In this post, I’ll be mentioning the most influential pieces, artists, or media that have changed or motivated my practice throughout the duration as a Ceramic design student.
1. The Image of Christ from Hinton St. Mary
In the beginning of the first unit, I looked very closely at objects that were on display in museums. One of the first objects I was interested in was The Image of Christ from the Hinton St Mary Mosaic. In relation to my unit 1 piece, I was interested to see how religion used images to portray Christ and Christianity. This piece is a part of a bigger mosaic floor made of ceramic, dated early 4th century
2. Michael Anderson
Continuing my Unit 1 research, I fell upon a specific baptismal font created by Michael Andersen. This shape appeared in my research very often and I was inspired to create a similar shape for the unit 1 project.
I became interested in this specific design created by Andersen since it included pattern and images in such a small shape. It became a key factor to the creation of my own project.
3. Miniature Baptismal Fonts by Julian Wheeler
One of the most informational references that I used in unit 1 was this book by Julian Wheeler. Although this reference isn’t an artist, it informed a big part of my project on what baptismal fonts were and what miniature fonts were used for. I discovered that they had a purpose to the families that did not have the means to have a traditional baptism for their child, and it influenced the direction that I took for my own 15cm baptismal font by also including examples of different fonts in existence
4. DK Studios
For Unit 2, I wanted to focus on marbling through slipware and ran upon a few examples that specifically demonstrated slipware work on plates. DK studios demonstrated a usage of multiple colors and great definition in their marbling, especially on plates. I saw this studio’s work as an example of how I wanted to see my own marbling, but these examples were created on flat surfaces which was something that I was not interested in.
5. Angela George Antiques
Another example of work that I found for unit 2 came from this studio. Although these pieces of work aren’t an example of marbling, it gave me an idea of the further experimentation I could reach and how I could gradually move into agateware from marbling like these examples. This was also an example on cup forms which is the direction that I intended to take for unit 2 part 2 after learning how to make cup molds and thrown cup forms
6. Mark Campbell Ceramics
Mark Campbell Ceramic is another example of slipware that I found, especially since there are different patterns in these works. These are also examples I found on bowls and more open faced shapes that I thought would be easier to throw on the wheel in comparison to plates. This reference in specific was very useful to me since it gave me an idea of expanding my usage of color and technique/ application methods to get different patterns like the pieces here.
7. The Matsaba by Christo
For unit 3, I became interested in responding to the Hyde Park as a space for my monument. I looked at what sculptures had already existed in Hyde Park and in the Serpentine and this particular piece came up in a lot of my investigation as one of the recent sculptures in the Serpentine. This work was specifically interesting to me scale wise and gave me an idea of the potential I had to create a piece in this park for the visitors to see.
8. The Arch by Henry Moore
Henry Moore’s sculptures have always been an interest to me, so when finding out he’s had work installed in the Hyde Park, I wanted to learn more about this piece. This piece gave me ideas as to how a monument could blend into its occupied space while also standing out enough that it doesn’t ruin said space. Even the way the light reflected on the sculpture and how it created shadow is something I wanted to recreate.
9. Fountain of Life by Yoshimoto Nara
Nara’s Fountain of Life became one of the biggest references and inspirations that I used for unit 3. The meaning of life connected to a fountain was something that I could imagine being installed into a park. I loved how the heads stacked over each other and even in different directions and angles, and I wanted to replicate that composition for my own piece.
10. Serenity by Simon Gudgeon
Serenity is one if the references that I found when I visited my site in person. It was one of the monuments that already exist in Hyde Park permanently. This reference gave me a clear idea of what kind of monuments existed in a park as big and popular as Hyde Park, especially with a lot of pedestrians that walk by this statue constantly.