Blog posts

More Plates
Happy to have more plates on the go... the bottom 2 have yet to be glazed, the top one is after the glaze firing.  It's a pity the rosy cheek colours seem to be  buring out in the kiln, at the moment they are being fiored betweed 1080 - 1100 degrees.  show more
Casting Slip
I've also taken the opportunity to use the University's equipment to make a new batch of porcelain casting slip.... I've been able to make a much larger batch than normal using the blunger, very grateful for this!          show more
homemade underglaze crayons
    I've been testing out making my own underglaze crayons... I've done a little test using them dry and unfired but I'm going to low fire the crayons to 800 degrees to see how they work, I'm happy to find a recipe for making these crayons as it will open up the range of colours that I can use...  show more
First Plates
Really happy with the way these first tests came out, I'm enjoying using the underglaze crayons, it's really difficult to buy these crayons now so I'm going to experiment trying to make some of my own...  show more
Glazing
I've got different bits and pieces to glaze, the continuation of the tigers and the starts of the plates I've been making. I've been testing out some amaco underglaze crayons on the plates, I bought these a few years ago and never got around to using them... I love them, they are easy to use and you can really be...  show more
Creating Plates
  Duriing my residency I have been making some large plates, these are created using a hump mould and then by adding a small foot to the plates.      show more
Beginnings of a large coiled pot
I'm starting work on a large coiled pot, this will be one of my 'canvases' further down the line...  show more
First Firings
This is ready to go into the kiln this week. It's a remake of a piece I have made before (and a copy of a piece of traditional Staffordshire Pottery). I'm making this alongside the surface decoration experiments that I'm starting to work on  show more
Spray Booth
I recently had an induction for the spray booth, what a fantastic piece of equipment, I'll be using this in the next couple of weeks to glaze the tiger pieces  show more
Desk Space
Feeling very grateful to have been allocated a desk space, this will make things so much easier for me to co-ordinate everything from and to store things.  show more
Oh... the joys of a slabroller
It was great to be able to make a start on my placement in January at long last, once my knee and ankle started to feel better and I was able to move around. Oh the joys of a slab roller! Being in the department with all the facilities they have to offer is amazing, I'm starting off pressmoulding a...  show more
Delayed Start
I was looking forwarrd to making a start with my AA2A placement in November when I had a fall down some stairs and couldn't walk for 8 weeks! What a great start...  show more
Grateful for my aa2a placement with Sunderland University
I'm feeling very grateful to be selected for a placement with Sunderland University. They have extensive facilities and are of course leading the field in ceramics and glass. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to start experimenting and I'm really looking forward to meeting all the students and faculty. To be sited at the National Glass Center is also...  show more
Painting the Fiona Green charger
In the composition of the Fiona Green charger I have included three objects from the York Museums ceramic collection, these are a Thomas Toft tyg (YORYM:2001.8239), a Merete Rasmussen sculpture and a curious object which was sitting on a bench one day when I visited the stores of which I have no further information. All of the images of the...  show more
Introducing The Fiona Green Charger
The first charger I've made in response to York Art Gallery's ceramics collection is featuring Fiona Green, the collection facilitator for art. My charger takes direct reference from a delftware charger decorated with a portrait of Queen Anne. This piece dates from the 1700 -1720 period.  Queen Anne Charger, York Museums Trust (YORYM:2000.2672)   Fiona Green, Collection facilitator for art,...  show more
Creating Earthenware Chargers
During March and April I produced a few white earthenware chargers in the studios at college. They are pressmoulded over a hump mould (ah the joys of a slab roller! Yes plaese Santa). I'm bisque firing them without any decoration as I intend to paint majolica style directly on top of a tin white glaze, the first chargers will be...  show more
Discovering new materials...
I've just come across a new material which I've never used before. Terracotta cast with iron is a modelling material akin to plaster. It sets in an hour or so and resembles a bisque fired terracotta. I cast my ' sculptors fingers' in the material as a test, apparently the iron content in the terracotta will go rusty with regular...  show more
Ceramic Workshops with BA fashion students
There has been a lot happening since my last blog post... I have some retrospective blog posts to make and also some current ones documenting my recent activities. The lack of internet at my home for nearly two months has been a big hidrance to me keeping on top of my social media!  First up is the two workshops I...  show more
York Art Gallery's - Ceramic Collections, Chargers
I've been thinking a little about my first visit to the ceramic stores at the end of November. I was really drawn to the Thomas Toft piece that they have there which I mentioned in my last blog post and this got me researching some of his and his contemporaries other work, a lot of it I am already familiar...  show more
York Art Gallery's Ceramic Collections, First Visit
At the end of last month I managed to spend a couple of hours in York Art Gallery's 'top secret' ceramic store warehouse. It was quite a bombardment of the senses as I took in a diverse range of studio ceramics. I'm trying to focus in on one object that will inspire a new body of work. I'm unsure at...  show more