Lord Kelvin coaster, 2010. Earthenware, white glaze, inglaze ceramic transfer.

Image of Lord Kelvin hand drawn by Campbell Brown

Here’s something a little fun that I’ve started making – a series of coasters with caricatures representing some famous Scots.

My husband, Campbell Brown, who is a philosophy lecturer, has a hidden talent – one of many – which is a deft hand at a caricature. When I saw his drawings, which were mainly doodles in his notebooks, I set about trying to convince him to let me use some of them for my ceramics. It was exciting too, to collaborate together on some work.

The transfers are printed using ceramic inks – that is enamels – and then fired on to the piece, so that the enamel melts into the surface of the glaze. It thus can’t be scratched off or fade. Some of the coasters also have a hanger on the back, so if you’re not using them,  you could hang them up like small pictures. The coasters themselves are hand made and glazed by me, so that they’re not completely identical to each other (whilst very similar) but they still have that hand made quality which distinguishes work actually made by human hands and not pressed in a factory by a machine.

Lord Kelvin (William Thomson b.1824 d.1907)  is a major historical figure associated with Glasgow University and Glasgow in general, which is where we live. There is the river Kelvin, Kelvingrove park and of course, the temperature scale.

Robert Louis Stevenson coaster, 2010. Earthenware, clear glaze, inglaze ceramic transfer.

Image of R.L. Stevenson hand drawn by Campbell Brown.

This coaster has a clear glaze, giving it a warmer, more parchment-like look. (I make these in white as well). Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). He was born in Edinburgh and is most famous as the author of “Treasure Island” and “Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde”. He also came from a long line of lighthouse engineers, so many of the lighthouses around Scotland were designed by someone in his family.

And last, but not least – or should I say first – because the series kicked off with this one, David Hume (1711 -1776), Scottish philosopher and historian:

David Hume coaster, 2010. Earthenware, white glaze, inglaze enamel transfer.

Image of David Hume hand drawn by Campbell Brown.

So there you go. I’m not clued up on internet sales and Paypal and all that as yet, but you can always call or email me if you fancy purchasing one or two of these, because I usually have them available. They’re £6 each or £20 for a set of 4 and the diameter is standard coaster size – I think about 11cm or about 4.5 inches – plus postage, the cost of which will depend on where I’ll need to post them to and the weight, but that’s determined by Royal Mail. I’ll be working on expanding the series slowly to include other famous historical Scots – and lets face it, there is no shortage of subject matter.

I’ve been teaching throwing classes at my studio, the Glasgow Ceramics Studio, now for the better part of 2010. It’s been really fantastic and I’ve met some lovely and very creative people, many of whom live or work in my local community as well. I have to say that it’s one of the nicest, most satisfying and most interesting jobs I’ve ever had.

There’s been great feedback too – with people thoroughly enjoying the classes and some folks have even come back for a continuing course (called Throwing for Continuing Beginners). I think one of the best things about it is seeing the raw talent and unselfconscious creativity that is evident in the work of people who have, in many cases, never touched clay before. I always find that incredibly inspirational.

The focus in the classes is to have a nice, relaxing time and unwind after work while learning a new skill. We always open the classes with a hot cup of tea or coffee and have a laugh and a chat over some snacks. This helps everyone wind down and prepare for reaching into their creative side.

The beginners course is designed to give a solid grounding in throwing and decorating techniques. You get some basic clay knowledge which will serve you well if you choose to continue working with the medium. I even throw in a bit of basic glaze theory for those so inclined.

Our studio also offers evening classes in handbuilding techniques (taught by my colleague, Susan O’Byrne), so you can always give that a go next, to explore some of the other creative possibilities in ceramics. And conveniently, the price includes all materials and firings, and all tools and equipment is provided, so there are no extra costs at all. All you need to bring is yourself.

The Shows are organised independently by a group of artists who are tenants within the same building as me. As a group we cover a wide range of disciplines, not only ceramics but also painting, textiles, jewellery, photography and glass. The group is called Parade Artists, as our studio building fronts Alexandra Parade.

We also have a number of new members this year, so if you’ve been before there will be new goodies on display and for sale (as well as the old favourites – although I must say, you should expect the work to change slightly from year to year as the artists develop their styles). It’s a good chance to get something original and hand made locally as a gift for xmas. And if you’re wondering whether artwork is really within your xmas budget, well, I believe that there will be loads of functional and decorative work available for a wide range of prices, some for merely a few pounds each.

Dates:

Saturday and Sunday 20th and 21st November, 2010

Saturday and Sunday 27th and 28th November, 2010

Times:

Saturdays: 11am till 5pm

Sundays 12noon till 4pm

Where:

Wasps Artists’ Studios

77 Hanson Street

Glasgow G31 2HF

Scotland, UK

(just down the road from the Royal Infirmary).

Part of a commercial for Heinz tomato soup was filmed in our studio (Glasgow Ceramics Studio) – and actually in my space. Susie, my friend and colleague is the star, and the bowl she is holding was made by another friend and colleague, George Thom. BUT, I got to be an extra in the background – my acting skills were put to the test as I had to act out being a ceramic artist. (Method acting, I tell you). My bowls were spread out on the work bench in front of Susie if you look… ah…. VERY closely and PAY ATTENTION! The commercial flicks through a series of situations, locations and people quite quickly, and one of those locations is our studio.

click on this link to see the soup add online.

