Ceramics - Reflections

 

Scoliosis Pots (2021)

The pots I created in the ceramic workshop (see above) are fired and smoothed by hand. They have come to represent bone, strong, smooth, slightly rough in parts and bone white. Each one is slightly bigger than a vertibrate and all individual in curve and lean.

I have decided to make many more pots, each one different from the others. Sometimes I take them to breaking point then fix them, like my back and ribs during the operation to fix my scoliosis. The decision to keep them natural rather than glazing them feels more medical and bone like. I plan to display them all together, maybe on an eye level, narrow shelf. Each one can be identified with as how the person sees their curve or disability pre and post operation.

My choice of clay has been great but I must admit it was by chance and it has not been an easy option. When the workshops first opened this was the only clay available. It's coarse and tough, very gritty and cheap to buy. This makes throwing on the wheel rather tough because the grit rubs your hands and its strength makes it tough to move . However, the toughness means the pots rarely break in the kiln firing, it creates a bone coloured outcome and the course texture can be left or polished to great effect. I also plan to make many, many pots to display together (the power of the multiple) which will not bee too expensive to produce.

I think it was a good experience starting with the tough clay because when I tried throwing a vase in porcelain it was so easy and smooth and my skills learnt meant I could create an even smooth pot (see image below).