#Gallery Fifty Five Holt

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• My Guide: The Worst Kiln Ever Bought & the Perfect Replacement Kiln

• My Guide: The Worst Kiln Ever Bought & the Perfect Replacement Kiln

My Guide: The Worst Kiln Ever Bought and the Perfect Replacement Kiln

It was back in 2012 that I took a new step in working with metal clay and I bought a kiln. The beauty of having your own kiln is that you can fire multiple pieces at the same time and you can fire larger pieces of work. In addition, you no longer need to fire your metal clay with a blow torch on a firing brick. One of the…

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I always say safety first, so to use any kiln or handle hot mediums, such as glass, make sure you have a really high quailty pair of gloves and eyewear.

Please note: I am not a safety advisor, just someone who is reviewing kiln gloves I have used. Always seek professional advice and speak to the manufacturer of any products you buy to check for suitability.

I purchased my first kiln and gloves from a supplier of generic products, but foolishly didn’t check if they where suitable for the tempurature the kiln reached. 

My top tips are:

Check the gloves are 100% heat proof to the tempuratures you will be handling:

My first pair of gloves became burnt on the surface and the heat travelled through and burnt my hands. 

Very dangerous!!

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2. Check they are the right fit!

The other thing to seriously consider is the size of your hands. Buying the correctly sized gloves means you will be able to handle the kiln fired pieces safely.

A good fit is a safe pair of gloves!!

The 2nd pair I bought are far safer:

They fit my small hands

The heatproof blue material covers 100% of the gloves surface

They cover my wrists and part of my forearm 

These gloves are from a company called Raynor, as shown below:

3. My last tips are a list of great products you can purchase to protect you:

Kiln Spatular

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Safety Goggles

All artworks & designs displayed are © Copyright by artist Laura H Elliott BA (Hons), Dip.

View my professional gallery of works at: http://www.lhe-art.co.uk

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• ​Review: Safety First! Kiln Gloves I always say safety first, so to use any kiln or handle hot mediums, such as glass, make sure you have a really high quailty pair of gloves and eyewear.

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It was during my Art and Design Diploma in 2002-2003, I undertook a self-directed module which I chose to focus on the medium I have always adored, which is clay. I created 3 designs of ceramics with the theme of natural form of litchen. This litchen is a simple, yet intricate layered form that gave me an abstract ‘starting point’, as such. It was during my photography module in this course that I photographed litchen attached to fallen trees as my subject matter. 

During this time, I created a set of 3 vases created by removing/ carving clay from a large, hand thrown lump of clay. This resulted in a set of mottled vases that looked like a natural form, yet having the impression of a traditional vase. Each piece was glazed and decorated with dry pieces of clay to resemble the natural forms of litchen.  This set is shown below:

I have shown below some tools that I have used since I first handled and fell in love with clay. These carving tools are easy to find and widely available in craft shops or on places such as eBay:

Carving Tools

Carving Tools

The other technique you can use is the way you would create your design with tools on lino tile for printing:

Another thought is the technique used in wood carving, which is an excellent foundation for clay carving:

Here is the idea that you can make use of all manner of things useful during working with all types of clay. I myself use: knives, forks, spoons, straws, brushes, cocktail sticks and so many other everyday items, which are perfect for clay:

Pottery by Michael Wisner

Inspiration:

The artworks below demonstrate how a thrown or coil built vase can be altered, by having clay carved away, to enhance the piece prior to firing and glazing:

Above: ‘Tree Vases’ by © Barry Guppy (1937-2013)

Above: By © Jennifer McCurdy

This blog is a tiny look, that scratches the surface of what you can do with clay. Below is an amazing Pinterest board you can follow where you can watch tutorial videos about this subject: 

Pottery: Decorating, Sgraffito and Carving at http://pin.it/kVuxZYH

#clay #claydesigns #claycarving #linoprinting #howtouseclay #claydecorating #claysgraffito #claycarving #troika #carnpottery #victoriaalbertmuseum #laurahelliott #artanddesignaccess #accesscourse

All artworks & designs displayed are © Copyright by artist Laura H Elliott BA (Hons), Dip.

Quick Link @ http://www.lhe-art.co.uk

Blog Web: https://laurahelliott.wordpress.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/laurahelliottart

Twitter @laurahelliott

Pintrest https://www.pinterest.com/lauraelliottart/

Linked In https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/laura-elliott-ba-hons/6b/959/533

• Artwork Focus: Carving Clay – An Endless Ceramic Technique It was during my Art and Design Diploma in 2002-2003, I undertook a self-directed module which I chose to focus on the medium I have always adored, which is clay.

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• Be Inspired, but Don't Copy!

• Be Inspired, but Don’t Copy!

How Can Artists Protect Their Work Against Theft?

Please Note: This blog is written from my own experiences with a wish to protect my own, unique, intelectual property as an artist. I am not a legal advisor and am not affiliated with any companies mentioned, in any way. This is not legal advice, but a place to list and share useful sources regarding this matter I have come accross repeatidly.

