DE4201

Research for Design Practice 2

Tutor: David Binns

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Contents Page

Introduction 4

Personal Research 4-7

Kath Bonson 4-5Anna Lambert 5-6Jim Robison 7

Lecture Series 8-11

Claire Norcross 8-9Beverley Wood 9Rachel Grimshaw 9-10Barry Purves 10Mike Eden 11

Reflection 12

References 13

Appendix 1 14

Appendix 2 15

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Personal Research Studies

Introduction

Networking with other practitioners and artists in order to develop my own ceramic practice is the focus of this assignment. I contacted six artists by email and/or a personal visit. The choice of artists was made because their work is inspired by landscapes and/or a sense of place. Five are ceramic practitioners and one a textile artist (Appendix 1). My research questions fell into 3 categories which I believed helped to identify their practice position. Firstly, inspiration and philosophy of their work; secondly their making process and finally marketing (Appendix 2). I was able to visit Anna Lambert, Jim Robison, Kath Bonson and Roger Lewis at their studios and Elizabeth Raeburn responded by email. The textile artist did not respond but her website was very informative. Given the word limit of the assignment I will focus on Kath Bonson, Anna Lambert and Jim Robison.

Kath Bonson works from her home in West Yorkshire. Kath describes herself as a decorative and sculptural ceramicist, leaning more towards art than craft. Kath graduated from an art and design BA at Bradford. Her work is inspired by the landscape in her locality of the Pennines. She is interested in all aspects of the landscape and is motivated by a deep sense of place. Central to her work is the natural and managed landscape. Kath says she is interested in how we use and abuse the environment. The rugged natural beauty of the landscape features strongly in her slab built pots which have strong surface texture and rich colour based on the natural landscape of the Pennines as well as other imagery.

Drawing , painting and photography are important in Kath’s design process (bon-art.co.uk). With her eyes always open to opportunities, she feels fortunate that from her own doorstep she is within walking distance of panoramic views of hills, valleys and villages. Kath looks for structure and pattern within the landscape so dry stone walls, rocky surfaces and colours of the natural vegetation are features of her work (Fig 1).

Through the use of imagery Kath offers a commentary on the uses of the landscape. Images of leisure activities, buildings and ‘blots on the landscape’ are achieved using slips, textured fabrics and screen-printing (Fig 2). She builds up layers of texture which enhance the various forms and provide a mixture of abstract and literal imagery. This spoke directly to me and, in applying this to my own project I can see that it is possible to achieve a degree of abstraction grounded in the sense of place which thus far I have struggled with. Kath has helped open up some possibilities for me to achieve this in my own way.

When asked about her glazing process, Kath spoke about the importance of experimentation. She makes her own glazes and ‘plays’ with glazes over glazes and slips over glazes. She described her perception of glaze recipes as a ‘sweet shop’ from which she could choose any number of ingredients with which to experiment. This playful attitude was underpinned by a rigorous and scientific approach to testing and recording the results.

The visit with Kath served to inspire and depress me at one and the same time. It showed me just how much I need to learn in order to be successful in my own project, but it also showed me that it

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was possible to work successfully from a home studio and that a willingness to experiment and not be ‘precious’ about my work would go a long way to my development.

Fig 1. Kath Bonson stoneware slab pots.

Fig 2 Kath Bonson – stoneware pots with screen printed images.

Anna Lambert works from her studio in West Yorkshire. Trained at Corsham college as a studio potter in the Leach tradition, Anna experienced a change in her self perception after completing the MA Ceramics at University Central Lancashire in 2013.

‘By the end of the MA I started to think of myself as an artist rather than a craftsperson and allowed myself to think that actually what I was doing on the surfaces was more than just decorative finishes’

(Lambert 2014)

Like Kath Bonson, Anna is inspired by a deep sense of place connected to the Pennines. Images from the locality are evident in Anna’s slip decorated earthenware pots. Drawing and painting are fundamental to Anna’s work as she says it helps her to capture the essences of the natural and managed environment. One example she gave us was regarding nearby woods which provided strong imagery for her work.

