We All Have Tales

The waste products from writing a piece of text organised into a poem

This series of work is inspired by the writing of David Pye

‘the risk is real’ (1), in

The many stages of making

Making, firing, glazing

The clay is rolled and compressed in different orientations, in uniform thicknesses which reduce the likelihood of warping

The thrower and the hand-builder compress the clay

Makers mitigate these risks along the way

Uneven moisture and irregular thicknesses of the clay can cause tension

and cracking.

Air pockets cause explosions in the kiln

Uneven moisture, drying too quickly, combining clays.

We all have tales

There are too many to list here,

but ask any ceramic maker and they will tell you.

This series of work responds to

foraged materials from members of the local ceramic community.

In order to reactivate

by drying and slaking the clay into a slip. The slip is layered

layered onto a plaster batt

poured onto a plaster batt to dry slightly before another waste product is layered on top.

the qualities of these materials are largely unknown

and reveal themselves during the kiln firing.

Pye, D, (1968) The Nature and Art of Workmanship. 1st ed. Cambridge: University Press, p.6.