Sometimes disappointing results are the impulse to change something in our practice.
Recently with a kiln change and a few ceramics accidents I had to review my making and my objects.
I have an effect I like in my glazes that really excites me whenever it happens but the number of discarded items is too high to make it commercially viable.
A time of experimentation followed, with a few glaze changes and tweaks, but this is a very long process because I have to fill my kiln with a whole load of pots to test a few new possibilities. Hopefully a solution will be found down the line.
In the mean time I started to move my making to a new trajectory, to see if I can enjoy my pools of glass in different ways.
I am asking myself why the glass pool is so important to me and definitely it goes back to the landscapes of my childhood in Italy. “I need water in my life” I once said, making the family laugh and offer me a drink! No! I need depth, I need blue skies and deep pools, I need colour and textures.
I decided to go to an experimental textile course to play with textures, I find it is always important to play when one is stuck. The problem is then how to apply the learning!