After going through my blog I realised I haven’t actually discussed what my current thoughts are about the pieces I am making! I’ve been so focused on making that I haven’t stopped and reflected on the blog, instead it’s been during tutorials. So as you may well be aware, second year ceramicists at my uni are taking part in a collaborative project with the Ken Stadling Collection in Bristol. This project has been ongoing since first term back in September 2015… and my work has been on quite a journey!
It’s gone from quite sculptural, phenomenological pieces to very paired down minimalist objects.
I felt like my piece wasn’t complete, it needed more. After speaking to Pete, he made me realise what was missing, and what would connect my subject area with field. As I have talked about, I created a geometric puzzle out of terracotta for our field module. This then invited the audience to engage with the object, to play.
All along I felt that something was missing from my building blocks, something was needed to bring it together, so they aren’t merely just some building blocks. Pete asked… what makes these different from the wooden ones you originally casted? Well, they sound different, they clink when they touch each other, it’s a lovely sound actually. So there is an essence of acoustics. Also, the weighting varies between the same shapes. Whereas the cut out wooden blocks are solid, some of the ceramic shapes are hollow, depending on how long I kept them in the slip cast mould. And last but not least, they are ceramic, they are breakable! A breakable toy who would’ve thought?! I suppose in some way I am bringing an idea of reassurance that one can handle these objects, they can play with them. Yes, they are made of a fragile material, but, so what if they break?
However, they are still, just building blocks, I need a hook, something which invites the audience to rearrange these blocks, to take action and play. Much like I did with field, by creating a puzzle, I want to do a similar sort of thing with my building blocks.
Then Pete grabbed one of my test pieces, a large terracotta cuboid with a semi- circle cut out. I say large, it is compared to my building blocks, it’s slab built and about 10 cm in diameter. And then, he started placing my cast cylinders in the semi- circle
A game! Yes, this was the something I’d been missing!
The plan is to construct 4 of these large shapes, keeping the terracotta colour, and the rustic feel, honing on the root importance of my art- to engage physical touch, for it to be tactile and textures, a contrast to the polished cast building blocks.
Georgie Phillips 