2022 at the rim of the funnel.

No concrete thoughts At this time of the final project for the end of year exhibition at Waiheke Island Art Gallery. I have an overarching theme of clods and clouds or contrast.

I am experimenting with a bone China recipe, willendorf Venus shapes, ethereal Egyptian dancing bird shapes and minature bricks to make a Marquette sized salt kiln.

A bisque firing with current ideas of clods and clouds, contrasts and bricks for Marquette size salt kiln.

8 layers of a kiln from Peter Lange plan.

Notes to remind me of the need to make some 1/2 sized bricks from Terracotta. Surprise at the similar shrinkage rate of the terracotta and the porcelain slip bricks.

Moving down the funnel with concrete ideas. Constrast shown : with heavy brick and lighter clouds,

Clod and clouds overarching theme. Utilising the negative space.

Thoughts of heavy and light, positive and negative space, darker and lighter colour and coarse and refined utilising terracotta juxtaposed with porcelain. Utilising feminine symbols of a rotund vase and v shape from ancient times.

Willendorf Venus shapes hand moulded from Egyptian paste with copper added

Bricks glazed with Poenamu glaze and fired to 1120 degrees centigrade. Museum wax to be applied when exhibiting. Glazing applied to clods and clouds and to be reapplied. Sand from area around road to the Tongariro crossing at National Park mixed with Tom’s slip and applied to Willendorf Venus. Hopefully moving down the funnel towards concrete thoughts of exhibition pieces.

Time to write a proposal as time will get away. I’m aware that the proposal can be edited.

Work seen by Rob, his concern seemed to be the ‘Toy’ like nature of the bricks so encouraged to reglaze a few times. Rob said kiln bricks were not made of red terracotta so Tongariro sand and Tom’s white slip will be used.

Suggestion from Peter Collis to sawdust fire bricks when bisqued and then to fire to 1100 degrees centigrade in an electric kiln afterwards to achieve an anagama firing look.er. Process organised but all the carbon was burnt out from bricks. Refired overnight to capture the carbon on the bricks and red copper oxide sprinkled over.

Glaze experimentation.

Attempt at firing a crystalline glaze.

Assessment pots 2021 .

Displayed at the Waiheke Art Gallery, November 17th, 2021. Formative assessment for Level 6.

Pots selected for assessment 2021.

Elenor Renker inspired technique and referencing Madeleine Child’s Clod couple.

Pinched terracotta clay with a cup of sand. Bisque and glazed with Egyptian paste. (Instead of limestone paste)

Combination clay with Poenamu slip and Pounamu glaze.

Ann Hudson/ Poetry and Pottery

Preparation work for a zoom session. Utilising minature animals in response to some poetry.

Utilising a minature cow casting on a hand built plinth with apple tree and flowers

A Robert Louis Stevenson poem of the friendly cow. (A sweet poem about a boy who loves his cow).

The friendly cow work drying with 3 cast cows and 2 hand built horses.

The friendly cow all red and white I love with all my heart. She gives me cream with all her might, to eat with apple tart. She wanders lowing here and there, and yet she cannot stray, all in the pleasant air, the pleasant light of day, and blown by all the winds that pass and wet with all the showers, She walks among the meadow grass and eats the meadow flowers.

Encouraged by Penny to make 2 more cow poems.

Poem focussing on the sky, hill and tree rather than the cow. a poem written by Annette Wynnne. Sky and tree and hill and all, I could touch you were I tall, but I shall not even try, Great big tree and hill and sky; I shall stay down here, and see All the little things like me, And let all the big things be, Till I grow up wise and tall, sky and tree and hill and all.

Ode to a cow from the old Farmers Almanac, 1936.

Whenever you’re feeling bothered or sore, Go and look at a Cow, When everything else is a fearful bore, Go and look at a Cow, observe her gentle and placcid air, Her nonchalance and savour Faire, Her absolute freedom from every care, Her imperturbable brow. So when you’re at the end of your wits, Go and look at a Cow, or when your nerves are frayed to bits, And wrinkles furrow your brow, She’ll merely Moo in her gentle way, switching her rudder as if to say “Bother tomorrow! Let’s Live today! Take the advice of a cow”.

Making the Void in preparation for zoom session next week. White grogged clay used.

Life is a Void circle by Khairul Ahsan.

Life is a void circle, I am at its centre, So it’s no matter if the circle is bigger or smaller. I remain at its centre At no point can I intersect its circumference, As I am equidistant.

Dried voids. Ready for firing. ? Underglaze or glaze or leave white and put on a black background.

A brick ( to fit together) modelled in clay and cast in plaster . I have ideas of creating a wall to allow my minature cows to have a line to move along on. Ideas of a fine line that they walk in our society, methane gas generation, water pollution, and diseases ; mycoplasma bovis (2017), and hopefully never foot and mouth. (A big concern for the farming and agriculture of NZ and our economic foundations ).

A work made after watching a video of Elena Renker demonstrating making her Japanese style Tea cup.

Herd of cows and brick shapes towards a project. Thoughts of a Haiku and cow numbers to correspond to the 5, 7, 5 word syllables with 5 white cows ,7 red, black and white cows and 5 black cows on a line of bricks and 4 sets of cow legs to complete. Awaiting completion. Tom’s black slip on black cows and yellow iron oxide on bricks and red and black cows. Kiln fired to 1200 degrees centigrade. Decision made with tutor Penny to cast good bricks for wall to use as a single line plinth to stand the 17 cows on. The connecting bricks decreased in size during the 2 firings and were too small to work as cow plinths. Photos and video on Brendon Adams module.

A Haiku I wrote to accompany the vase shaped vessel made up of 3 tea cups.” The vase shape I made, from cut and poked and pushed clay, looks like a person”.

Vase, T cup and T pot inspired by Elena Renker.

“A skin for nothing “.Thoughts of using slip cast work to reference Virginia Leonard’s colourful work.

Vase shape disassembled and clay scraped out to lighten. Reassembled differently to open it up.

Referencing Madeleine Child’s , “clod couple”.

Tom’s black slip applied. White slip to be applied on horses and fleur de lis. Bisque fired to 1000 degrees centigrade. Some scraffito animal shapes and uneven lines applied.

Terry’s Grecian Urn referencing Keats Ode to a Grecian Urn and focusing on the sacrifice of the white cow.

Vessels made in preparation of a zoom with Anne, Peter Collis and Lou Bashall who made pottery in the UK for Allan Kreigar Smith, and focused on using tin glaze as painted her mugs. Glaze from flux oxide triaxial used and maiolica with a stencil of a horse.

Sawdust firing at Penny’s.

One of the bins did not burn all the saw dust so some pots fired in electric kiln at 1160 degrees.

3 drums used. One organised with a flu to draw air , one with regular holes in the drum and one with no holes. The drum with no holes did not complete the firing.

Looking forward to sawdust fire some porcelain slip animals and bigger sculptural work . Hopefully before the end of the year. The firing was organised on a Monday morning and pots taken out the next morning. Some kindling was organised into the top of the bins to encourage good burning.

Module 3 Sculptural Ceramics . Casting with Brendon Adams. July 2021. Focus on animals and casting.

Preparation of a 3 piece slip mould of a cow and a 2 piece mould of a miniature Bull.

Legs cut off to make mould but will be organised into moulds as well.

Completing 3 part and 2 part moulds and sprig cow legs.

Contemplating idea of making a Noah’s Ark referencing Rick Rudd’s work. I may see if I can mould the animal shapes made and cast 2 for the ark project. I will use my seed pod mould to make the Ark and construct out of paper clay a floor and roof.