Ceramic Workshop - Imprinting and Extruding - Development

 Finally I got the chance to be back in the ceramic workshop. It had been a year since I was last in there and like the print workshops I had stopped half way through our 7 week tutorial plan due to Covid lockdown. There were skills and processes I wanted to learn so my plan was to try these out while creating something for my House project.

I had the idea of working with a Victorian doily which, although not from the house I imagined they were there, placed under plant pots and vases of flowers. The doilies were made once the cotton process could make stronger thread around 1844. They were common even in the most modest of houses.

I had tried imprinting the pattern of the doily into the clay to create a low bowl. After using a rolling pin the transfer the patter I lay it over a mould to create the shape. Once dried and fired in the kiln I painted the surface a dark green with pink in the centre. I associate the dark green with Victorian houses because while stripping back walls and wood in our flat and then our house most of the wood work is painted dark green as the original colour. The paint runs into the imprinted area in a mesmorising way, giving an uneven coverage which I can't wait to see finished. I glazed the dish and I have left it in the kiln. Hopefully I will see it in one piece after Easter.

Low dish imprinted with a doily (2021)

Still working with the theme of the doily I wanted to create a bowl using the extruding machine. This machine pushes out long thin strings of clay once the lever is pushed down (a lot of muscle power is needed!). Using terracotta clay which I kneaded and warmed with my hands to soften it, before it could be put in the extruder. I used a mould to hold the bowl and started the process of creating a pattern which links together to create the basket. However, the Victorian doily pattern I had planned ended up looking like a psychedelic 1960s bowl. I cleaned it up and ensured all the elements were attached to each other. It's now in the kiln, I'm not sure how it will come out!

Extruded bowl based on a doily design (2021)