Alice Walton
My current inspiration originates from looking at what people believed in. By reading Victorian factual accounts from stories and diaries it has given me inspiration and excitement to create my new body of work. Museum research has always been very important to my work as well and has allowed me to explore form and surface quality.
Exploration into material qualities also aids progression in my work. I love working with traditional technical methods and pushing them further, combining a number of techniques within ceramics to create interesting outcomes.
UNCAGED
After discovering a collection of hunting books, which described traditional methods of trapping animals, I was inspired to create pieces that reflect both the skills and time involved in the hunt. From these accounts of hunting I could visualise three dimensional scenes showing the weakness and vulnerability of the hunted animal. Museum research was also a large part of my project; looking at artifacts and written accounts relating to the hunt and, in some cases, challenging them. How do we know that the accounts we read are true? As a result of experimentation my interest turned to the technical challenges and process of constructing cage-like canopies. Some of the cages have been altered by making a feature of breakages and replacing areas with gold and silver chains, 22ct gold leaf and pure silk threads. The elaborate and lengthy process required to make each cage is contrasted with the freeness and unpredictable nature of the kiln firings, giving each piece a character of its own and gives the appearance that something may have escaped. By using metallic glazes I invite the possibility that the audience could be deceived into thinking that the ceramic is metal.
UKYA PROJECTS:
National Biennale: Derby 2010
