Tag: textures

ceramics

Ceramics: down the rabbit hole

Julique

This year, I have been learning to create using pottery clay.

I have been pleasantly surprised that many techniques and tools are similar to other art forms that I already love.

Many people begin in childhood with coil pots or pinch pots. These hand forming methods are ones that easily come to mind when you think of pottery or ceramics. It is, of course so much more than this. The exploration of glazes alone is seemingly endless.

It is, I have discovered an extremely interesting, challenging, rewarding (and sometimes frustrating) medium that I find very meditative and freeing.

The time it takes to see a piece from conception to completion can be quite long and is more time-consuming than I expected.

These images are a sample of pieces created using clay that has been hand formed and fired.

Some of the techniques used include:

– forming methods – pinch, slab, coil, kurinuki

– surface treatments – impressions, application of washes, oxides, sgraffito, under glazes and glazes

My gallery page will be updated with my latest work (and can be found of my socials pages).

Gallery

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Functional Art
Homewares and Crafts

Functional Art

Julique

Aim: To minimise waste materials and create a functional piece of art

My Tree of Light

It began as a way to use leftover grout from a session of grouting mosaic pieces and completing a refresh of the grout in the bathroom.

A Work in Progress

Step 1 – Put the left over grout in a mould (in this case a yoghurt container)

Step 2 – Add some interestingly shaped sticks and wait until set

Step 3 – Paint the sticks (the colours of a gum tree)

Step 4 – Add cord to the base and paint using a complementary colour scheme

Step 5 – Make the leaves and attach to the ‘tree’

Step 6 – Add metallic wax to blend the leaves and add some shimmer to the piece

Black and white images of the work so far

Reflect and Consider….

While I am not ‘in love’ with the piece yet, I am definitely warming to it. I am thinking that I need a few more elements to balance and enhance the design.

Elements yet to come

Step 5 – Add the fairy lights

Step 6 – Embellish the branches with crystals (to catch the light)

Step 7 – Complete the tree base and touch up colouring and add highlights.

Final result and images in colour in my next post.

Jewellery

Wine and Grape Inspired

Julique

I love working with textures. I created a mould using the leaves from a grape vine. These made me think of creating a few fun earrings that are wine and grape inspired using this mould.

Love the dangles ❤️ 🍇🍃 and will look to find other ways to use this mould in designs.

Created using the mould and alcohol inks
Reverse side highlighted using metallic wax
Larger dangles – frosted grape bunched (stylised)
Uncategorized

Garden and Home: Creativity in the Home

Julique

Staying at home in 2020 has led to a focus on home improvement and a resurgence on home renovation and gardening.

When I decided to take some time away from working in schools, one of the first things I did was improve our garden. I established a kitchen garden and we now have garden beds for vegetables and herbs. I also wished to make the space more wildlife friendly with the aim to attract birds, butterflies and bees.

Recently, I have been working on the personal touches, adding some creative elements that personalise and make a house a home. I wished to put my creativity into the space – and to reuse and upcycle as much as possible.

Welcome Sign

Designed with the motif of gum leaves. The main medium used is polymer clay with mica powders and textures. See this sign in progress on my instagram post.

Kookaburra Wall Hanging

This sculptural piece was designed using polymer clay on an existing wooden hanging.

It unfortunately had a mirror that had broken when the leather strap it was suspended from broke. I decided to cover up the mirror with ‘something’ using the medium of polymer clay. I wanted it to be rustic and decided to use a palette that included bronze and silver.

The border is made from layered textured strips and the kookaburra created using a palette knife style application to give the feeling of feathers.

The result is a stylised kookaburra and with the ubiquitous gum leaves found in our decor.

Next projects … to come

  • Garden ornaments – ladybirds, a cat and herb markers
  • Tile Mosaics: memorial stepping stones