermore, she does not add any decorative elements in her sculptures by painting or glazing them. They retain their original color and texture; perhaps because they do not distract the viewers from the original art piece (O’Donovan, n.d). James Oughtibridge James Oughtibridge is a ceramic artist who is another graduate of the RCA. He is known for his sculptural vessels created from clay. Oughtibridge creates his sculptures through hand; using his hands to provide the necessary contour to the intended piece. The most distinguishing characteristic about Oughtibridge’s work is the way he uses light and dark in his art forms. These art forms are curvy in nature and can be likened to figurative work that takes on an architectural form as it proceeds. The art forms created by Ougtibridge, though sculptural in nature, are created without any solid base. This gives the impression that the piece is floating the air; adding tension and attraction within the piece. The viewers are also tempted to closely study the art form because of the way Oughtibridge creates space within the sculpture. This space is infused with shadows due to the interplay of light and dark. When creating his pieces, Oughtbridge ensures that the sculpture looks finished through proper sanding and scraping. In order to add more contrast among the light and the dark elements of the art form, his fires his pieces after applied oxides, slips and stains (Oughtibridge, n.d). Matthew Blakey Mathew Blakey is another UK born potter who later moved on to Australia. Blakey stresses that ceramics is most attuned to the earth’s surface and thus he explores landscapes and earth’s surface in his work. The materials that Blakely uses are unique in the sense that he uses materials found on the earth’s surface and collected from different locations. He is inspired by the unrefined and impure materials available in nature which allows him to challenge his creativity and come up with an art form that is unpredictable yet full of possibility. Blakely also ensures that the art pieces that he develops are functional. Blakely argues in the favor of functional art form because he claims that it increases the appreciation for the art form when people use it and also appreciate the visual beauty of the piece. In order to add decoration to the final piece, Blakely uses the technique of glazing and slip. This enhances the feel of the finished product. In Blakely’s art forms, one would find texture. This texture is created by the wide array of materials that he uses to create his ceramic pieces (Blakely, n.d). Reflection The ceramists that I have been studying in this course usually focus on the form of the piece. It is the form of the art piece that defines the art and the artist. For example, Ken Eastman creates pieces where he experiments with the basic form of the vessels. His vessels are not intended to serve as functional pieces. Rather they are an art form that call in questions and provoke thoughts in the minds of the viewers. Most modern ceramists, and specially the one that I have studied, have deviated from the concept of using ceramic pieces to serve as functional art. Rather some art pieces like those of Naula O’Donovan are abstract in nature. They do not conform to certain shapes; rather they are amalgamation of shapes. Like in the case of O’Donovan, they are a blend of regular and irregular. Thus ceramic artists have come a long way from their history and have exploring this art form for the sake of art only and not for any functional value. Also ceramic artists are more focused on the forms that they create. The colors used in the form do not distract the viewer from the shape of the form. For example, in the case of James Oughtbridge, his art forms are usually done on a monochromatic color scheme. His focus remains on the interplay of light and dark in the sculptures and for that he does not introduce color hues. However, the decoration the art vessels is an important aspect of the overall design. They lend in more credibility to the design piece but improving the overall look of the piece. Another thing that I noticed while studying these ceramic artists is that they depend on one ceramic building technique. While many favor the slab building technique, artists also favor the hand work technique in combination with wheel work. Focusing on one technique allows them to develop strength in that particular technique. They have their hands set in one technique and this is a clever idea as it brings in more finish to the final piece. Studying these artists has allowed me to explore my own artwork in reflection with their work. I have learnt a lot through studying their work and hope to incorporate it in the future. I have also tried to take inspiration from their work by closely studying not just the technique and final artwork but also the thought process behind the artwork. This is because I believe that artwork without understanding its thought is useless. My Work My work is greatly inspired from two ceramic artists’ exhibition that I saw in England, Alison Britton and Ken Eastman. Both these artists use the slab building technique of developing their ceramic pieces. I used the same technique after experimenting with the technique in Unit 5. I wanted to experiment how this technique would adjust with my theme of buildings and architecture. For the form I made which relates to the roof