AA2A - Glazing work

Been busy testing out some decoration using Amaco underglaze crayons that I bought years ago. These crayons are really difficult to get hold of now so I'm going to try making some of my own, I've just found a recipe! In the meantime I've glazed these first attempts and I'm happy with the way they have come out...

AA2A - A Busy Week

A busy week on my artist residency at the National Glass Center and the University of Sunderland. It's Easter break now so I'm looking forward to having a spring clean in my studio next week!

 
#aa2a #karenthompsonceramics #karentceramics #karent #karentcouk #karenthompson #staffordshirepottery #thedeathofmunrow #thetrilogyofdeath #thedeathofsainsburys #thedeathofaspecies #workinprogress #wip #largepots #kilnopening #ceramics #clay #nationalglasscentre #tigers

AA2A - Desk Space

After a delayed start to my AA2A artist residency due to a fall and to being on crutches for 8 weeks, it's great to be able to get in and use the facilities...  it's great that I have been given a desk space too, feel really grateful for this! 

AA2A - Artist Residency at Sunderland University

I feel very privileged to have been selected for an aa2a artist residency with the University of Sunderland. This will be at their National Glass Center campus and runs from now until May 2023. This is an amazing opportunity and the facilities and equipment that they have available are fantastic. I’m really looking forward to meeting all the students and faculty. I’ll be keeping a blog of my work and experience on the aa2a website… https://aa2a.biz

PRESS - Clare Twomey 'Manifest:10,000 Hours' Book

I seem to have made it into the York Art Gallery's book for Clare Twomey's Manifest: 10,000 hours commission. I was busy with my AA2A+ residency with York College and York Art Gallery at the time and I helped to make well over 100 bowls for this. Still, bit of a surprise finding myself and the lovely Becky Ridsel from York College within the pages :-) 

AA2A 'Plus' - Painting The Fiona Green Charger

In the composition of the Fiona Green Charger I am including three objects from the York Museums ceramics collection, these are a Thomas Toft tyg (YORYM:2001.8239), a Merete Rasmussen sculpture and a curious object which was sitting on a bench one day when I visited the stores of which I have no further information.  All of the images of the teasers shown here are at the pre final firing stage, the images have been painted directly onto the unfired tin white glaze and will be subject to change as the piece is fired.  

Thomas Toft Tyg. 

Merete Rasmussen.

Random

Karen in the studios of York College painting the Fiona Green charger.

Computer tower on the desk of YMT stores.

AA2A 'Plus' - Introducing The Fiona Green Charger

The first charger I'm making in response to York Art Gallery's ceramics collection is to feature Fiona Green, the collection facilitator for art. My charger will take direct reference from a delftware charger decorated with a portrait of Queen Anne. This piece is from the 1700 - 1720 period. 

Queen Anne Charger - York Art Gallery (YORYM:2000.2672).

Fiona Green, York Museums Trust, collection facilitator for art.

AA2A 'Plus' - Earthenware Chargers

I'm producing a few white earthenware chargers in the studios at college. They are pressmoulded over a hump mould (Ah the joys of a slab roller! Yes please Santa) I'm bisque firing them without any decoration as I intend to paint majolica style directly on top of a tin white glaze, the first chargers will be painted with velvet underglazes instead of oxides, this will create a vibrant contemporary style which should compliment my ideas of portraying modern scenes taking direct influence from the historical chargers in the collection of York Museums Trust.  

AA2A 'Plus' - New Materials

I've just come across a new material which I've never used before...Terracotta cast with iron is a modelling material akin to plaster. It sets in an hour or so and resembles a bisque fired terracotta, the iron content giving it a speckled like finish. I cast my 'sculptors digits' in the material as a test, apparently the iron content will go rusty with regular watering... I'm watering one of the digits to see what the results look like... 

Testing, Testing... Terracotta cast with iron.

Karen Thompson - Sculptors Digits.

AA2A Workshops - BA Fashion Students

I ran two workshops with the second year BA fashion students in February at York College, the first workshop was focusing on the initial making whilst the second was looking at glazing. This was the fashion students first introduction to ceramics, as it was a small group I wanted to work with them to help realise their individual thoughts and ideas, this meant that they were all working with different methods and we covered a rather broad base, this ranged from slip casting to working with slabs to modelling. I don't have many photographs of these workshops as I was mainly focused on delivering them... I managed to grab a couple of afterthought shots though...
The work has all now been fired and the fashion students are busy integrating the ceramics with fabrics to create new fashion designs. I'll post some pics of their progress soon.

AA2A WORKSHOP - Fashion Students in the Art Gallery Stores

Spent Friday morning last week in York Art Gallery's ceramic stores with fashion students from York College, the Art Gallery have asked the students to respond to a large specific piece that they have in their contemporary collections. The Gallery & the College have also asked me to run two workshops with the fashion students in February to support this project... looking forward to working with and inspiring the fashion students! 

York College fashion students & York Museum Trust

responding to the ceramics 

York Art Gallery ceramic stores.

Karen Thompson at York Art Gallery ceramic stores.