‘I started drawing the hazel, and a woodpecker flew by and then I drew the sound (zigzag line in sketch book) and then I thought I’d just draw the other bird sounds as I heard them and where they

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were in relation to where I was sitting. There were so many. I hadn’t really noticed them up to that point when I heard the woodpecker... (Lambert 2014)

Anna said she is interested in ‘renewal and nurturing’ so nests and birds, trees and coppicing of the woods are all source material which she captures in her sketch book (Fig3). From our discussions with Anna I got a real sense of how immersed in the environment she is and how this inspires her

Anna’s description of her experience resonated strongly with me because of the idea of trying to capture the sounds as well as the visual aspects of the landscape. Sense of place features strongly in my work and is a total sensory experience not just visual so it was interesting to hear that Anna also tries to capture a fuller sensory experience.

Anna’s work has some similarities with Kath’s in the use slab building techniques and imagery in the surface decoration. However, Anna works in earthenware and uses slip in the surface decoration and the imagery is more literal for the most part. Anna works in a more painterly style and I was able to apply her techniques more easily to my own work using slips.

A change in Anna’s making process from a technique she referred to as ‘coil-slabbing’ to slab building has meant that she can make marks and decorate the piece prior to building it. She started to experiment with slips which she hadn’t used before and made ‘hundreds of test tiles’. She discovered she could use brushstrokes using different coloured slips and use underglaze colours over them. She finds this gives her a lot of versatility .

Anna was very generous in sharing her knowledge, expertise and techniques especially with regard to surface decoration using lino cuts, mono-printing, inlay, and drawing into modelling paste which which she says brings a ‘freshness to mark making’.

Fig 3 Sketch books are an important aspect of Anna’s design process.

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Fig 3 Anna Lambert - Slip decorated earthenware.

My final choice is American born potter, Jim Robison who works and lives in Holmfirth. Jim was very welcoming and talked with enthusiasm about his life’s work. He graduated in Fine Art and specialised in Sculpture and Ceramics during his MA. Jim is a renowned figure in UK ceramics, evidenced by his status of Elected Fellow of the Craft Potters Association and his published works – Large Scale Ceramics (Robison 2005) and Slab Techniques (Marsh and Robison 2010). Jim’s knowledge and experience were awe inspiring. He was very personable and easy to talk to.

Like Anna And Kath Jim is inspired by the environment and landscape. He is interested in the visual, intellectual and emotional impact of the landscape along with how man’s activities shape it. Drawing is important to Jim and he uses sketchbooks throughout the design and construction of each piece. Rock formations, trees and weather feature strongly in his work in the form of surface decoration of his handbuilt, slab pieces (Fig 4).

Jim’s process involves the use of slabs with texture applied by the use of stamps, rollers and texture materials. Slips are used in a painterly way or by printing through stencils, further complexity is created through the use of glazes. Jim works in stoneware as much of his work is large scale and his pieces are for exhibition and use in outdoor spaces, including public art works.

Tatton Park Sculptures Slab planter Stoneware seating

Fig 4 Jim Robison works in stoneware.

There were many similarities between the processes used by all three ceramic artists through the use of slabs, slips and glazes. However all three used these materials and techniques in very different ways and their finished pieces are very different and I was able to learn something from each of them. It was apparent that each had mastered the repertoire of skills, techniques and had chosen their own palette from which they worked consistently. I think this is a most important learning point for me.

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Part 2 Practitioner lecture series

The practitioner lecture series has provided me with unprecedented access to designers and artist giving me insight into worlds of which I had no knowledge. The following five are those from whom I gained the most relevant information.

