MikeStaines.Com » andrew niblett http://www.mikestaines.com Arts, Artifacts and Design Commentary Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:10:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Andrew Niblett and Raku Pottery http://www.mikestaines.com/2009/andrew-niblett-and-raku-pottery/ http://www.mikestaines.com/2009/andrew-niblett-and-raku-pottery/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:27:34 +0000 Mike http://www.mikestaines.com/?p=23 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.

Single Bowl by Andrew NiblettNiblett 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.

Read more about Andrew Niblett here.

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