Isabel Neveu-Geene
- il y a 2 jours
- 1 min de lecture
My work begins with the observation and documentation of the flora and fauna I encounter in my daily life. I develop these ideas in mixed-media sketchbooks, using watercolours, collage, pastels, and pen to create loose, colourful, and playful imagery. From there, I move into the clay studio, where each ceramic piece takes form. I throw and sculpt my vessels, altering and personalizing each one with details such as my fingerprints embedded in the surface. The imagery and narratives developed in my sketchbooks guide the stories I translate onto the clay vessels.
Once the vessels are trimmed and altered, I cut newsprint into shapes and figures, which are applied to the leather-hard greenware using water. I then apply a base layer of thick white slip in loose, sweeping brushstrokes. Using a variety of brushes and sponges, I add swirls, florals, leaves, and polka dots with coloured underglazes and slips. To build texture, I incorporate hand-made stamps, found objects such as rocks or hardware, and pencils. I often inscribe words from music I am listening to during the making process, or from poems or songs that resonate with the subject matter. The newsprint is then removed to reveal areas of bare clay, and the piece is left to dry.
After bisque firing and sanding, I inlay watered-down underglazes and oxides into the textured surfaces. The pieces are glazed with white, turquoise, or clear glazes, often leaving the exteriors unglazed to preserve the matte surface, colour, and texture developed during the greenware stage. All pieces are fired in an electric oxidation kiln to cone 6.
