Ceramic Sculptures from a Potter’s Wheel

Leonurub, Vol. 3, pp. 199-201. PergarnonPress 1970. Printed in Great Britain CERAMIC SCULPTURES FROM A POTTER’S WHEEL Pamela Robertson* When I was a beginner in the art of ceramics, I worked with conventional shapes, such as cups, * Britishartist living atDonnachaidh, 152rue de la Mairie, 67-Ittenheim,France. (Received 7 June 1969.) plates, bowls and bottles. But one day I started sketching what have been described as surrealist ceramics. Since that time I have produced ceramics which are decorativerather than functional. Fig. 1. ‘Lullaby’,ceramic, height 35 cm, 1968. (Collectionof MusPe des Beaux Arts, Strasbourg, France.) 199 200 Pamelu Robertson Fig. 2. ‘TheSinging Bird’,cernrnic,height l00cm, 1968. I have always felt that spheres, ellipsoids and cylinders are natural forms for work in clay. After all, the most important tool at the potter’s disposal is his wheel. But box-like and angular forms convey to me the feeling of metal rather than that of clay. In my view, there is no soul in them; they do not permit meaningful contact between the ceramist and his material. I remember how I was moved when 1 first saw the ancient Peruvian stirrup-shaped receptacles. 1 immediately recognized the possibility of using the potter’s technique to portray the human form. The technique is. as far as 1 know, my own invention. An example of this kind of work is my Virgin and Child entitled ‘Lullaby’ (cf. Fig. 1). Only the hands are modelled, all other parts were thrown on the wheel. The arms and baby (both in the form of hollow rings) are made as follows: a ball of clay is hollowed out completely (so that one can see the surface of the wheel inside the circle). This annular lump of clay is then directed outwards to the required diameter. The thumbs then break this ring open and deepen the incision as the wheel rotates. One then applies the usual thinning system, giving the inside wall a rounded shape, doing likewise with the outer wall, until both walls meet forming the hollow ring. When the ring is lifted from the wheel, one side of it is flat. In order to obtain an all-over roundness it is turned when the clay is leather-hard. Finally, the arms and baby (hollow rings), the heads (discs), the chignon (cylinder) and the base (halfellipsoid ) are joined with slip. To cdour this object, I used a copper-oxide slip and 5uperimposed a cobalt oxide design by usinp, a trailer.. The result after the first firing (920-940°C) was an ochre colour. I then sprayed it with a transparent colourless glaze and, after a second firing (96O-98O0C),obtained an all-over olive green colour with black designs. Another much larger object that I made using this same technique is called ‘The Singing Bird’ (cf. Fig. 2). In order to obtain the large diameter of the coiled arms, I had to use an asbestos but on which to throw my clay, as the wheel itself was too small. Needless to say, the larger the work the greater the care which has to be taken in propping it up with supports in order to avoid its collapse while the clay is still damp. I again used a copper oxide slip, adding a cobalt oxide slip-trailer design but I fired it only once at 920-940°C. This statue emerged from the kiln ochre in colour with a black circular line design. Fig. 3. ‘TheExotic Bird’, ceramic, height 65 cm, 1967. Notes: Ceramic Sculpturesfrom a Potter’s Wheel 201 I then applied an orange-tinted floor wax, which I polished with a coarse brush. This technique gives a smooth and natural appearance to the texture of the clay. ‘The Exotic Bird’ shown in Figure 3 was made by throwing disks having slightly curved edges. Here, too, an asbestos bat had to be used to avoid distorting the two dishes as they were being taken off the wheel. For this work I used an iron oxide slip with a cobalt oxide slip-trailer design. After an initial firing (920-94OoC), the whole structure was again brushed over with iron oxide and sprayed with a semi-mat...