Johnson Tsang. Final Major Project.

I began my FMP (final major project) by looking at the work of Johnson Tsang. I was fascinated by his exhibition ‘Living Clay’ and immediately wanted to have a go. It reminded me of the way water reacts when it hits an object or when an object is thrown in to water. He can make the figure or water look as if it is moving even though it is a solid object.

            Johnson Tsang has combined the traditional ceramic object such as, a bowl that is a solid object and shows no movement, when it is dropped it doesn’t bend or mold to a new shape, it would simply break it to many different pieces, with a human body which in fact is flexible and shows movement in anything it does.

He is well known for the way he portrays life through his pieces. He shows the way that the body reacts with another object/ substance. We can see the reaction of a liquid form hitting the body or a body dive out of or through a ceramic bowl and the bowl just moves away as if it were water. His work is truly amazing to look at, the way the figures effortlessly dive through the solid ceramic pieces. When he combines the human form with traditional ceramic bowls is so well done that it actually looks as if the face was pressing its way through the clay. He puts the two words, Life and Clay together to create a living piece, this is truly amazing. 

Oxide, Glaze and under glaze envelope.

Ceramic Envelopes.

As an extension to my previous post of my ceramic envelopes I have created some final pieces after experimenting on some test pieces.

             On this first piece I used red iron oxide on the top, black iron oxide on the left, cobalt on the right and manganese oxide on the bottom panel. All have been half covered with clear glaze to show the different effects and the way the colour shows differently with and without glaze.

This piece was success as it allowed me to make good choices on what to use with my final outcomes.

This next piece is done in the same way but using under glaze colours instead of oxides. I also began to experiment with different sizes.

             Here is the first outcome I have made and I am extremely happy with this final piece, I have kept the shape the same as the first few because I like the way the envelope looks as if it is being pulled opening gently. The aim of these envelopes is to show the construction of the envelope and then how it would be opened. Making the envelope this way also allows the viewer to see this. I decided on using the red iron oxide on this one, as it was softer on the eye because the envelope is quite smooth and flowing. 

            With this second outcome I wanted to create the same ripped open look as was shown in my previous post. This piece also has inlayed pattern, manganese oxide and clear glaze. This is also a good final piece as it looks grungy and torn open but still holds its beauty with the pattern and shining finish. I wanted to show another method of opening an envelope that people may think is a more common way.

         I am overall very please with these outcomes so far and think that I have managed to show the construction and deconstruction of envelopes at the same time as making some aesthetically pleasing pieces of work.

Ceramic envelope.

Ceramic envelopes.

 I made these envelopes the other day as part of my homage project I worked with the way the envelopes are constructed. I began by rolling out a thin piece of clay and cutting out the shape of an opened up envelope, I then cut the flaps off and stuck them to the envelope base in the correct order. I wanted to show the way I had constructed it so I made the envelope look as if it was being opened, this way you could see the folding technique I had used. I made sure that I pushed the bottom flap between the two side pieces to show that they are in fact two pieces of clay. I think that these pieces are good so far I would like to add writing and glaze to these pieces after they have been fired. I will be making more of these to make a small collection, I will be pushing myself to roll the clay out to its thinnest without it braking.
          I have also looked at the way that letters are opened and created a ripped open envelope. I took one of my new envelopes, sealed it and then ripped it open as if it was a letter I had just had through the door, after doing so I had the exact shape I wanted to create. I did the same thing as above but I had cut through the top flap to create the same effect as I had in front of me with the envelope I had just torn open. I then stuck the top on the clay and added a few finishing touches by pressing the thin fragile areas of ‘ripped’ clay in the air. Copper oxide gave it a great grungy/vintage look. It is safe to say this is a good outcome.

         I then thought about the pattern for the envelopes and decided on using some textured patterned paper/ fabric to create a pattern on the surface of the clay. I will then be making envelopes using the fabric to create both a ceramic and fabric outcome.

Adam Buick.

Adam Buick.

The Scottish Gallery Edinburgh
 8th January – 1st February 2014.

Adam Buick is exhibiting his work in the Scottish gallery right now and I have to say the work is excellent. The pieces that are on show are full of meaning and have a genuine feeling of nature about them. He has applied different materials to his nature inspired pieces, one of them being clay that he dug up himself. His pieces are also on sale for £75. I would strongly advise going to this exhibition to see work that gives a real nature feeling. This artist has understood nature, taken it in and then produced truly beautiful work from it.

 

       He has taken a perfectly constructed and simply beautiful white pot and used various decorating methods and materials to interoperate the theme of nature.