Yimeng Ou

Monday, 5 May 2014

Glaze test 3

This glaze test is based on the recipes I found in a book about ceramic artist Hazel Johnston. This book,which is mainly about a interview between Johnston and the author, is nice that presents many aesthetically appealing works of hers. At the end of book, she provides some of her recipes.

What I found inspiring is the peaceful and elegant feeling in her work, which allows me to imagine their smooth tactile surface. I would like to achieve this kind of effect on my work, so I made these glazes according to the book.

I made one a dolomite glaze as a base and three types of pigment mix. Here are the recipes.

Dolomite glaze

Potash Feldspar 24.4

Cornish Stone 42.4

China Clay 25.1

Dolomite 32.4

Whiting 3.5

Pigment Mix 1

Blue: Cobalt( measured in level teaspoons)

1 Part Cobalt Oxide

1 Part Iron

1 Part Manganese

Pigment Mix 2

Brown: Bronze

5 Parts Manganese

3 Parts Copper Oxide

1/2 Part China Clay

Pigment Mix 3

Green: Copper Mix

( She didn't give, but I try to mix by myself based on a copper glaze)

I applied them to both terracotta clay and porcelain.

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1. Terracotta

Here are the pictures before and after firing. I brushed pigments in different thickness and shape on the surface of text pieces, expecting to achieve various results.

(1) dolomite glaze

(2) cobalt pigment

(3) bronze pigment

(4) copper pigment

(5) dolomite+cobalt /cobalt+dolomite
Johnston normally sprays pigment first, then spray another layer of dolomite glaze. Here I tried both orders, but I only used brush.
Before glaze firing, if I brush the pigment first, the second layer of dolomite glaze mixes with the pigment during brushing. But, if I do it in an opposite order, the layer of pigment stays on the surface of dolomite glaze.
However, they look basically the same after firing.

(6) dolomite+bronze /bronze+dolomite

(7)dolomite+copper /copper+dolomite

(8) cobalt+bronze

(8) bronze+ copper

2. Porcelain

(1) dolomite glaze

(2) cobalt pigment

(3) bronze pigment

(4) copper pigment

(5)cobalt+dolomite

(5) dolomite+cobalt

cobalt+dolomite and cobalt

(6) bronze+dolomite

(6) dolomite+bronze

(6) dolomite+bronze and brozen

(7)copper+dolomite

(7)dolomite+copper

(7)copper+dolomite and copper

(8) cobalt+bronze /bronze+ copper

(8) bronze+ copper

Results:

The result of this experiment is not what I expected. The colour of the pigments have turned into metallic black colour in different tones. Here are some reasons.

1. Reliability of recipe

I am not saying that this artist wants to confuse her readers, but the recipes seem quite different from the glaze or slip recipes in other specialist books. For example, these recipes require teaspoon measurement, which I found is not accurate enough. This taught me being accurate and scientific is rely important. This is also a problem when it comes to the measurement of water. There is no indication that how much water should be added.

I discussed my confusion with Yuta, who is a expert of ceramic in my major. In his opinion, the recipes of pigment are wrong. Next time, before I start to make glaze, I should discuss with professional people first.

My guess is I put in too much of the oxides. Because after I fired them, I saw something about the colour of oxides in a book about glaze. It said oxides in glaze should be lower than 5% ( I have to check it again). Copper for instance, when it reaches its saturation, it turns into metallic black. I think that is what happened here, as I can still find some green colour at the edge of black, which has less copper. Again, this makes me realise how important is the accuracy.

And when I ask Yuta whether I can add more water in it to make it more watery. He said the problem is not about water that I should not do that. However, I do not really understand his answer. In order to solve my confusion, I would discuss this with our technician.

Nevertheless, I don't want to waste these glazes that I am going to experiment with them. So here is my plan.

Divide every glaze into two parts,
Part 1. Add more water and spray little on the test piece.

Part 2. Add 100% percent of china clay and other ingredients as base.

I think these are two ways of getting the concentration of glaze lower. Though I do not know whether it works.

2. Temperature

In the terracotta test, they were accidentally fired at 1260, which is too high for them. So they all look a lit bit over-cooked.

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However, as a black slip with strong metallic feeling, they are quite good. And they have different hues of black colour, especially the bronze one with dark golden colour. Even though they are not what I am aiming for, they can be useful in other applications.

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Here is a piece that I glazed with my previous glazes. It turned out differently again. It looks quite creepy, but in a lovely way.

