ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is fundamentally concerned with the treatment of its surface. My focus is to combine the two techniques of, carving into clay, and the burnishing of its surface, into one coherent theme.
Carving into clay creates a three dimensional texture using a series of different levels and depths. It disturbs the surface of the clay body, encouraging the eye to move in, rather than bounce away. With burnishing and then smoke firing the state of the clay body is changed by first sealing it and then introducing different facets of light and shade by carbonising randomly selected areas. I apply gold, silver or copper leaf to the inside of the double skinned form, which adds another dimension to the final piece.
The ideas of Henry Moore and Ewen Henderson are inspirational to me, in their belief that you should let the material take the lead pushing each one beyond its limit. The curvaceous and uncomplicated structures of Anish Kapoor and Barbara Hepworth, and Gabriele Koch’s gourd like burnished pots, all appear to have mastered the skill of uniting form with surface which is what I hope to achieve within my work.
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