It was really fascinating, actually, watching the production process and how the ad is filmed. There were so many people involved, it was incredible, and filming that split second took half a day, including all the preparation. They were incredibly quick and efficient packing up though! And the other thing is, I got to feel a bit like I was on  “Extras” – that TV show with Ricky Gervais. I can relate to it completely now.

Water Eddies series, 2010. Wheel thrown Glacier porcelain with volcanic glaze

I have often been fascinated by the amusing nature of ceramics terminology. It always seemed to me  like the language of ceramics had adopted english words of completely different meaning with sometimes quite amusing results.

It seems, however, that after reading this article, it is the other way round. Often words in ceramics are ancient, retaining the archaic meaning, and it is the english language that has ‘moved on’ as the meaning of words has changed over time.

Why on Earth Do They Call It Throwing? by Dennis Krueger.

Water Eddies series, 2010. Wheel thrown porcelain, clear glaze.

So this is an example of the latest thrown bowls I’ve been decorating with coloured slips. They’re fired to 1260ºC in an electric kiln, so have more of a buttery, soft nature than the more translucent earlier work which was fired much higher in the GSA’s gas kilns. I’ve got a few shades of yellow, blue and green and have this idea that it would be nice to have a whole gradation of shades, sets with individual pieces that will be ever so slightly differing in hue.

Water Eddies series, 2010, wheel thrown porcelain

The glaze is a little crazed, which was a surprise to me, because it was perfect in the glaze tests, and it’s very thin, but since it’s porcelain and high fired, it shouldn’t matter in a functional sense. A few people commented that they actually like it better like that.

Water Eddies Series, 2010

This remains a favourite image of one of my thrown pieces made this year. The Water Eddies series is inspired by swirls, or mini whirpools in water. The gentle sound that these eddies make as they move downstream or dance around the banks of rivers, the softness with which they spring into existence and then unwind themselves and disappear, is somewhat analogous to what happens to the porcelain as it is thrown. Capturing that effect has become somewhat of an obsession. It disappears when the porcelain is fired, because it is no longer soft, but what remains is an echo of it, a suggestion of the softness and motion.

I love working with porcelain. This particular one is called “Glacier” Porcelain and it comes from Ireland. I’ve found it a good substitute for Southern Ice, which I used to use in Australia. After working with stoneware or earthenware, the porcelain feels like a buttery chalk, so smooth, delicate and fine. It is so responsive on the wheel, it is a pleasure to work with. Because it is so pure and the particles so closely packed, I do tend to lose quite a few pieces to cracking and warping, no matter how attentive I am to its technical requirements. I do find it’s a bit hit and miss, compression being key, and slow drying.

I find the colour of Glacier Porcelain appeals to me the best out of all the other UK porcelains I’ve tried. Although  I’ve not tried them all, and then there are the mainland porcelains, like Limoges, which I have yet to trial. Mind you, I enjoy working with materials that are as local as possible. This supports the local economy in some small way, and I feel it really important that artistic practice does that.

The Water Eddies series was sold out through the Blue Door Gallery in Pittenween, each of these bowls selling for £30. Since then, I’ve been making some with coloured slips on the inside surface, which are reminiscent of the rock, sky or flora which the river reflects. I’ve sold a few straight from the studio on our Open Day and recent sales, but I hope to find a gallery for them soon. I haven’t got any new images of those just yet. At the moment they’re being fired to 1260ºC because of limitations with the kilns in the studio. However, new gas kilns have been put in, and they’re being tested and adjusted at the moment, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to fire to 1300ºC again soon, which should increase the translucency of these pieces again.

Porcelain fox by Susan O'Byrne

I made a really quick flying visit to London to see Ceramic Art London this weekend. It was a little crazy because it involved getting up very early to get the only available cheap flight from Glasgow, and as a result I was walking around all day in a bit of a haze. Oh, to be young again, when sleep deprivation didn’t affect me…

My friend Susan O’Byrne was one of the exhibitors this year and I was really happy to see how excellent her work looked when installed. It was definitely different to every one else’s. Susan is inspired by dreams, dreaming, story books and story telling. The creatures she creates populate our imagination and the memories of our childhood. It is also an incredible technical feat – to create such large porcelain work. The sculptures are composed of thousands of pieces of individually mono-printed porcelain paper clay.  To see more of her work check out her website.  I’ve also been putting some images of Susan’s work in progress on this site for a while now, in the Glasgow Ceramics Studio album.

Susan O'Byrne, porcelain sculpture, about 90cm high

I’m really looking forward to going to Ceramic Art London this coming weekend. Although I’m not showing any work personally, my lovely friend from the Glasgow Ceramics Studio, Susan O’Byrne, is exhibiting her life-size lyrical printed porcelain sculptures. This work has to be seen to be believed, both in its scale, virtuosity and emotional impact. We’ve been watching Susan’s narrative sculptures take shape at the studio for many months now and are very excited to see them nearing completion. It is definitely promising to be a stand-out stall at the event.

Ceramic Art London is on in London (obviously) on the 26th, 27th and 28th of February.