Claire Norcross

Claire Norcross is a lighting designer who started by studying for a BA Hons in Embroidery. After graduating she started to design lighting and gained some recognition for her light made with cable ties (Eight-fifty) which was taken up for mass production by Habitat as was Claire’s subsequent Aperture light (Fig 4). This led to a job at Habitat as Head of Lighting Design which represented a very important and pressured period in Claire’s design career as the ‘freedom of designing for oneself is different from the constraints of working commercially’. Making is central to Claire’s design process. In describing her aesthetic she said that ‘seeing the making process helps with design ideas’. Claire’s early ideas are worked through by ‘playing’ with paper. Her inspiration is from the natural world which, she says she recreates in the urban world.

The main messages I gleaned from Claire’s lecture work were to make time to have inspiration, and her advice not to confuse comparative research with inspiration is a useful note of caution. Claire ended her lecture with advice about the importance of being as creative as one can be, getting relevant experience and being prolific in visiting shows and exhibitions to get creative inspiration.

Aperture Eight fifty

Fig 4 Claire Norcross lighting

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Beverley Wood – Interior Design

Beverley is an interior designer who runs her own business. She graduated in furniture and related product design. Beverley’s areas of work are commercial, urban, travel, visitor attractions, retail and hospitality.

Beverley designed the Motorola flip mobile phone and has designed for Decaux before moving to designing stores for the Arcadia chain. She has owned her own business since 2003 and has expanded her area of work significantly even into areas she admitted that she was not overly familiar with.

Most of Beverley’s presentation was about her ‘10 rules to pitching to win’ i.e. how to make a good pitch in a business environment. Her experience working for Arcadia gave her insight into the client’s perspective which she says has given her an added edge because she knows what is important to clients.

Beverley presented herself as a very savvy business woman and her world seemed poles apart from my own. However, Beverley’s advice about the importance of networking and creating contacts and connections was useful.

Rachel Grimshaw

Rachel came to the Ceramics department to speak to the MA group. Rachel graduated from the MA Ceramics course at UCLan in 2009. She said that when she started she was technically limited and wanted to develop more skills. Rachel now makes beautiful objects with sculptural qualities in parian porcelain and grogged stoneware. The surface is unadorned and Rachel uses body stains to give colour to some of her pieces, a process which she acknowledges is expensive. She says she tries to go with the clay rather than trying to impose her will on it. She has found this to be more rewarding in the finished pieces through which she tries to ‘capture a frozen moment’.

Rachel does not use drawing as part of her design process preferring to work directly with the clay. However, she refers to images on her pin board for inspiration.

Rachel gave good advice about taking the MA seriously and to work with the criticism which is offered. She also emphasised the need to have depth and breadth of investigation in order to be successful.

Since completing the MA Rachel has exhibited nationally and internationally and became a professional member of the Craft Potters Association. Rachel has recently been awarded the second highest award at the Marratxi International Ceramic Convention, Majorca, with ‘Black Lift’ a stoneware piece with black body stain an iron oxide. This level of success has come about through hard work and a willingness to put forward work for critique and Rachel’s example sets the bar high.

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ES40 Stoneware -7 source Black lift Parian Angle

Rachel Grimshaw

Barry Purves – Director and Animator

I found Barry to be an inspirational speaker who gave insights into a very different creative world. Barry is a director and a stop motion animator with a wealth of international experience. He started his career in drama after graduating from Manchester University. He found an interest in puppets and got his first job at Cosgrove Hall Productions in Manchester after watching one of their puppet show in which he felt there was no performance. For Barry the puppets and story telling are the most important aspects of his work, the technology being secondary.

Barry showed two films, Tchaikovsky which was a short film made for Russian TV and Plume which was made in France. They were very different from each other in subject matter but both were emotionally charged. Barry appeared to be a man who brings a high degree of emotional intelligence to his work.

According to Barry, puppetry has the potential to ‘get in the way’ but it can also become part of the drama. He says it is important to work with the puppet and he appeared to have respect for his puppets. This put me in mind of Rachel Grimshaw’s desire to work with the clay rather try to impose her will in it, she also seemed to have respect for the clay.

