Sometimes my motivation for creating a sculptural work could be as simple as experimenting with an unfamiliar technique, as involved as deciding on a theme for an exhibition, or as confined as conforming to the rules of a competition (as in the small figure ‘scrunch‘, above), which was required to fit in a cone box. (A cone box, 16 cm long, 8 cm wide and 7 cm high, was packed with cones – small, three sided, pyramids made of ceramic material calibrated to soften and bend at specific temperatures in a kiln – a visual approximation of the temperature of a firing.)
pentagonian, front view, 1985, stoneware, 48 cm high, built from slabs, unglazed ∆5.
pentagonian, rear view. I began thinking about our number system, based on ten (fingers). But what if a society decided on a base-five system, using the fingers on only one hand.
ramp, right side, 1991, clay and perlite, fired solid. Made during a Red Deer College ‘Series’ workshop, led by Robert Shay, exploring clay mixed with different materials such as perlite.
ramp, 1991, clay and perlite. Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian.
wall, side one, 1991, clay and perlite. By mixing perlite with clay, shrinkage and cracking are minimized, allowing the piece can be fired solid, even before it has fully dried. The only colour added was the red glaze brushed inside the cracks.
wall, side two, 1991, clay and perlite, pressed in a wooden mould and fired to ∆05 while still wet, thus some cracking occurred.
wedge side 1, 1991, clay and perlite. A crack was ‘helped’ to into two parts, on which I brushed lines of glaze that incorporated the separation between the two.
wedge end view, 1991, clay and perlite. There was also a round hole in the interior of both sides, offset somewhat.
wedge side 2, 1991, clay and perlite. This side shows the hole and the glaze stripes not connecting.
stage, 1991, clay and perlite. Here I used the red glaze more liberally to differentiate the various levels.
crouch, 2002, stoneware, 30x23x22 cm, thrown as closed form, altered, brown glaze, ∆10.
crouch, top rear view, 2002, stoneware, 30x23x22 cm, thrown as closed form, altered, brown glaze, ∆10.
scrunch, 2008, juried into a travelling exhibition sponsored by Alberta Culture and Alberta Potters Association.
scrunch, was modelled from solid clay,