of the house, I used 2 triangle shapes a very simple shape with the got texture of roof tiles on the surface. My ceramic pieces has acquired the form of vessels; similar to the style of Alison Britton. However, I have not used the traditional form of vessels. I have adjusted the shape of these vessels to take the form of modern architectural forms. Thus, my ceramic pieces consist of intriguing forms that take inspiration from the modern day landscape of a contemporary society. While creating my art forms, I have also considered the negative and positive space. Every building in the sky has negative and positive space when you photograph them against the backdrop of the sky. The sky in this case forms the negative while the building takes up the positive space. This interplay of negative and positive has been taken into account when creating the ceramic vessels. The colour theme of the ceramic pieces centres on two main colours: yellow and orange. These colours represent the modern buildings in the architecture. Another method of decorating the vessels is by using the method of shiny glaze. Shiny glaze is used to symbolize the dependence of modern architecture on glass. Reflection During this final year I have learned, and experimented with, some new techniques and processes and have learnt how to make stuff in general in simple ways, Such as look at the form or subjects in the simple and attractive ways. I think the most disappointing thing for me is that I did not explore enough colour pallets and also the quality and finish are bit short. I also feel I need to use my sketch book continually to carry out problem solving. The thing I feel I did not do very well in the first project was my research; it needed to be more extensive to find out more about what the designers intend to do on their work, and also what their work is about and more evidence about their work and to gain materials they used. I believe that had a researched more on the artists, I would have had more exposure to the way ceramic artists create their art form and would have been exposed to more perspectives. But I did not overly depend on research because I believe that research kills creativity. Had I researched more, I would have confined myself to the certain techniques and shapes. With not enough research, I let my mind roam around and came up with an original art. My investigation started with researching buildings and urban landscape. In the beginning I went out with my camera to photograph buildings and old architectural buildings. I looked at buildings from different angles and direction to see which were the most interesting angles from which view them. Then I began to draw ideas from the images I took by using a variety of Medias to see and investigate how the building looks in 2D and 3D. During the first week of the project I went to London to see exhibitions. I saw two artists which I particular liked Alison Britton and Ken Eastman and both their works are slab built. From then I started to think about my own work and develop my ideas. From these two gained a lot ideas and skills, as well the understanding of making techniques and colours. At first I found it difficult to generate ideas, because at the beginning I was focused on the whole structure of the building. After speaking to Sharon in a tutorial however she suggested that I just focus on the most interesting parts of the buildings. As a result I decided to export photographs into Photoshop and use the crop tool to cut out the most interesting sections of a building and also to zoom in to look at the positive and the negative spaces around the image. I think this idea gave me a more open mind about the building itself not just looking at the whole building. From then I started to look at simple ideas, and made some card models to explore the form and shape to see how it would looks in 3D. I think this card process really helped me to choose the best idea to produce in clay, and it also helped me work on new design ideas. I think that to achieve my idea generation in a more professional way I need look more at other people's works to give me enhanced ideas and also enable me to make the right judgment. In the first project I found it somewhat difficult when exploring materials and processes. In Unit 5 everything I made has oxides and I feel the colours are rather flat and do not really stand out. In my current project I have been exploring colour slips with different colours on the work I made to give the work more energy. I mostly spend 3-4 days in the workshop per week and during the production period I considered using a camera to record each making stage. Sometimes I use paper and cardboard to make models to find out the right way to make the design. I have found that drawing is really important to me. It helps me work out the design, drawing and sketching in order to find the right way to approach a certain architectural building. In the last project most of my drawings were based on using pencils and black fine liner. I think to get better quality I might need to involve other drawings mediums. In the current project I have used colour mediums on most of the drawings and it really helps to decide what colours the piece will be after they have been made. I think using colours gives you the ideas of glazing and enables you to consider the best colour to suit the piece. I am not confident