handbuilt clay ceramics, a cyanotype & screenprinted on fabric,
and drawings on found paper.
various measurements
2024
and drawings on found paper.
various measurements
2024
air, water, light, land, memory
i am surrounded by what i hold within
'lay of land' is a body of works I made during a six week residency at
Aviário Studio in Ferreira do Zêzere, Portugal.
Aviário Studio in Ferreira do Zêzere, Portugal.
For a good while I had my gaze turned upwards to the sky. Inspired by changing light, moving clouds and memory, my work had been focused on ephemeral and ungraspable ideas that manifested into works that felt breathable and light.
Leading up to my stay at Aviário Studio I felt the urge to slowly shift my gaze. From sky towards land. More and more I felt a desire to make work that felt more grounded. Work that had weight to it. Work that I can hold and carry.
Leading up to my stay at Aviário Studio I felt the urge to slowly shift my gaze. From sky towards land. More and more I felt a desire to make work that felt more grounded. Work that had weight to it. Work that I can hold and carry.
My interest specifically was towards working with clay. Working with my hands and the earth was something I felt deeply drawn to. While researching I was fascinated by the practice of finding wild clay and processing it.
During my time at Aviário Studio I became aware that over the last years my work had always attempted to capture an essence, a feeling or spirit of place. The landscape that I inhabit while making always seemed to find its way in to the work. I realized with my hands in the dirt of this new place that it holds so much: basked in lingerings of all that we can and can’t see, but feel and experience anyway - space, place, earth and land are the carriers of memory, change and time. The idea to gather material from the land that was not just physical material, but also spiritual and emotional, felt intrinsic and important to the shifting of my gaze.
Making vessels moved me deeply. I felt connected to my practice and my surroundings in a way I had never experienced before and it deepend my love for the ideas that always carry me back to wanting to create. My time at Aviário Studio thought me the depth of my curiosity about the connection between my inner and outer worlds and how moving it can be to act on that curiosity.
During my time at Aviário Studio I became aware that over the last years my work had always attempted to capture an essence, a feeling or spirit of place. The landscape that I inhabit while making always seemed to find its way in to the work. I realized with my hands in the dirt of this new place that it holds so much: basked in lingerings of all that we can and can’t see, but feel and experience anyway - space, place, earth and land are the carriers of memory, change and time. The idea to gather material from the land that was not just physical material, but also spiritual and emotional, felt intrinsic and important to the shifting of my gaze.
Making vessels moved me deeply. I felt connected to my practice and my surroundings in a way I had never experienced before and it deepend my love for the ideas that always carry me back to wanting to create. My time at Aviário Studio thought me the depth of my curiosity about the connection between my inner and outer worlds and how moving it can be to act on that curiosity.
Before coming to Aviário Studio I had not worked with clay before. During the residency I practiced the basic handbuilding techniques with a few different types of clay and one of those was wild clay.
The wild clay was found on the bank of the Zêzere river. An old river flowing through the area of the residency. Once processed the clay had a strange texture, which limited the size and shape it could be built into. We tried firing the clay on a low fire and a high fire: the low fire gave it a soft terracotta like colour and the high fire caused the clay to turn into many different colours, grey, purple, aubergine red and almost black.
Most of the vessels I made were glazed with a simple transparent glossy glaze or a blue coloured matt glaze.But for the high fired wild clay I experimented with an ash glaze that was made with the plants and branches I used for cyanotype printing.
All of the vessels were inspired by different pots, bowls and vases I had seen in different archaeology museums around Europe. I wanted the vessels to have a feel as if they could have been dug out of the ground. I wanted them to be able to carry time, the land and space I was surrounded by and the lingering energy of those lived moments.
The wild clay was found on the bank of the Zêzere river. An old river flowing through the area of the residency. Once processed the clay had a strange texture, which limited the size and shape it could be built into. We tried firing the clay on a low fire and a high fire: the low fire gave it a soft terracotta like colour and the high fire caused the clay to turn into many different colours, grey, purple, aubergine red and almost black.
Most of the vessels I made were glazed with a simple transparent glossy glaze or a blue coloured matt glaze.But for the high fired wild clay I experimented with an ash glaze that was made with the plants and branches I used for cyanotype printing.
All of the vessels were inspired by different pots, bowls and vases I had seen in different archaeology museums around Europe. I wanted the vessels to have a feel as if they could have been dug out of the ground. I wanted them to be able to carry time, the land and space I was surrounded by and the lingering energy of those lived moments.
In between the drying and firing times of the ceramics I played around with familiar mediums: cyanotype and screenprinting. The tapestry that was the result of that playing felt like a continuation of my work ‘where i would lay my head to rest’. For this version I used fabric I found in Lisbon at a flea market. While traveling through Portugal I collected water to make the cyanotype mixture with. I also took pictures of waves and clouds that I later turned into negatives to print with. The plants printed with the cyanotype are ones I found around the residency studios. The screenprint image is of a picture I took of a shadow on the residency studio building.
This tapestry is, like ‘where i would lay my head to rest’, a documentation of time, space and memory. A recollection of moments in place that housed so much learning, inspiration and growing.
This tapestry is, like ‘where i would lay my head to rest’, a documentation of time, space and memory. A recollection of moments in place that housed so much learning, inspiration and growing.
My time at Aviário Studio was for many reasons a deeply profound experience and I feel immensely grateful that I got to be there!
I want to thank the incredible people of Aviário Studio! Your endless enthusiasm, eagerness to help and willingness to explain, created such a safe and nice bubble to explore and learn.
Also many thanks to my fellow residents! You all inspired me and my heart is filled with many memories of laughter, nice conversations and the delicious meals we shared.
I want to thank the incredible people of Aviário Studio! Your endless enthusiasm, eagerness to help and willingness to explain, created such a safe and nice bubble to explore and learn.
Also many thanks to my fellow residents! You all inspired me and my heart is filled with many memories of laughter, nice conversations and the delicious meals we shared.