AA2A 'PLUS' - Back into the Art Gallery stores

I've been thinking a little about my first visit to the ceramic stores at the end of November. I was really drawn to the Thomas Toft piece which I mentioned in a previous blog post, this got me researching more work by and the history of Thomas Toft and his contemporaries. Of this style I particularly like the slipware chargers. I seem to be heavily drawn to the charger form at the moment... it's like a ceramic blank canvas waiting to be tackled with various decorative techniques. With this in mind when I had my second visit to the York Art Gallery's ceramic stores on Monday I was keen to unearth a selection of chargers and plates. I was interested to find out of they had any majolica or Delftware plates. I was in for a treat as I dug around in the mass of plate boxes and pulled out some of these inspiring chargers...

YORYM:2000.2674 - Delftware Charger, King William III on Horseback

YORYM:2000.3336 - Slipware Charger, Virgin Mary

YORYM:2000.2672 - Delftware Charger, Queen Anne

YORYM:2004.11968 - Kiity Shepherd, 1997

YMT.ED4071.6

YORYM:2000.2677 - Delftware charger, Adam & Eve

I've just searched google for 'English delftware chargers', this interesting quote has come up on Wikipedia...

Blue-dash chargers, usually between about 25 and 35 cm in diameter with abstract, floral, religious, patriotic or topographical motifs, were produced in quantity by London and Bristol potters until the early 18th century. As they were kept for decoration on walls, dressers and side-tables, many have survived and they are well represented in museum collections.

One of the most popular decorations on the blue-dash charger was a representation of Adam and Eve with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, produced from the 1630s to the 1730s. "The challenge of rendering the anatomy of Adam and Eve was inescapable, and as the subject became more and more freely repeated by painters of less and less competence, most of the anatomy gave trouble, particularly Adam's abdominal muscles, which eventually became grotesque and could not be wholly covered by his fig-leaf." In later examples, "the images had declined to the level of coloured graffiti; Adam and Eve were cave dwellers, the Tree had become a mere cipher and only the serpent and the fruit proved simple enough to survive debasement."^[3]

Funnily enough it's the naive style I seem to be drawn to in these chargers, I'm becoming more and more inspired by folk art and the naive style as well as outsider art. 

AA2A PLUS - First Visit to York Museums Trust's Stores

At the end of last month I managed to spend a couple of hours in York Art Gallery's 'top secret' ceramic store warehouse. It was quite a bombardment of the senses as I took in a diverse range of studio ceramics. I'm trying to focus in on one object that will inspire a new body of work. I'm unsure at the moment what direction that work will take but I have an inkling that it might be focusing on surface decoration as this is an area of investigation I am keen to revisit soon. My initial visit didn't manage to come up with any conclusive object which I could respond to, although there were a few items which caught my eye and I have been pondering since.

Among these objects was a fascinating Masons pot (YORYM:2001.427) this was made by John and Christopher Potter in between WW1 & WW2 in Staffordshire (Wedgwood), it's a large earthenware vase of a flattened disc shape with a tall foot. It's decorated around the shoulder with a landscape and Gothic castle, painted in colours over the glaze. The waist has a band of inscription painted in black which reads... I was painted by Alfred Powell for Omar Ramsden & Anne his wife of St. Dunstan's London S.W.  A.S.  MCMXXVIII. The underside is decorated with an underwater scene of fish in blue, green and silver. The tall foot is decorated with panels of floral decoration in gilt, red, green and blue.

A Mason's Pot. York Art Gallery Stores

An iconic piece of Thomas Toft slipware also caught my eye, there have already been many modern interpretations on his work including the late Bernard Leach. However, I can't resist the folk art feel and absolutely love his plates. He is well known for the plate of King Charles II (unfortunately not in York's collection!), maybe I could respond with a comment on the current debate over Richard III bones

Thomas Toft slipware - York Art Gallery Stores.

Thomas Toft - Charles II.

Bernard Leach.

There was also some lovely William De Morgan lustreware, I would love to explore lustreware a little as I think I may be a magpie... anything that is shiny! I also love his repetitive designs.

William De Morgan Lustreware, York Art Gallery stores.

I still have lots to ponder from my first visit to the stores and a stash of photos to take in. I can't wait to get into the stores again to have another look around. There were masses of goodies boxed away, I'd love to get unearthing some of the hidden treaures... 

OUT & ABOUT - York Museums Trusts Stores

The Ceramics Collection @ York Museum Stores

Spent a couple of hours in the York Museums Trusts stores yesterday with my fellow 'AA2A Plus' artist Ian Kirkpatrick. There is a vast amount of studio ceramics in the store. It was fascinating getting some background information on the collectors also. It was all a bit overwhelming in the short time we were there so hoping to get back and have another look around shortly. I feel I've only just scratched the surface, it would be great to have a look inside some of the boxes at selected objects. 

NEWS - AA2A 'Plus' Residency

I'm just starting my AA2A (artists access to art college) placement with York College. I have also been selected by York Museums Trust for a 'Plus' placement which means I will be working directly with the Trust. During my residency I intend to make some form of response to York Museums Trusts ceramics collection. I'm looking forward to getting into the store and having a look through some of the collections! York Art Gallery will re-open summer 2015 with new ceramics galleries and a new centre of ceramic art(CoCA), I feel lucky to be around a little in the run up to this big event.... 

NEWS - AA2A Residency, Harrogate College

I've been selected to be an artist in residence at Harrogate school of Art & Design for the next six months. This is through the AA2A scheme. I'm looking forward to spending time there using the facilities and interacting with the students and staff. Will be starting next week after half term. I shall be blogging about my time on the AA2A Dotbiz site...

http://aa2a.biz/