April 25 2021

Final Outcome Production

When creating my side plate I began by cutting strips of clay and attaching them to the edge of a rectangular slab of clay using scratch and slip; I added extra clay to the centre of the piece to reinforce the ‘spine’ section of the book and then used various tools to carve, shape and add texture to the plate. I also added a rim to that lined the edge of the book. I repeated this process to create a second book form for the second side dish.

Unfortunately when one of the pieces was leather hard it split in half, but I manged to use slip and wet clay to put the piece back together.

As I did not have enough time to throw my main dishes on the pottery wheel, I decided to hand build them by using a mixing bowl as a mould. i started by cutting a circle and a long strip out of a slab of clay and mould them into the bowl, scratching and slipping them together to make one solid vessel. I explored the use of thicker and thinner slabs of clay for these bowls and found that the thinner bowl form, although lighter, warped easily, making it difficult to shape, add texture and sculptural aspects to the vessel.

 

Once the Bowls became leather hard I took them out of the mould and used a handful of tools to add texture to the bowl. I also created my family emblem and added it to the front of the bowl.

Unfortunately one of my books forms split in half in the kiln and the corner of another also broke.

Despite not having enough time to glaze my bowls, I instead decided to paint my dishes with acrylic paint, and used watercolour pencils to draw on the portraits of my mother and I. I also decided to paint my extra vessel forms to be used as bread plates.

Category: AAD012, Ceramics | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 25 2021

Research

For my final product I want to explore the landscape of my family routes, primarily within Glasgow, Scotland as that is where my mother is from, but also Derry, Northern Ireland as that is where both my great grandmother (who i am named after) and myself are from.

Family Heritage

(Unknown, 2, n.d.)(Viking, 2020 )(ScotClans, 2013)(Unknown, 3, 2020)(Unknown, 1, 2019)

My family has deep routes in both Scotland (Glasgow) and Ireland (Derry).  Every Scottish family/clan has their own tartan, symbol and motto: My family tartan consists of a yellow base with green and brown cross runs through it and my family symbol is of an hour glass with the motto above it “In Time”. My family crest/coat of arms consists of a yellow background which represents generosity, with blue checks on the chevron  – representing loyalty, truth and denotes protection, the crest is brought together with three black martlet birds. In Ireland the martlet is the bird of perpetual movement, it also represents someone who has been dispossessed of land, this links back to the plantation of Ireland).

Textured Bowl (HomeStore, 2021)

Above are a set of white Glaze stoneware ceramic bowls. One of the unique qualities about this product is its organic shape and textures. Each bowl is approximately 2.5″ high and 5.70″ in diameter. The design of these bowls are inspirational to my own as the texture used is not too far from my own ‘signature’ texture I use when adding textures to my ceramic work. I like how these bowls have an ‘organic shape to them as they do not align with modern perfectionism, this gives each bowl a sense of personality as no two are the exact same.

 

Illustrative Bowl (Zindel, 2021)

The above bowl is made of earthware clay and its design focuses on illustration rather than texture or patterned glazes. The dimensions of this bowl are 4″ high and 5.25″ diameter. This product is inspirational to my designs as i want to explore how to use illustrations on my ceramic work to tell a story rather than giving the use information through physical form and shape.

 

Bibliography:

HomeStore, 2021. White pottery bowl set Dinnerware set Pottery bowl Ceramic | Etsy. [online] Etsy. Available at: <https://www.etsy.com/EnjoyYourHomeStore/listing/686172072/white-pottery-bowl-set-dinnerware-set?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=social_organic&utm_source=MSMT&utm_term=so.smt&share_time=1580583434000> [Accessed 1 May 2021]. – (HomeStore, 2021)

ScotClans, 2013. Houston Tartan | ScotClans | Scottish Clans. [online] ScotClans | Scottish Clans. Available at: <https://www.scotclans.com/scottish-clans/clan-houston/houston-tartan/?fbclid=IwAR1ZGBQ_F_YbeD69wn3kTJNE2CwzoDcrwKSDRvqL5dcMq6YBNC7vHTbs2Kg> [Accessed 25 April 2021]. – (ScotClans, 2013)

Unknown, 1., 2019. Houston Coat of Arms, Family Crest – Free Image to View – Houston Name Origin History and Meaning of Symbols. [online] IrishNation.com. Available at: <http://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=houston&capname=Houston&letter=h&fbclid=IwAR1IUaR-4Pg3Ckrxw3E6viXdM3_9KIdvJR6DWLGwzCxyfie-dT8lRkSjhwI> [Accessed 25 April 2021]. – (Unknown, 2019)

Unknown, 2., n.d. Clan Houston. [online] Tartan Footprint. Available at: <http://www.tartanfootprint.com/houston/> [Accessed 25 April 2021]. – (Unknown, 2, n.d.)

Unknown, 3., 2020. Houston Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms. [online] HouseOfNames. Available at: <https://www.houseofnames.com/houston-family-crest> [Accessed 25 April 2021]. – (Unknown, 3, 2020)

Viking, V., 2020. Clan Houston – Wikipedia. [online] En.m.wikipedia.org. Available at: <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Houston?fbclid=IwAR2gx2CB0xrwxJh9zrvsuT7rPjO4hJS0QZiQJDGru_Q-lkxgVEkTxM64mTY> [Accessed 25 April 2021]. – (Viking, 2020)

Zindel, L., 2021. Small Bowl: Pinyon Pine Cone. [online] Laura Zindel Design. Available at: <https://www.laurazindel.com/small-bowl-pinyon-pine-cone/#product-tab-description> [Accessed 1 May 2021]. – (Zindel, 2021)

Category: AAD012, Ceramics | LEAVE A COMMENT