Yo…

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The theories behind abstract art

There are many theoretical ideas behind abstract art. Art for art’s sake – that art should be purely about the creation of beautiful effects, is one of the main theories. That art can or should be like music is another theory – in that just as music is patterns of sound, art’s effects should be created by pure patterns of form, colour and line. The idea, derived from the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, that the highest form of beauty lies not in the forms of the real world but in geometry, is also used in discussion of abstract art as is the idea that abstract art, to the extent that it does not represent the material world, can be seen to represent the spiritual.

In general abstract art is often seen as carrying a moral dimension, in that it can be seen to stand for virtues such as order, purity, simplicity and spirituality.

How is abstract art defined in the English dictionary?

Abstract (adjective)

Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence.

Relating to or denoting art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but rather seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, colours, and textures.

Or… how about this definition?:

What do you feel abstract art offers your collectors?

My answer in one word is … freedom

Abstract art offers your imagination to interpret what you see. I have always said that abstract art is like a psychiatrists ink blot question:

“What do you see in this ink blot?“

The answer is not defined and it personalises each artwork to each collector or viewer.

What of your work fits into the definition of ‘abstract art’?

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Where can we buy your abstract artworks?

I am represented by Degree Art Gallery, London and have my artworks for sale online:

https://www.degreeart.com/artists/laura-elliott

My personal top 10 abstract artists past and present?

Where do you start with such a question? I have focused on a selection who have always inspired and fascinated me. Here are my top 10 artist, picks spanning 1872 to present day:

1) Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944):

Though Vasily Kandinsky pursued figurative art before 1913, he was among the first (if not the questionable first) painters to push into pure abstraction—or as he put it, “art independent of one’s observations of the external world.”

2) Kazimir Malevich (1878–1935):

Following just a few years after Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich renounced representational painting in 1915, and created the first of his Supremacist compositions (so named for their focus on “the supremacy of pure feeling or perception in the pictorial arts”).

3) Jackson Pollock (1912–1956):

The face of Abstract Expressionism and America’s first major postwar artist (and still one of its greatest), Pollock burst onto the scene in the late 1940s and early 1950s with his signature drip paintings. They were created in an incandescent burst of creativity over a three years period between 1947 and 1950 at his Springs, New York studio in the Hamptons.

4) Pablo Picasso (1881-1973):

Pablo Picasso is probably the most important figure of 20th century, in terms of art, and art movements that occurred over this period. Before the age of 50, the Spanish born artist had become the most well known name in modern art, with the most distinct style and eye for artistic creation.

5) Piet Mondrian (1872–1944):

Along with Picasso, Mondrian is synonymous with Modern Art, and the mere mention of his name immediately conjures one of his iconic geometric compositions of primary-colored squares contained by bold, black perpendicular lines.

6) Anselm Kiefer

Anselm Kiefer (1945) is an internationally acclaimed German painter, photographer, sculptor and installation artist:

7) Willem de Kooning:

Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was a Dutch American contemporary master and the leading artist of abstract expressionism, also known as action painting. He was the prominent member of the group of artists known as the New York School.

8) Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970):

Mark Rothko, born Markus Yakovlevich Rotkovich, was an American painter of Russian Jewish descent. Although Rothko himself refused to adhere to any art movement, he is generally identified as an abstract expressionist.

9)  J.M.W. Turner (1775 – 1851):

I think this could be seen to be an unusual choice. While Wassily Kandinsky is often regarded as the pioneer of European abstract art – Kandinsky claimed, erroneously as it turns out, that he produced the first abstract painting in 1911: ‘back then not one single painter was painting in an abstract style’ – it can be argued that the roots of this movement are to be found deeper still (and if recent news is to be believed, the Neanderthals where ahead of the game in their cutting of abstract lines into stone). If we look at some of the later works of J.M.W. Turner for example, it is no great leap to suggest that his landscapes are in fact abstract; what might be traditionally recognisable forms in the hands of another painter are consumed by sublime elements, overwhelming evocations of light and scale which Turner used to such great effect. It makes for a compelling, if not definitive argument.

10) Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954):

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse was a French artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.

So… what are your top 10 Abstract artists of all time?

Sources:

http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/abstract-art

Wikipedia

All artworks & designs displayed are © Copyright by artist Laura H Elliott BA (Hons), Dip.

Quick Link @ http://www.lhe-art.co.uk

Blog Web: https://laurahelliott.wordpress.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/laurahelliottart

Twitter @laurahelliott

Pintrest https://www.pinterest.com/lauraelliottart/

Linked In https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/laura-elliott-ba-hons/6b/959/533

• Artist Inspiration: What Is Abstract Art? From Pollock to Kandinsky to Mondrian to Rothko The theories behind abstract art There are many theoretical ideas behind abstract art. Art for art’s sake – that art should be purely about the creation of beautiful effects, is one of the main theories.