Friday, 21 March 2014

keeping up with it all...

Only one more week until Easter break from uni...there's loads that needs to be done in terms of preperation; thinking about my final collection and how I want my space to look for the degree show! I've just booked my graduation tickets so it's all feeling very final now!!!! Here's a little snap from the Creo exhibition which we held a couple of weeks ago. I really feel the wooden shelf works well, picking out blues from my vessel. I need to think about making my own stands and shelves for the degree show!



Thursday, 6 March 2014

CREO Exhibition

Get yourself down to Bonington at NTU tomorrow from 10.30am til 8pm and have a look around! Theres loads of different materials, products and samples up on show...we're giving you a small taster of our degree show and testing what works well! 

There will be food and drink available from 5pm-8pm. if you have any questions about CREO, our work or future events, just find one of us from the Dec Arts Course; we'll all be around! See you there...




Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Fresh Inspiration

After a few tutorials I realised my drawing had come to a stop and all I was doing was making! I find it hard to get back into drawing but have actually enjoyed creating my latest sketches and collages.

I have used a range of media, from photocopied textures seen in some of my other drawings and photographs as well as pastels, watercolours, pen and pencil. 

My inspiration comes from natural objects/scenes/tones/textures/colours etc. 

Below are a couple of my drawings along with the original imagery which has inspired my work! I don't want to replicate the surface or scene entirely, I just pick out any form, line, colour or texture which appeals to me and show it in my own way.




The image above is in the Yorkshire Dales, a beautiful view of stoney hills and grassy fields. I like the range of surface and texture within this image, combined with the multi tonal greys and bright greens. I used pastels in grey to reflect the textured trees and added the form and texture of the hills through photocopied sections taken from my other drawings.





The second photograph was taken last year whilst I was on holiday in Rome. This is stone from the Colosseum. I am inspired by the natural, textured surface and worn colouring which I have tried to show within my drawing. I used just pen and pastels for this piece.

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Progress..

My 21st present from my boyfriend and his family was a homemade garden workshop!!!

After months of digging, concreting, hammering and sawing there are visible signs progression, in fact its almost complete! 

I plan to use the space as my own ceramics workshop once I have used all I can of the uni kilns and studios. I am yet to buy an electric kiln but on the lookout for something second hand! We've painted the shed a 'herb garden/sage green' which I really like. At the moment my rabbits hutch has taken over the space as we still need to fit windows and doors in order to make it air and water tight!!

Here is the progress so far....exciting!!!!


Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Busy Times....

Hello... 


It's been so long since my last post...I can't keep up!

I've been busy since Christmas preparing my business plan and setting up for assessments!

My project is going well so far but final decisions need to be made soon! My graduation date has been announced in July so everything feels very real now. I have started working bigger within my ceramics, using coiling as my main building method. I feel this allows me to understand the form and structure of the clay along with the surface. I've also changed my clay body to crank as this holds a rougher texture compared to B17C stoneware. My latest work is in the kiln at the moment but more glaze testing is under way. Keep looking out for my glazed large vessels. Until then, here's a picture of my most recent assessment....with some unfired/unfinished work.


I presented a mix of small samples created using a range of techniques such as pinching, coiling and press moulding, glaze experiments, sketchbooks and my larger pieces, (the mid sized piece featuring grog).

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Christmas is coming!!!


I'm feeling festive now!!! The christmas fair at Bonington was good fun and now I've finished uni for a month!! I plan to get my business plan in good shape over the festive period but for the moment I'm enjoying the christmas cheer!

We bought a lovely fresh christmas tree today ready for our first christmas in our own little house which we've decorated with homemade decorations and lovely one offs we've collected or had given!! 

Hope your all feeling as excited and cheery as I am! :)

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Come down to bonington christmas fair

Come down to Bonington christmas fair today!! My stalls all set up ready to go!! There's a great selection of handmade gifts for yourself or friends and family and we are here today only!!!

I'm selling hand built stoneware pieces from my current project for good prices!! 

Come check it out!!

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Lots going on...




So it's end of term, final week before Christmas break and deadlines are looming, along with lots of fun festivities such as the Christmas Fair down in Bonington building, starting Tuesday 3rd, 5-8pm and Wednesday 4th 10-6pm! Check it out and come down, there's loads going on and so many lovely Christmas gifts...Bonington Christmas Fair.

I'm also in the process of setting up my studio space ready for marking and feedback...waiting for my latest pieces to come out the kiln and finishing off sketchbooks! Busy busy...

Once all is in order I will post some pictures of my work and stall!! 

Monday, 2 December 2013

A little help...

Throughout the Dec Arts course we have to write a business plan or dissertation on a topic of our choice! I've opted for the business plan as I aim to set up my own business somewhere down the line!

There is a lot of market research involved in writing the business plan and I have a survey which will only take 2 mins to complete! It's be a major help to my research...I need as many complete as poss so send this around! :)

Just click here to fill out the survey.

Thanks a lot guys!


Auction antics

Our course auction this week was a success! We managed to raise over £500 towards our degree show , selling our own piecess!!

Edin's Natural Kitchen in Hockley was the perfect venue...we had the top floor/room to ourselves which  had a great long wooden table, shelving and rustic walls! We decorated the space with fairy lights and bought  tasty drinks from the cafe downstairs. 

The piece I auctioned was from a project i completed  last year on the Dec Arts course, they we're slip cast,hand formed mussel shells which wer porcelain, decorated with a white glaze and sprinkles of oxides! I connected the two shell vessels with a small metal hoop and have a snap of these below along with a few other pictures from the night!!

Thanks to everyone that came!!! :)



These are the porcelain slip cast shells I donated towards the fundraising evening! Taken from my project last year based on natural life forms.