First Steps

This work has developed from a technique I started experimenting with early in 2009. Stains and oxides are applied to the unfired glaze surface by various means, the airbrush playing a major role. This technique of surface treatment allows a wide range of effects, some of them similar to those obtained by the use of terra sigillata and smoke firing. The advantage of this method is that the resulting surface, following a glaze firing to 1100 degrees celcius, gives a satiny impervious surface which needs no polishing and can be used for domestic and functional ware as well as sculptural work.

The forms are assembled from slabbed and thrown parts. The shapes and surface design continue to be inspired and informed by the narural world, particularly the landscapes and art of the far east.

These few pieces represent the first steps along the path of discovering what exciting possibilities these techniques offer.

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