Contours of place
Recently, while contemplating the concept of a 'box of memories', I found that the special memories that surfaced were often linked to the places I had lived. Both of these homes provided safety and sanctuary during critical times in my life.
Reflecting on this, I began to consider the contours of the land surrounding these areas - the invisible patterns in the landscape - that could represent this sense of ‘place’. As I further researched this thought process, the concept sparked quite a strong emotional response; it became clear that the topography of place can profoundly affect us all.
Pursuing this theme, for the project ‘Box of Secrets’, I created two lidded, round boxes, hand carving into thick slabs of clay. Now, I'm eager to explore how this process might evolve and how it could be applied to other sculptural ceramic forms.
18 April 2025
Left a solid block of PF700 porcelain/stoneware out for 3 days to harden off, as wanted to test clay to see how it carved with contour patterns - not good! I find this clay very difficult to work with, trying to resolve a way that will work for me….
3 May 2025
After creating a ‘ribbons’ test tile and thinking about how this technique could be applied to various projects, I did a quick sketch using the idea to explore contours. Still working this concept through in my head - not sure where it’s going at the moment!
After creating a test tile using the ‘ribbons’ technique, I started thinking about how it might be applied to different projects. I did a quick sketch to explore how the idea could translate into contours of the land. Still processing the concept - I'm not entirely sure where it’s headed just yet
