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.

Frances Stark “But what of Frances Stark, standing by itself, a naked name, bare as a ghost to whom one would like to lend a sheet?”

Well, hello! It’s been a long time. I’ve been very shy of the computer keyboard since I injured my right arm because I wasn’t mindful enough of how to use a keyboard properly. Now I’m beginning to return to computer use, a little at a time, even though I continue to struggle with RSI. It’s amazing how much something like that can affect your life.

On Thursday night (that was the 12th Feb) I went to a private view at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Sauchiehall Street. The exhibition was of work in paper collage and drawing by Frances Stark, an artist from the USA.

I had a really marvelous time. The CCA is a great venue – a very welcoming, open and accessible space. They served us G&T’s instead of the usual wine – which would win anyone over, just by novelty value, I’m sure. Frances Stark is very clever and has a great sense of humour – not to mention a lot of patience, judging by the nature of the collages, which in many cases were INLAID. I think she’s a closet ceramicist really. I’ve been wondering what to make of the piles of paper, documents and receipts building up in my own life as well. Anyway, the show is well worth a look.

As far as my website is concerned, I’ve made a few changes. Since I’m no longer a student, the albums showing all the experimentation, processes and techniques I used towards my MPhil have been relegated to a less prominent position. They are, however, still available, should you wish to look at photographic documentation of the glaze testing techniques I used, screen printing ceramic transfers , mould making and slip casting, making pvc moulds, fixing a gas kiln, etc etc.

I have put more emphasis on my portfolio and finished work, and will be from now on working towards starting a ceramics business as an artist. Wish me luck!

Hold Vessel 1

I’ve been mesmerized by the work of Lynette Wallworth. A solo show of hers opens today at the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum. I would love to be able to attend.

Lynette’s work is about the complexities of human interconnection with our environment. She produces interactive installations. In this one, pictured above, the viewer activates space by capturing an image “inside” a glass bowl. (Bowls made by Emma Varga, Australia).

Why is this so fascinating to me? It’s a combination of the virtual and the haptic experience. A crossing over between the two dimensional and three dimensional worlds that includes allusions to containment and space.

Follow this link to the Forma website to see what it’s all about.

Here is Hold: Vessel 2 on YouTube.

Here is Lynette Wallford talking about her work, on the. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NY, USA Website

Firstly I’ve been closeted away working on my theory. This is quite a challenge to me, since it’s the first time in my life that I’ve been required to write such long essays. The MPhil at the ANU SoA requires two 6000 word essays and one 10000 word studio report. This might not seem like much to the average student who is used to essay writing, but believe me, it is a personal challenge to the art student who hasn’t written an essay since the year 2000.

I think the biggest hurdle has been to come up with a coherent and focused question actually, as my interests range far and wide. Space is a wide field (no pun intended). In honour of this undertaking, I have set up a new theory page, and you will notice the permalink in the top bar of this blog. My essay is not there, but links to my research resources are, and I talk a bit about my thought processes. It might be of interest to someone else looking at issues of spacial representation in ceramics, and its only a beginning, so I’ll add to it as I have time.

Secondly, I’ve added a couple of new links to the side bar. One for an excellent online resource for ceramic artists called Ceramics Today . Ceramics today is site run and edited by Australian ceramic artist Steven Goldate – although at this stage I’m not entirely certain whether he is still involved in pursuing new articles. Nether-the-less, the articles already there are really fantastic. The other is a link to James Steele’s blog. James is a PhD student at the ANU SoA and is working on a project to do with mapping space with user generated images, ie photographs taken by members of the public. I find this fascinating because of the cross-over between two dimensional and three dimensional space that such a project examines.

And last but not least. I wanted to ask advice/ opinions from anyone who might read this. Last year I gave a talk at the ANU as part of my work in progress seminar. In that paper, I talked about my influences and one of them was a particular American ceramic artist, whose work I had seen at the last NCECA conference I attended in the USA.

During the conference I took a photograph of a piece of hers in the gallery space where it was exhibited. I made sure that photography was allowed in the gallery. Then I wrote an abstract for my talk and published it on this blog. I included the photograph.

After quite a few months I got an email from her telling me that the piece is under copyright and she wants me to remove the photograph. I removed the photo and wrote to the artist apologizing, but also explained that I thought that since I was the photographer, I had honestly thought that the copyright for that image was mine. I also explained that this blog was being used for educational purposes, to document my studies. I asked if she had any other images of her work I could use in my abstract without breaching copyright.

She didn’t get back to me.

Now, I realize that I probably should have asked her permission before I used the photo on my blog. I did contact her a while before this incident asking for images of her work and she told me to look in a book. There was only one image in the book and it was quite dated, and I think that using images scanned from a book on a blog would be more likely to breach copyright than using images I took with my own camera.

What should I have done? Do I own copyright on photos I took, or is the copyright to those images owned by the person who made the work? This blog is not commercial, I don’t make money from advertising. Is copyright different for blogs like this? Does anyone know the laws/ rights for the artist and the blogger in such a case? What do other bloggers do when they use images of work by other people? Do you ask every single person before you use an image of their work?

Many thanks to anyone who is willing to discuss this issue.

On another note, if you are in Scotland, in the vicinity of Glasgow, please come and visit us for Open Studio weekend. The Open Studio weekend is being held across all WASPS sites all over Scotland. The Glasgow Ceramics Studio where I work, will of course be opening it’s doors alongside all the other artists’ studios.

It’ll be on Saturday 4th of October (11am till 5pm) and Sunday 5th of October (12 noon till 4pm). You’ll be able to see where we work, our work in progress, as well as finished work for sale to suit all budgets. Hope to see you there.

Susan O’Byrne, Cheetah, 2008

This amazing sculpture is on exhibition at the Aberdeen Art Gallery, in Aberdeen, Scotland until the 31st of May, as part of the Aberdeen Artists’ Society seventy-fourth exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Photography, Architecture, Video, DVD, Design and Craft. If you would like to see it for yourself, information on gallery address and opening hours is here.

I’ve just made some new work for the Parade Artists sale, and I’m quite excited about it. These are thrown porcelain bowls with a black stoneware glaze. They’re the sort of size that settles comfortably into cupped hands, quite nice to hold. I’ve polished the base as well, because I love the velvety feel of polished porcelain. This is the start of my new functional body of work. Come and see them (and hold them) at the sale this weekend!

Here’s one of my bowls with a clear glaze. I’m quite impressed with how lovely the Glacier Porcelain turns out. Initially, I had a little trouble with the bases cracking if the bowls were dried too fast, but I soon remedied that by drying them slowly under plastic. We have big automatic ceiling heaters in the studio that I think were mostly responsible for me losing quite a lot of the pieces I made first time round.

Here’s the statement that goes with these:

These fine porcelain bowls are inspired by the swirling water currents of the Water of Leith, as it winds its way through the city of Edinburgh. The liquid-like spirals in this work are formed with the aid of the meditative spinning action of the potter’s wheel.

I share my life between two beautiful, ancient cities of Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh. A walk in the green, natural and cultivated spaces, along rivers and waterways in those cities, provides a relaxing break from the pressures of everyday urban existence. In my work, the natural beauty of water serves as a metaphor for life.

Having a unique hand made ceramic object from which to enjoy a peaceful meal, gives time for contemplation and respite from everyday pressures. It is just a small object that can be cradled in the palm of the hand, yet it is warming and comforting, and makes even the simplest meal a special occasion. In an age of fast food and disposable containers, the hand made ceramic object offers individuality and a connection with the earth, from which it is created.