Surface decoration

Having made the forms, the challenge then arose as to how to apply the surface decoration of the stripes and hexagons. The problem lay in the fact that it was not just one spherical shape that I was applying the hexagons to but rather they would carry over 3. Getting them to properly tesselate over each seam was really difficult.

I had previously looked at the possibility of using further clay on the surface to mould the hexagons to the surface of the pot. I wanted it to be flat in relief though.

First I applied black slip over the top spherical parts of the pots and from this drew circles and then made those circles into hexagons. This meant the hexagons did travel into each sphere but I wasn't really satisfied with how random the sizes were and the fact that they didn't really tesellate properly. It gave more of  an animal print impression I felt.

The two below on the right are the patterns carved from the slip covered surface. A little like a giraffe print I think.

I then examined the roof on the museum and how the hexagons were applied there and also the work of Nicholas Grimshaw in the Eden Project in Cornwall. In this he has huge dome shapes that touch each other and are covered with hexagons. In both cases, the tesselating hexagonal pattern was restricted to eah individual dome. When a new spherical shape started, a new set of hexagons was applied. As you can see in the middle pot above, I applied this technique, first drawing on the hexagons and then painting them in with a mixture of black stain and slip. I made the size of the hexagons decrease as the went further up the pot.

This is a close up of a piece by the very famous Hungarian Herend porcelain company. Each piece is very expensive but hand-painted with intriciate designs that perfectly fit into the shape of the form.

Taking inspiration from this in a much more simplified and less perfect way, the hand-painted hexagons was the method I decided to use to decorate the remainder of the pots.

In the persuit of perfection

Making positive forms and consequently moulds and cast pieces is a process that needs a certain degree of perfection. Looking around at the moulds in the studio, they themselves are almost works of art, perfectly even cut lines and smooth perfectly even surfaces. Unfortunately, despite much effort my moulds are not so beautiful and when I took out the positive forms, there were bubbles inside the big one. This was obviously due to my plaster having lumps or my not pouring the plaster around the form properly. I think I need to remember though that this is my first experience in this process and that the learning is what is most important here. One of my lid moulds too was far less than perfect due to the fact that my sharing line was in the wrong place. These are all things I can learn from though and improve on in the future.

My imperfect mould.

My first casts turned out really well though despite everything and with a little care and attention, they cleaned up very nicely.

If at first you don't suceed...

I wanted my pot to have a capacity of 500ml to hold the amount of honey that's most common here to buy in jars in the shops. I was concerned, despite many efforts at technical drawings trying to calculate the capacity my designed piece would have, that what I had made would be too small. Therefore, I decided to increase my design on the photocopier by 22% and make a second mould. This was good as I could learn the other method of creating a 2 piece mould anyway.




The two sizes I made...I'm not sure yet what their actual capacities will be.



The next step was to make the lids. This had to be done on the wheel and turned very quickly as the plaster dried so quickly. I managed to make a good shape for the large pot which I was happy with but the smaller one has a flater lid than I would have liked. It took 6 failed lids to finally achieve these two. A Hungarian student told me that from the time I pour the plaster into the mould at the top of the pot, I only have 5 minutes in which to create the shape fior the lid or otherwise it will be too late and too hard. I definitely need more practise to master this skill!

This is the 2nd larger form ready to have plaster poured on top and be made into a mould.

The beginning of the making!

Yesterday I started making my mould. I was apprehensive as using the lathe was new for me and the thought scared me! I made the plaster cylinder around the centre of the wheel and was shown how to use the lathe and begin to turn the plaster to make my shape and then left alone to figure it all out and get the feel for what I was doing. This was the best way to learn. I managed to create a shape I was very pleased with by very frequent measuring of my form and comparing it to my design image. I was also advised to put a piece of paper with the side profile of the design cut out so I could follow that to get the shape too. It's good to have the flexibility to be able to tweak the form as you watch it take take shape if you think something will improve on the design you have. I need to make my surface smooth still but I'm very pleased with my first step!