ABOUT
Penny Clifford BA (hons)CCP
Penny has been investigating the importance and relevance of function and form for several years. Three dimensional objects can readily be identified by touch, which gives a material connection with the object. The production of a functional vessel imposes certain limits on creativity, but for some ceramic artists those creative freedoms cannot be separated from the making process. Function can act as an entry point to explore the challenges of designing a utilitarian object. The inviting, tactile qualities of clay reveal the touch of the maker. As a maker Penny has been comparing how ceramics are used, valued, seen and understood by analysing the importance of function and aesthetics in design.
Living in Cornwall for more than 40 years, being surrounded by coastal rock formations, the County's famous mining heritage, the China clay industry and the geology of the Cornish landscape has formed the backdrop for these new investigations, exploring the tension between function and fragility in the ware being produced.
The use of white porcelain in contrast with smooth black porcelain and oxides with the final application of gold luster, symbolize the veins and strata of the granite outcrops and coastal rocky formations. Creating a discourse between the fragile existence of these landscapes and fading Cornish industries.
Materials and Techniques.
The colours used for her Nerikomi designs, are achieved by mixing various oxides and stains into her white porcelain to give a balance inside and outside the ware.
At present she is using both black and white porcelain, but has also started to explore adding the oxides etc to the main clay body.
Once the piece is centered and partially thrown, the Nerikomi inlays are added. This process allows for the internal surface to be the same as the main body and differentiate it from Neriage. After a bisque fire to 1000°C, the internal glazes are applied, which have been created and developed by Penny herself specifically to reflect the colour pallet of the Nerikomi inlays. Thrown forms are meticulously cleaned and burnished to reveal the smooth matt, unglazed outer surfaces. The ware is fired to 1260°C, before the third and final firing after a fine line application of the 9ct. gold luster.