ABOUT
Originally studying painting and History of Art, I have always been drawn to ceramics and over time it gradually took over. I exhibited widely in the 1990s, but life events took over and for the last 18 years I have been quietly making and selling work from my studio in Cannizaro park .
I am excited to now share my work with a wider audience, and the range of work shown reflects the themes I have been developing over the last few years.
PROCESSES AND TECHNIQUES
I love the dialogue with the clay and its responsiveness, from forming the shape through to the firing process. I like to explore how far I can push the boundaries of shape, balance, form, and surface effects.
All pieces are hand-built using pinching, coiling and slabbing methods, and each piece is refined by burnishing the clay surface. No glaze is used. My clay of choice is White Earthenware, which responds particularly well to the surface decoration technique that I use: a saggar-fired reduction method which pulls pattern and colour into the clay body. This produces a very tactile feel with individual and unrepeatable surface patterns and effects.
CARE OF WORK
All pieces are polished to protect to protect the surface, and are designed to be decorative rather than functional. They are not intended to be used with water.
CONTACT
For more information about my work, or to visit the studio, please email me on:
barbaraaldridge@yahoo.co.uk