Audrey Richardson
‘Shades of Black And White’
Ceramics and Sculptural Forms

November 1st – 28th, 2008
Tuesday – Sat 11.00 – 4.00 pm

Artist's Statement

Although I am motivated by a fascination with form, the work sometimes has a kind of ambivalence that often seems to arrive by itself.

In earlier years when I moved from throwing domestic ware to concentrate on hand build pots, I found myself searching for a form that could be asymmetric and yet controlled in shape; suggesting movement and yet still and centred. Only later came the idea of challenging the eye with optical illusion.

At some point a seminal pot arrived. For months afterwards I struggled to make similar pots with very little success. Gradually, over a period of years (I was teaching ceramics and sculpture at the time in adult education, so there was little time for experimentation) a family of pots began to appear. These were groups of related forms. Each group was conceived in groups of three or pairs. The intention was a kind of group dynamic. Most of the pots were never intended to stand alone.

There have been many influences over the years, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Liz Fritch, Barbara Hepworth, to name a few; my father’s interest in astronomy (he had a large telescope) introduced me to the elliptical paths of planets and comets; the surrealists whose ambivalence has helped trigger ideas (after a fashion).

As a rough categorization, there are vessels and sculptures. In recent years the sculptures have become more diverse, leading into new territory. And new ways of looking.

Technical Notes: The poets are generally made from ‘T Material’, a commercial clay used to make electrical components. They are then decorated with mainly black and white slips, colouring oxides and glazes. There are two firings, one to bisque and one to stoneware temperatures, 1250’C. The larger sculptures are generally formed using Premium Craft Crank, decorated with oxides, occasionally coloured slips, and then sprayed with a matt glaze. Ideally these pieces are once fired to 1250’ – 1280’C if they are to be sited outdoors.