I used a yellow glaze at the ring of this piece, which is the test piece on the right, but it vanished completely. And the left test piece was a mixture of a purple glaze as base and a white glaze on the top. I supposed I used too much white glaze this time that the colour of glaze did not really stick on the work. Next time I should try different combination of them, and see how it goes.

In conclusion, the glaze test 3 has reinforced the importance of preciseness. I will make better plans when I experiment in the future.

Friday, 18 April 2014

Martino Gamper: Design Is A State of Mind

This is a exhibition curated by London-based Italian designer Martino Gamper in Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The whole exhibition is composed of many shelves from designers with different items on them. Each shelf has its own style and theme, which provide audiences a individual way of collecting and gathering objects.

Some of these objects are really charming and unique, and some of them are just from our daily life. However, a shelf system like this gives us an opportunity to really observe and think about them. How their looking achieved the function we need and how they impact our life, for example.

When I first saw these empty shelves, I was thinking whether this exhibition is about furniture.

Rupert Blanchard & Osvaldo Borsani
L60 1946

Then I realised all the descriptions from the paper I got were about the objects on the shelves or why the designers collected them.

Left: Mats Theselius & Ignazio Gardella
Bookcase 1970
Right: Daniel Eatock & Andrea Branzi
Wall Bookshelf 2011

Maki Suzuki & Andrea Branzi
Gritti Bookcase 1981

I really like this collection of bricks. To the collector, these bricks are more like books have not been read yet rather than just bricks. In my case, they are story books. It is easy to notice that they geographically different from each other from their colour and texture. And according to requirements, workers from different places formed them into different structures.

And I think since people have their own interests and focus, some people may get more information from what they know more. Vice versa.

This one looks more like a foam painted with red pigment than a brick. Since I could not feel the weight by holding it.

I really like this warm yellow tone. It has a spontaneously aesthetic beauty. What if I get some of this, and build a empire for shrimps. It will look great with plants, at least in my mind.

Oiva Toikka & Franco Albini
838 Veliero 1940 / 2014

This is one of my favourite shelf in the exhibition. The glasses themselves should be fragile, but the cube shape gave them a stout look. The shelf made of rope, slim sticks and glass, in the contrast, looks light and not strong enough, but actually is very stable.

These cubes are produced in Finland by iittala.

The details in these cubes are amazing. They just float in the cube and those little bubbles are like rain drops which are really lovely. The technique of blowing is a magic for me. There are some ideas of mine actually are more suitable in glass. It's a shame that we don't have a glass studio in our Uni. I know it will take many years to learn it, but it fantastic if I can try it.

Andreas Schmid and Andrew McDonagh & Andrea Branzi
Grandi Legni GL21 2009

In my opinion, this shelf is the the kind that people would normally get in their home. Normal sculptures in different kind with painting and box or something. It could not really get my interest. And as to me, the top left corner is too heavy, which makes the whole balance a little bit strange. I would move the wood box away.

Italian Travertine Sculptures, c.1970s

Fabien Cappello & Alvar Aalto
112B Wall Shelf 1936/ 1960s

I was wondering since some of the time of these collection can even be traced back to the middle of last century, did they brought both their collections and shelves here? Or the shelf was a work with objects that they stayed together all these years?

Bethan Wood & Campo Graffi
Bookcase 1950s

The theme of this collection is about Plastic Fantastic. The collector's love of plastic as a material was influenced by childhood.

In many occasion, I don't really like the texture of plastic. Especially when they have crazy colour, looking cheap and bad-made. As to the objects from this collection, I won't give them one glance if I see them in the shop or market. But somehow when they came onto these shelves, they gave me a more meaningful feeling. How interesting it is.

Adam Hills & Martino Gamper
Book Show Case 2010/ 2014

I like these three shelves, though some position of these objects should be considered more from my opinion. They remind me some kind of painting. I like the yellow, green, blue and red colours together. The structures that are used to hang them look like dashed line from here.

It will be helpful if we can get one in our studio.

Richard Wentworth & IKEA
Ivar 1976/ 2014

Sebastian Bergne & Bruno Mathsson
Bookcase 1943

Michael Anastassiades & Martino Gamper
Booksnake Shell 2002

Oh, this is stone collection is so so so adorable. Even I don't like the shelf goes with it, because of its colour and proportion. Personally I prefer a shelf in lower saturation.

Found on the sea bed of a small cave near Emblisi, Fiscardo, Kefalonia, Greece. Their egg shape is formed by the stones rubbing against each other as the waves hit the cave and make it act like a drum.