Strata 3 : : Details 20 x 20 cm
Strata
Strata is a series of vessels created in 2014. The works were either hand carved from a single block of clay or hand built from slabs consisting of several types of clay. Strata 3 has a 'seam' of Southern Ice porcelain running laterally through the middle section with RGH stoneware clay forming the base and Ironstone clay the section above. The works are intended as purely sculptural objects, but may also be used for Ikebana. Strata 2 is photographed containing water.
Surface Treatment
After the creation of the striated surface a number of layers of different clay slips mixed with oxides are applied and the pieces bisque fired. A variety of oxides are then applied and the surface sealed with a fine coating of a matte glaze. The pieces are then fired a second time up to 1300°C in a reducing atmosphere in a gas kiln to achieve this rich, dark quality of surface.
Strata 2 : : Details 20 x 20 cm
Inspiration
Like the platters, which seem to have been formed through seismic activity, deposition of sediments and the action of wind and rain on water, this series of work is inspired by the processes and outcomes of natural geological forces. Earlier works have used clay merely as a plastic material to realise certain ideas - often in mathematically precise dimensions and forms through the use of digital 3D modelling and rapid prototyping technology. This work focuses on the inherent characteristics of the material in the creation of objects which appear to have been shaped by natural phenomena rather than through human and technological intervention.