using Photoshop and 3D programs and I need to develop my skills further and build more confidence by reading books about the program and practicing more. I am not a good writer but I found that student support helped me a lot in the past 3 years. I think the tutorial group has developed my thoughts and personal ideas about my own work and has also helped me to raise my standards further. Sometimes we looked at each other's works and provided feedback and think it really helped to improve my work by eliciting opinions from other people. I was bit disappointed with my last portfolio and felt I could have improved some areas such as: better layout, analysis of the content and enhanced folder quality. When I am in the library sometimes I spend a few hours reading books and journals in my area to extend my knowledge and improve my cognitive skills. I think is very important to look at other artists and designers works to give ideas and see what new things are out there. Sometimes I also visit museums and galleries to look at other people's work and get inspiration and ideas from them. I feel I manage my time very well I always plan what I am going to do the next day, and I attend university every day, but I still think I can still improve my use of time even better by spending more on the research, generating more ideas and improving my use of time at home to do more sketch book work. Overall I feel this final year I have learned some techniques and processes which will help me in the future to produce more substantial work. I realize that art is always subjective; they are multiple perspectives to creating and analysing an art form. This I learnt through the various books I read on the topic. However, an artist should strive to present his thoughts as best as he can. I feel that I have done that to a great extent but it could have better. In this year the one thing that really helped me is the tutorial section. It really gave me a lot of information about works and advice on the best way to do it, and it helped me to develop my style of work and to decide what and where I want to be after this course. I think there are some weaknesses that I want to improve in the future such as: drawing techniques, research, and idea generation. After this course I think I have a clear direction of where I want to be and I am looking for the new challenge. When I compare my art work with other ceramic artists, I feel that I still have a long way to go. This will only be accomplished if I continue practicing on my work and exploring new thoughts and ideas. I do not want to limit myself to just arts but would like to explore different areas of study such as architecture, philosophy, history etc. This would help develop a perspective and bring in new ideas and themes within my work. Currently my work also lacks in finishing. It does not have the same finish as that of Naula O’Donovan’s work which inspired me because she replicated organic shapes and developed a consistent pattern throughout her work. I need to work on my finishing technique by working more on my slab building technique. One aspect that I have noticed about ceramic artists is that they stick to their building technique. This allows them to develop expertise and finish in their work and I intend to do the same. Having worked with slab building technique for this theme, I am starting to get comfortable with the technique. It allows more control over the final piece as compared to the wheel work and is not as difficult to maintain as the hand work technique. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to say that I have learnt a lot in this particular course. I have not just learnt to shape vessels and finish them off using different techniques but I have also flourished as an artist. I have been able to develop an understanding of ceramics and the works of prominent artists. I have also studied my art forms in relation with that of the artists. It allows me to understand where I stand right now. I believe that I am in the right direction and if I keep moving forward, I would flourish more. References Blakely, M. (n.d) The Idea, Retrieved from http://www.matthewblakely.co.uk/mb/files/ideas.htm[Accessed June 19, 2013] Cermart, (n.d) The Ceramic Art of Regina Heinz, Retrieved from http://www.ceramart.net/m [Accessed June 18, 2013] Eastman, K. (n.d.) Profile, Retrieved from http://www.keneastman.co.uk/profile.html [Accessed June 18, 2013] Frank Llyod Gallery, (n.d) Alison Britton, Retrieved from http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=17 [Accessed June 18, 2013] O’Donovan, N (n.d) Artist Statement, Retrieved from http://www.nualaodonovan.com/page3.htm [Accessed June 19, 2013] Oughtibridge, J. (n.d) About my work, Retrieved from http://www.jamesoughtibridge.co.uk/ [Accessed June 19, 2013] RoGallery (n.d) Andrew Lord, Retrieved from http://rogallery.com/Lord_Andrew/lord-biography.html [Accessed June 18, 2013] Sherwan, S. (2012) Artists of the Week 188: Richard Slee, The Guardian, Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/may/03/artist-week-richard-slee [Accessed June 18, 2013] Turner, A., (2012) Ceramic Art: Innovative Techniques, USA: The American Ceramic Society York Art Gallery (2012) Gordan Baldwin: Objects for a Landscape, Retrieved from http://www.yorkartgallery.org.uk/page/viewspecialexhibition.aspx?collectionid=61 [Accessed June 18, 2013] Read More