I am always astonished that in many craft forums today, it seems expected that makers can come up with a new ‘product’ overnight as it were. In the past months, whilst posting about many other ceramists, and also making some of my regular work for clients – to pay the bills! – I have been struggling to find new meaning in my work. I think there is a Sufi concept which is something like –
I know not who I am –
and with this in mind I have been experimenting and searching for my voice in my ceramic work. I have been experimenting a lot and these images posted here are some of my first results which I feel are slowly getting somewhere in this journey. I find the creative process always such a struggle of brow-beating, slog and self criticism and wonder if this is the same for other makers. Certainly I would not be able to come up with a new design in a hurry!
I am reminded thus of a beautiful poem by Rilke which I have posted previously…still applies…
Comment (1)
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Clementina,
This is lovely work. I particularly like the gold work on the beakers, it is so hard to get that balance of gold, space and colour right and you have with these. Beautiful works they are the real thing, they possess spirit.Your post resonates with me greatly; I too have been thrashing about looking for that elusive gap in the hedge that takes me on to the next field. A way out for me came as I sat on an aeroplane and saw the edges of the field for the first time! The plane was more about separation than the visual fix on what was below and the hedge is actually a very nice boundary, but a frontier none the less where no passports where going to work.
Have you read The Wind up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami? It is one of the most astonishing and mesmerising books I have ever read, Salmon Rushdie on LSD is the popular tag on this piece of work. If you like Rilke I think you will like this too.
Kitty