Rare is it that the work involved is seen by the average and casual viewer, beneath the layers exist hours of construction, contemporaneously or historically, it is this that makes ones work stand out.
In order for this to occur it must be considered that a piece of work is comprised, not just of layers of paint, clay or individual parts but also a series of Techniques and processes that have been practiced and mastered, also this familiarity is important to ensure a balance of work and unity across an entire series or body of work, tried and tested means, Research and Development, success and failure, manipulation and, sometimes, an element of innovation.
To this end I am revamping the process of making my bricks, drawing on experience and knowledge of other techniques combined with a specific approach to the forming and hand priming of the clay within the silicone mould, for me this ensures sympathetic preservations of fragile detail of the original form, also, it is important for me to maintain a set of ethics that allow me to consider my entire works as 'Handcrafted Fine Art' even given the use of a mould process.
Thought process flow chart
Having discovered a ''baked clay to baked clay'' bonding issue, there is it seems as yet no specific adhesive specific to the bonding of baked clays, while some produce a sticky melted mess, some crack and pieces break apart, as did mine yesterday evening, others simply do not hold adequately, having been in the situation of having to remove a private garden commission for this very reason I have also to resolve this issue before I can continue to create.
The alternative given the overall finished size of the composite works is to commission the build of a bespoke large oven, this has been in the back of my mind for the past few years, always imagining that this would be inevitable now it seems it is that time.
In order for this to occur it must be considered that a piece of work is comprised, not just of layers of paint, clay or individual parts but also a series of Techniques and processes that have been practiced and mastered, also this familiarity is important to ensure a balance of work and unity across an entire series or body of work, tried and tested means, Research and Development, success and failure, manipulation and, sometimes, an element of innovation.
To this end I am revamping the process of making my bricks, drawing on experience and knowledge of other techniques combined with a specific approach to the forming and hand priming of the clay within the silicone mould, for me this ensures sympathetic preservations of fragile detail of the original form, also, it is important for me to maintain a set of ethics that allow me to consider my entire works as 'Handcrafted Fine Art' even given the use of a mould process.
Thought process flow chart
Having discovered a ''baked clay to baked clay'' bonding issue, there is it seems as yet no specific adhesive specific to the bonding of baked clays, while some produce a sticky melted mess, some crack and pieces break apart, as did mine yesterday evening, others simply do not hold adequately, having been in the situation of having to remove a private garden commission for this very reason I have also to resolve this issue before I can continue to create.
The alternative given the overall finished size of the composite works is to commission the build of a bespoke large oven, this has been in the back of my mind for the past few years, always imagining that this would be inevitable now it seems it is that time.
Plan A !!
