MY PROCESS
My work begins with paper. I have been folding since childhood, and it is from that practice that my technique grew - the question of what happens when a fold is made permanent.
I press-mould coloured porcelain directly onto folded structures, capturing the geometry, the planes and the texture of folded cartridge paper in a medium that holds it exactly as it was made - a fold fixed in time. Each mould is subtly distorted by hand, introducing asymmetry that prevents mechanical repetition. The result is that no two pieces are identical, even within a series.
Working in multiples, individual elements are assembled into compositions where repeated forms shift from line to curve, generating movement and volume from stillness.
The process is also shown in the two-minute film at the bottom of this page - skip ahead if you'd like to see it in action.
I press-mould coloured porcelain directly onto folded structures, capturing the geometry, the planes and the texture of folded cartridge paper in a medium that holds it exactly as it was made - a fold fixed in time. Each mould is subtly distorted by hand, introducing asymmetry that prevents mechanical repetition. The result is that no two pieces are identical, even within a series.
Working in multiples, individual elements are assembled into compositions where repeated forms shift from line to curve, generating movement and volume from stillness.
The process is also shown in the two-minute film at the bottom of this page - skip ahead if you'd like to see it in action.
Colour
|
|
Body stain is worked directly into the raw porcelain to achieve the depth and density of colour the work requires. It is important that, like paper, the colour is integral to the material - folded into it rather than applied over it. This takes time and patience: the stain must be added in precise proportion to the quantity of porcelain and mixed evenly through without introducing air. The colour shifts slightly during firing, deepening and settling into the surface.
|
|
|
Adding Pure Colour
Like an alchemist searching for gold, the glaze stain colour has to be added accurately, and in proportion to the quantity of porcelain, to get the required depth of colour. It takes time and patience to mix the colour into the porcelain until it's evenly blended through, ensuring no air is added. |
|
Press Moulding
The folded structure is pressed into the porcelain, transferring its geometry - the planes, creases and edges - into the clay. Each element is made individually. Subtle variations occur naturally in the making; no two pieces are identical. It is these small irregularities that give the assembled work its sense of movement and life. |
|
Firing
The work is fired unglazed, preserving the geometry of the fold and the matte surface that allows light to fall into rather than reflect off the porcelain. The absence of glaze is not a simplification - it is a choice. An unglazed surface holds shadow differently, and it is shadow that completes the work. |
|
|
Assembly
Individual elements are assembled into compositions - on painted boards, on oak structures, or mounted on hardwood bases for freestanding works. The painted ground is chosen as carefully as the porcelain: its tone, whether dark or light, determines how shadow falls and how the forms read. The work is not complete until it is in place and the light of the room begins to move across it. |
To see the work in person, visit the gallery, browse available works, or get in touch to arrange a studio visit.
The two-minute film below shows the process in action - from the first fold to the finished piece.
|
|
|
