

ceramics and superwoofers
I am very lucky to be collaborating with two very talented Matts on the artist object project
matt thompson and matt hulse
http://ceramicmatt.blogspot.com/
http://anormalboy.wordpress.com/
In addition to creating 9 plates ....
we will be creating a work with the ......
'intention to animate fragments of ceramic and coal dust through the invisible force of sound... discreet hidden speakers will be fixed beneath fragments.... these will transmit a variety of barely audible tones and sound waves, causing them to jiggle, dance and shift ' words of matt hulse
i have been thinking alot about collaboration and found this relating to architecture...
'collaboration is the making of a relationship not an object.. although it sounds obvious to say it, collaboration is about difference, otherwise why bother?. ..acknowledging difference opens up a space to recognise what you didnt know, what you do know and what you didnt know you knew: this is the substance of collaboration far more so than the material outcome that may or may not result'
Build the relationship first, then identify the differences, then create the space

nantgarw coal mine
'the nantgarw scheme was designed to exploit important reserves for coking coal on the south crop of the South Wales coalfield.. this part of the coalfield has been the scene of many dissapointments and failures and the grave of the reputation of more than one mining engineer '................
there had been many dissapointments and failures in the making of nantgarw china also many years before
...

Nantgarw vilage declined with the building of the A470 motorway in 1969 which destroyed the traditional village. The A470 is a major long distance connective spine road in Wales running from Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast . The A470 runs alongside Nantgarw china works museum and possibly many of the china shards were discovered when the motorway was built..


I have just had a great few days in Cardiff at Glamorgan university making plates with Ceramic artist Matt Thompson. It has been really interesting for me to understand the process and whats involved. I am amazed at the time and skill involved and of the potential failure / success in the making of ceramic work
.
a mass produced plate cast to create a mould to make some hand made plates
.

a mass produced plate cast to create a mould to make some hand made plates
nantgarw pottery was a small one -- no more than 20 folk were employed .. at least half of those were children
Millward described Billingsley as 'a thin man of middle height , fair with grey hair, but had no beard: was a pleasant speaking man but very hot tempered. He kept a horse whip to thrash the boys and girls if they neglected work' Billingsley and Walker at Nantgarw
'Social reformers attempted as early as 1802 to obtain legislative restrictions against the worst features of the child-labor system, but little was done even to enforce existing laws limiting work hours and establishing a minimum age for employment. Conditions as bad as those imposed on pauper children rapidly developed in enterprises employing nonpauper children. Often with the approval of political, social, and religious leaders, children were permitted to labor in hazardous occupations such as mining. The resultant social evils included illiteracy, further impoverishment of poor families, and a multitude of diseased and crippled children.
Popular agitation for reform steadily increased. The first significant British legislation was enacted in 1878, when the minimum age of employees was raised to 10 years and employers were required to restrict employment of children between the ages of 10 and 14 to alternate days or consecutive half days. In addition to making every Saturday a half holiday, this legislation also limited the workday of children between 14 and 18 years of age to 12 hours, with an intermission of 2 hours for meals and rest.'
Popular agitation for reform steadily increased. The first significant British legislation was enacted in 1878, when the minimum age of employees was raised to 10 years and employers were required to restrict employment of children between the ages of 10 and 14 to alternate days or consecutive half days. In addition to making every Saturday a half holiday, this legislation also limited the workday of children between 14 and 18 years of age to 12 hours, with an intermission of 2 hours for meals and rest.'
“It is totally unacceptable that in every continent of the world child labour
still exists. For many children this means growing up in hazardous environments away from families, and missing out on an education. Their lives are a daily ritual of repetitive labour. For millions, childhood is over by the age of five.”
Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of EveryChild
june 2009

nantgarw ....
a small mining village which owes its fame to the soft paste porcelain which was made there for a short period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantgarw_Colliery


a small mining village which owes its fame to the soft paste porcelain which was made there for a short period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantgarw_Colliery
local coal plentiful and cheap
it is far less expensive to carry clay to coal than the coal to the clay for the weight of the coal consumed in firing is greatly in excess to that of the raw materials which go into the pottery or china
coat dust suspended in air is explosive.. the worst accidents in history have been caused by coal dust exposions

William Billingsley .. AKA Beely the man behind the china
rose painter at Derby china
perfectionist
debt creator


rose painter at Derby china

perfectionist
debt creator
secret recipe keeper
perfector of a perfect porcelain body
father of two girls who both died tragically


At Derby china Billingsleys roses were painted from roses he collected rather than following the standard patterns ... so i have been doing a bit of rose photography myself and may create my own blousy roses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)


















