Playing with concrete

Once upon a time I was told to draw my dreams...

The images of crumbling towers encouraged me to look at derelict buildings and old ruins. As a result I discovered an interest in re-inforced concrete, particularly when the metal is attacked by nature and begins to corrode, allowing the concrete to fall apart around it.

I experimented by mixing different cements and setting various things into it, including rusted steel rods and scraps of glass. My final design was a series of vases, each of them crumbling and twisting like the towers in my dream.

Natural dyeing

I wanted to see whether I can colour things like ceramic tiles without using a glaze. I went a wee adventure along the old railway line and did some berry picking to get started!

The last two rows of tiles above have been coloured with tea, snowberries, turmeric, paprika, red wine, blackberrries, redberries and beetroot! Now I want to see if concrete would accept being coloured by nature too?

The first few are glazes that didn't reach the correct temp in the kiln as the elements were broken! They did however reach a high enough temperature to melt the glass I was experimenting with which I'll definitely try out again on a larger scale. The blue one in the middle row has been attacked with shoe polish while the two below were smoke fired in our hobo bin fire.

Concrete and skips

First week of my final year of arty education- raiding skips, rusting metal, playing with concrete.

This year I want to look at nature, place and the environment. Recycling and reusing. How many skips can I venture into without needing a tetanus jab?

Steps!

I seem to have become rather fond of steps this summer.

Happiness for Karlee

Messing about with watercolours, oils, gouache and a fancy wee coffee mixing stick thing for my beautiful buddy Karlee!

Up-skirt

Sneaking up on a tree like a rascal.

Boating to Stockholm

Sunset sunrise!

Ceramic animation with Urmas Puhkan

One week + 7 ladies + 1 man + a bunch of clay = 49 seconds of nonsense



Playing with railways

I'm working on an architectural glass project just now and have been looking at railways and the power lines above them. I went for a sunny wander to the tracks beside a lake to see what I could find! 



Kiwi pot done!

I've finished my big kiwi pot!

 

Finland has finally allowed spring to break through the snow so I thought I'd take my pot outside for a wee photoshoot. 

 

Glaze and pattern detail....

 

 Testing the pot with a large bit of tree.

 

Naked ladies

Ceramic expression- making naked ladies in clay.



A week with Chris Bird-Jones

Awesome glass lady Chris Bird-Jones was my lecturer this week- she is so bloomin lovely, talented and wonderfully enthusiastic!

'Light, Texture, Shadow- Drama!'... looking at the world as a reflection!

I love the contrast between the creeping trees against the simple canvas of snow so designed my glass panel to encorporate these.

Masking, drawing, stenciling, slumping, sandblasting...

 Final piece- enjoying the winter sun.

  



Sunshine

 

Rovaniemi ice hotel, Suomenlinna island sun, Hämeenlinna wander home.

Covering and revealing

Design a mask that either hides or reveals something about yourself...

My piece is a mask which covers the mouth and represents how many words seem to come out of mine. The shape is based on a bird in flight- revealing my love of travelling and being free!

...not quite finished yet but I'm getting there!

Kiwi pot

I've been hand building a rather large clay pot in uni! The design was adapted from a delightful little kiwi fruit...

Glazing ceramics is always exciting- the way a glaze looks before and after firing can be ridiculous. Currently the pot is lilac but hopefully will turn out kind of green and brown, but I'm really not sure what will happen!