noun. a record of significant occurrences, experiences or observations.
May 2021
April 2021April marked the beginning of more systematic & detailed exploration of glaze & kiln firing; lots of trials & errors as well as attempts to perfect selected engraving & relief techniques. It’s a vast & specialist area of practice of course with seemingly infinite approaches & potential outcomes. Even ‘simple’ first step trials can be difficult & complex to achieve as many will testify. I have previously used ceramic glazes before but only in a very limited way & under the close guidance of experienced potters (who also helped fire work for me). My early (somewhat random) initial trials made use a variety of clays/slips stains rather than glaze in the main & were fired by The Firing Line. I had already decided that attempting to create & mix my own glaze recipes from scratch would be step too far within this residency timeframe. The emerging portfolio of ‘finished products’ provided the focus. Each sample required different challenges ie bisque, glazed (infill, dip/pour & hand painting). I began exploring pre-mixed commercial glazes (glaze, engobes & translucent options).
I now had sole use of a decent test kiln; this proved invaluable. It gave me the opportunity to go back to basic principles. I’ve never been in complete control of a kiln from loading, programming
March 2021A busy month of systematic trials; making marks, shapes & patterns. The focus remains on creative ways to explore & adapt traditional production techniques. The main aim during March has been to refine & ‘perfect’ specific methods in relation to ‘relief moulding’ & ‘engraving’ processes (greenware, bisque & glazed tiles/ceramic). Tests continued using both newly produced base products as well as experiments with standard stock & even vintage tiles (wall & floor). The ability to produce controlled or more spontaneous marks, lines & shapes either in or on a given surface offers an array of different possibilities especially when combined with the potential myriad of glaze techniques (monochrome, colours & inlays, etc) offers almost endless possibilities. Although quite a lot of limited initial tests have taken place; glaze & glazing techniques will now also become a key focus during April & going forward. This will require next step learning & hands on experience with the kiln & development of my (currently) somewhat basic knowledge of glazes & firing.
Interim review: This 6 month R&D residency has reached its half-way point; how time flies…
I am really pleased with the range & extent of work undertaken. It has been a pretty intense & highly productive 3 months. The learning & knowledge gained has already been invaluable & very exciting. The progress made to date certainly exceeds the original plan. Some of the techniques developed (& related specialist equipment pulled together & adapted) already offer some genuinely innovative & potential ‘step change’ opportunities going forward. Interestingly, it does feel like some sort of a natural ‘halfway point’. After initially jumping in at the deep end as it were & somewhat thrashing about (in a good but slightly random way); this first phase has logically gravitated towards working with the tile form itself especially the surface. My main focus has been to experiment with alternative & different ways to adapt or replicate/interpret some aspects of the dust press process. This is easier said than done especially without precision ‘dies’ or moulds. This is absolutely not about replacing the traditional process & the unique qualities of hand pressed tiles. However, this process can be quite complex, time consuming & costly. Specialist bespoke & ‘one off’ work is only really justified or viable for pretty high end projects with budgets to match. In turn, this somewhat limits experimentation, ‘play’ & creativity. The first 3 months have been all about experimentation, ‘play’ & creativity!