Devon Smith Ceramics

After my lockdown experiments I was a bit worried about having to make another mould, luckily this time it went a lot better. I threw a small (solid) vase shape in clay, and used small pieces of aluminium can to make a clean edge to halve the mould

After leaving the mould to completely dry for a week, we mixed some casting slip and did our first pour.

Left it to set over night, a little tidying and trimming – voila! First little cast vase. Now that I know the mould works I can make lots of these and really play around with decoration.

I’m a bit rusty after the holidays, but trying to get back into the swing of throwing

Trying to go a bit bigger, and working with white clay here. It is much easier to throw with, but I bit finiticky when it comes to drying times and things like attaching handles.

Our nexy challange has been making closed vessels, I’ve only managed to make spheres so far but their malibility is really fun

Cut the top off these two so now have very well fitting lids. One was a little messy on the inside so will have to practice keeping the interior tidy while closing them up.

Still to be trimmed and cleaned up once a little drier, so many finger prints!

https://changan-moon.tumblr.com/post/624174389332672513/how-to-make-a-%E7%B4%AB%E7%A0%82%E5%A3%B6-zishahu-chinese-boccaro-teapot

Just wanted to share this nice video of a beautiful teapot being slab built

I have some serious catching up to do here… Our first semester has finished, including assessment, but I have missed posting a few things!

We have done quite a bit of raku firing now, it’s so quick and so simple really, plus nice on a cold day.

Tracey took most of these photos, as I am wearing the heavy leathers and lifting the pieces out of the kiln when red hot.

These three small pieces were all glazed with a recipe I found online, that was listed as a white crackle. Did not turn out as expected or intended, but I really enjoy the smokey greys and metallic silvers that popped up.

It’s hard to resist the constant pressure to ‘go big’, when I was at art school doing my BFA it seemed like a painting wasn’t considered legitimate fine art unless it had a commanding presence.

My own preference is for personal, intimate and quiet work. I want the viewer to feel like they are part of something private and special.

Geoffrey Swindell’s work embodies this for me. Technically, amazing of course, but each miniature piece feels like it contains its own little narrative world.

“Some people say my ceramics are like washed up sea creatures, some still alive, some remnants turning slowly to dust. Others see unidentifed objects from a far away galaxy, not sure whether they are organic or constructed, friendly or malevolent.”

This was one of those times where I should have read all the instructions before beginning… My actual mould making I think was pretty good initially but I had a bit of trouble getting the consistency of the plaster right.

My first try… Crumbly and full of holes. Too much plaster to water.

My next try (which I didn’t bother photographing) was really soft, and had lots of water floating on the top of the plaster after an hour. I figured too much water this time. I did realise I wasn’t mixing the plaster for long enough, found some very precise instructions online and followed them very carefully. And finally got a decent mould! I had to switch containers for the 2nd half, as I hadn’t realised my bucket had a slight flare at the top which meant the first half couldn’t sit back inside it.

Needs a bit of a clean up still, but I’m just pleased these ones actually set properly.

Realised I never posted this one! I did have plans to actually make it in physical form, but we’ll see how things go once school is back.

My main focus with this was a response to the unending media surrounding weight gain during isolation, having everyone’s biggest concern during a global pandemic being putting on a little weight (and to a fat person – ending up looking like me) was both ridiculous and hurtful.

Named after a quote by Kanoa Lloyd on the Project “how to stay sober, slim and sane”

I spent a lot of time drawing for this one – much more planning than actual building! I was a bit ambitious to try a face, so I kept it pretty stylised so far. Still a bit of work to do.

I used my remaining paper clay, thinking it would be easier to add to as I worked on the piece. I started by just bobbing it on like papier-mache

Part of me really enjoyed the lumpiness and the texture

But then the 5th time I reshaped the face I ended up smoothing it out… Maybe it has lost a little of its earlier charm, I am terrible for overworking things.

I hollowed out the back of her head, too, so that when fired she could be used as a base or a pen holder or something… I like the idea of flowers sticking out from behind her sun rays.

I found some old lino in my studio so wanted to see if I could carve a stamp from it, and whether this would work on clay. I got a bit carried away and made 4, and then made some carved wooden handles out of some deadwood from a manuka. They work with ink! And kind of on soft clay – just need to get the pressure right.

The snake still needs some tidying, but the initial stamp works really well. I might play around with stamp carving a bit more, as once they’re done it’s a quick and easy way to get a design onto clay.

I also made a plywood & cheesecloth cradle, intending to make a big slab bowl. I think the cloth is a bit too stretchy though, so I have yet to try it out. May replace it with something with a tighter weave.

I decided to make these out of fimo, as I wanted to paint them so needed them to dry out. My sculpting isn’t the best so they’re not completely accurate, but also not pushed enough for it to seem deliberate, so they’re a bit of a failure. Same with the actual painting – not accurate enough to be a true replication, but not abstracted enough to be something else. Oh well, just an experiment anyway!

The items I chose are all little talismans I’ve held on to for years. A tiny tarot card I stole from temple, a boar tusk my dad’s uncle gave him etc etc these little things become good luck talismans to me, and having them near me gives me a sense of comfort. I wanted to see if replicas would have a similar feel.

In my photos I have tried to replicate the gloomy shadows with a strong light source, as is common in classical Dutch still lives.