MikeStaines.Com » Sculpture, Ceramics and Jewellery

Justin Duance

Mike — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:25:31 +0000

Having discovered the above necklace at the Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery shop in Bristol, and shortly after, purchasing, I thought it was necessary to branch this blog out into jewellery as an important strand of contemporary design.

Justin Duance is a contemporary jewellery designer based in Newlyn, Cornwall. Operating from a small workshop, the pieces created by Justin and his team are organic, textural, and highly tactile. With wooden elements adding an all important differentiator, in commercial terms, in an overly metallic an disposable age, Justin’s pieces offer a feeling of longevity and natural disposition, something quite appealing to city slickers and countryside dwellers alike.

Françoise Vergier

Mike — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:53:47 +0000

The work of Françoise Vergier is currently on show at the Musée Réattu. Vergier specialises in objective sculpture, drawing and illustration, and other varying forms of art.

Andrew Niblett and Raku Pottery

Mike — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:27:34 +0000

The Raku form of pottery, Japanese in origin, though holding its’ heritage in 16th Century Japan, is seen as a resurging art form in ceramic circles. Characterized ostensibly by the molding of the clay in the hands rather than on the wheel, and the removal of the pieces from the kiln whilst still glowing hot, the Raku-ware approach provides an avenue to originality with ‘one-of-a-kind’ results.

Andrew Niblett is a British exponent of Raku-ware. His pieces are diverse and prismatic, often highly tactile and inventive in appearance.

Niblett states that he takes inspiration from munitions of warfare and coastal defences on the Normandy beaches.

The following is an extract on technique from his website:

All the pieces are thrown in one piece and then turned to refine the form; while the clay is still soft metal bars are added. The pieces are biscuit fired in an electric kiln, and selected areas are masked off before being coated with a copper matt glaze. These are then put through their final most exiting stage, which is Raku. This involves the pieces being heated to 1000°C at which point they are removed from the kiln glowing orange. These are placed immediately onto a bed of sawdust, which bursts into flames on contact giving unpredictable and hopefully amazing results.

Art in Clay

Mike — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:47:56 +0000

The 15th National Pottery and Ceramics Festival, Art in Clay, took place at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK between the 7th and the 9th of August 2009, and was a veritable feast of highly-skilled ceramic art and utilities from around the UK, Europe and the rest of the World.

Amongst the artists were Sally and Neil Macdonell (’Box Faces’ pictured above) from Macdonell Ceramics, the highly reputed Richard Baxter from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex who specializes in stylish and functional earthenware, and the little-known Dane, Dorte Visby, with her minimalist, highly-textured approach to utility items.

Art in Clay is organized by Andy McInnes from Nottingham, UK. A veteran of the festival, McInnes’s next event is the 13th Art in Clay Farnham. Sure to be success, visitors and exhibitors can find out more about the event here.