Another thing Barry said which resonated with me is that he enjoys the artifice of puppetry, revelling in the artificiality. He said that it was important for him not to try to copy real life and that the audience can be carried into the story through the puppetry. The huge puppets in War Horse are a good example of this whereby the puppeteers are clearly visible as part of the performance but do not detract from the emotional response of the audience.

This has direct relevance to my own project in which I am trying to capture the essence of landscapes in my pieces. It served to show me that it is not useful to try to copy every detail and make a ‘picture’ but to give impressions with which the ‘audience’ can connect from their own experience.

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Mike Eden - Ceramicist

Mike Eden spent much of his career as a traditional potter, producing slip decorated functional domestic pots which he sold in stores such as Habitat. He eventually moved away from the functional and started to investigate more abstract concepts such as the interior/exterior space and harmony/disharmony. He became interested in visual perception and at this point he started to reduce the choices he needed to make regarding materials and process. This idea is important to me in my project as it is easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the choices available within the ceramic process.

Mike became interested in computers and learned how to write html code at night classes. This was a trigger for him and he started to explore how digital technology might be used within his practice. Since 2006 he has been working on this idea through and MPhil at the Royal College of Art. This has culminated in the production of highly stylised and decorative pieces digitally produced by 3D printing and additive layer manufacturing processes. The pieces are made in nylon and coated with non-fired ceramic material. The pieces are exhibited internationally and Mike has received international recognition within the art world.

Maelstrom IV, 2011 The Wedgwoodn't Tureen The Vinculum II 2011

(QR enabled piece)

Mike Eden

Mike’s presentation was very interesting and thought provoking and resulted much discussion across the disciplines, testament to Mike’s claim that his work crosses boundaries and his preferred title of ‘maker’ enables him to occupy a ‘boundariless’ space in the design world. Mike argued that his research and production link together the traditional ceramic craft skills and the technological advances including digital software and hardware. He further argues that any creative activity should reflect the time we live in and that for him the computer and available software is just another tool. For me the only link between them was Mike himself. By that I mean that his past experience and expertise as a potter brought a wealth of knowledge and skill to the project. I admire immensely the intellectual and technical endeavour in his work but it is not ceramics. This may be premature criticism as Mike says he is still on a journey which he expects will lead to work which can be printed in ceramic material, be slip decorated and wood fired. In this way he will be returning to elements of his roots.

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Research Reflection

This has been a fascinating few weeks both in terms of the lecture series and the personal research visits. I feel I have learned much from the process. Not least the enormous reservoir of artistic talent that exists. I have felt privileged to be given insights into artistic fields that I had no previous knowledge or experience of. I think the whole process has affected my practice. Many of the speakers in the lecture series said similar things about what is important in their work. The most important of these was the obvious passion and enthusiasm each of the speakers had for their chosen field. Barry Purves was the speaker who encapsulated this for me. Many of things he said could be applied to any endeavour and I was in awe of the emotional intelligence which he brought to his work.

Rachel Grimshaw’s obvious growth through the MA Ceramics and subsequent success came from a commitment to take the MA seriously and to learn from the support and criticism on offer. Her approach has helped me to recognise that we all start from different places and that it is important to put as much as I possibly can into learning new skills, experimenting and taking risks.

The idea of experimentation and taking risks was reinforced by Kath Bonson who gave me lost of tips about texturing surfaces and in how she uses glazes and screen-printing. This layering up of elements to create a whole piece, reinforced by Jim Robison’s approach has been very useful in helping me to think about my project and I have started to apply some of this learning to my work.

The importance of photography and drawing in the design process was impressed on me by both Kath, Jim and Anna. All use drawing to capture visual images and experiences. Their sketch books reflected the strong sense of place in their work and I was intrigued by Anna’s attempts to capture birdsong in her sketch book. I have paid more attention to my drawing in direct response to the practitioner visits. Discussions about surface decoration have also led me to experiment with monoprinting using embossed wallpaper with very positive results.

