I have been working on a series of life drawings as references for a series of Bass Reliefs. I’m going to bring in some coloured clays and smeared pigment in a effort to capture some of the radiant energy inherent in the compelling little sticks of heavily pigmented pastels I draw with. To date, I have been using Sennilier, but in a week or so, (Santa willing), I hope to use Unison Hand Made Portrait Pastels.
Due to a lack of sufficient heating, my pottery shed is too cold to concentrate in until mid-March. So each year after Christmas, I transform my front room into a studio, cover stuff with drapes and the rugs with rubber-backed fabric. For three months, I plan to watch winter pass along the street outside my house, whilst I play with clay and pigments.
The upside of this idea is that when waking up with an idea or solution at 4am, I can simply work in my pyjamas!
I recently went on an eight-mile walk, through Shugborough and both of the Haywoods. I found this old wall covered in lichen. The sky was clear blue and the lichen vibrated in the bright winter light. I found this really inspiring.
I have oxides much like these colours and a bold black iron that smudges under the fingers, like soft charcoal.
This is a huge leap for me, as the idea of decoration as such, is not something I am interested in. The surface of a pot is integral and not a drape. Colouring sculpture won’t satisfy me at all, so I mean to work it in texturally.
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