Writing

Restor'd to Life - Penelope Curtis, 2002

I.  Looking   ‘The Property of a Lady’ 2002 is on show.  It consists of 24 sections, 4 across and 6 high, with an extensive white clay dinner service arranged within each of the bottle-green compartments, appearing very orderly. Each section seems to be arranged symmetrically, with its contents lined up on either side of the axis.   The title makes me think of the auction house, but I can equally easily believe that I am below stairs... More

Browse: Writing

Clay, Tools and Tooling

From The Journal of Modern Craft, Vol 3 Issue 3 Nov 2010 Special Issue, ‘Tools of Trades: Articulating Sculpture Practice” Guest edited by Jon Wood and Jyrki Siukonen Abstract In this article, artist Cecile Johnson Soliz writes about the complexities of using clay, both in her studio and during her experience of working with clay workers at Red Bank Manufacturing for her project, ‘Skyline’. Tools for making art are of special interest to Johnson... More

Browse: Writing

‘Black Teapot’ & ‘Light Shelf’ - conversation with Deborah Basckin

Q: Did you create the work, ‘Black Teapot’ from scratch or modify an existing teapot? I make all objects by hand. I make them as close to the originals as possible (as in ‘Twenty –Eight Pitchers’). It is important that I make it, not because of any romantic idea to do with touch, but because it is a way of asking questions to do with how we know things conceptually, visually and physically and about the status we give things. I have a lot... More

Browse: Writing

'Private View' Exhibition

‘Private View’ exhibition, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle 1996 Curated by Penelope Curtis and Veit Gorner ‘Seeing and using the objects of various cultures has always fascinated me, especially experiencing them in situ: in a private collection, domestic setting, a roadside, in market places: using a palm leaf as a plate (Timbuktu, Mali) or a piece of newsprint as a container for fish and chips (England), having my photo taken by a photographer... More

Browse: Writing