ARTIST STATEMENT

Having a degree in printmaking and a Masters degree in Ceramics my approach to creating ceramic assemblages is unconventional. Drawing is a very important part of my practice, mark making with mixed media on paper as well as with liquid clay.

My technical method is quite complex as I am almost constructing with liquid clay. I create one-off pieces by pouring, wrapping, folding and building with bone china casting slip. I work intuitively and respond to the clay during the making process. I like to knit and draw with wire, join clay together with pins and pool glaze to fuse ceramic works together. These individual components are then selected and displayed to create final assemblages. I enjoy this dysfunctional approach to making and it is these fragile outcomes that draw the viewer to experience the intimate nature of my work and question their origin.

The traditions of the domestic and ‘the home’ remain a major source of inspiration in my work. I was brought up in an ex-mining community in the South Wales Valleys where life was often driven by hard labour and there was little time for celebration. Therefore I am drawn to objects, which remind me of special occasions, for instance the bone china tea set which suggests pleasure and refinement. I contrast the beautiful bone china object (cup) against the ritual of domestic chores, cleaning and bleaching, suggesting that the act of refinement is often followed by a gritty reality.

I make three-dimensional objects from bone china combined with wire, pins and found objects. These individual pieces are assembled and displayed on a kiln shelf, some of which are fused and glazed onto the shelf itself, making it an integral part of the final piece. Marks are left in the clay, such as stitched materials, evoking aspects of narrative, the everyday and the treasured.

I collect objects, tools and utensils from car boot sales or antique shops, as well as, exploring artefacts and objects displayed in museum collections. I am intrigued by their historical, intimate and sensory qualities.

Anne Gibbs