Since these visits I have also started to explore more 3D forms starting with shallow vessels, this is something I will take further as I feel that this enables me to take a more abstract approach to the surface decoration. Thus far I have always tried to create a scene or picture on the tile or mural. Ultimately I would like to achieve greater abstraction on the tiles as well as the 3D vessels. My hope is that I will be to be inspired by Barry Purves’ idea that we should celebrate the artificiality rather than try to copy reality. I aim to portray the sense of place through increasing abstraction in order to evoke an emotional response from people viewing my work. I hope that they will see something in the work which touches their own experience and perceptions of landscapes and which evokes their own sense of place.

Looking back over the Semester I feel that I have grown and developed in my approach to my practice. I am developing new skills every day and I am more willing to take risks and experiment. I love being on the course and view it as a life enhancing experience which can only impact positively on my practice. I am starting to see a future of myself as a potter and have joined Northern Potters Association attending my first meeting in March. These are small but significant steps which demonstrate my increasing confidence.

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References

Bonson, Kath http://www.bon-art.co.uk/place.html accessed 26th March 2014.

Bonson, Kath (2014) Personal Communication. Interview. March 2014

Cortez, Francisco (2014) Marjorc Daily Bulletin accessed at http://majorcadailybulletin.com/4282.html on 31st March 2014.

Eden, Mike http://www.edenceramics.co.uk/ accessed 31st March 2014

Grimshaw , Rachel http://uclanceramics.wordpress.com/alumni/rachel-grimshaw accessed 28th March 2104

Lambert, Anna (2014) Personal Communication. Interview. 12th March 2014

Lambert, Anna http://www.junctionworkshop.co.uk/ accessed 31st March 2014.

Purves, Barry http://www.barrypurves.com/Tchaikovsky and http://www.barrypurves.com/Plume accessed 31st March 2014

Raeburn, Elizabeth personal communication. Email. March 2014

Robison, J. (2005) Large Scale Ceramics. London. A&C Black.

Robsion, J. and Marsh I. (2010) Slab building Techniques. London. A&C Black.

Robison, Jim (2014) Personal Communication. Interview 12th March 2014

Robison Jim http://www.boothhousegallery.co.uk/gallery/albums.php accessed 31st March 2014

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Appendix 1 Table of networking

Who? Why? What? HowKath Bonson Slab work,

sense of place, landscape

Philosophy, inspiration, how design, making process, how became established, how market themselves, sell product.

Visit/telephone/email sent 3/3/2014Visit 10th March 2014Kath@Bon-Art.co.ukwww.Bon-Art.co.ukKath Bonson

25 Hallowes Park Road,

Cullingworth,

Bradford

BD13 5AS

Elizabeth Raeburn

Slab work, murals, vessels, landscape, sense of place

Email sent 3/3/2014elizabethraeburn@btinternet.comresponse 4/3/2014

Jim Robison Handbuilding, slab work, large scale structures, uses slips.

Visit to studio 12th March 2014www.boothhousegallery.co.ukBooth House Gallery3 Booth House LaneHolmfirthHuddersfieldHD9 2QTTel 01484 685270

Anna Lambert Handbuilding, nature, uses slips, did MA UClan

Email/visit anna@junctionworkshop.co.uk T: +44 (0) 1535 631341Email sent 3/3/2014Visit to studio 12th March 2014

Junction Workshop1 Skipton RoadCrosshillsNr KeighleyWest YorkshireBD20 7SB

Hilary Beattie Textile art Email sent hilarybeattie@ntlworld.com No responseWebsite http://hilarybeattie.co.uk/

Roger Lewis Manipulation of thin slabs of clay.

Visit 8th April 2014GillsideKirkby StephenCumbriaCA17 4PDTel:01768372053Email: rogerlewisceramics@gmail.com

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Appendix 2 Questions used to frame semi structured interviews

Professionally speaking, how do you describe yourself?

Which part of your work do you find most pleasurable?

What have been the major influences on your work?

How would you describe the ceramic processes you use to create your pieces?

What are the significant challenges that need to be overcome in the processes you use?

What advice would you give to potters regarding marketing their work?

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