Amulet (2019.16)
Catalogue Record
Collection
Maker
Kate Haywood
Title
Amulet
Date
2016
Materials and techniques
Materials: Audrey Blackman porcelain, Japanese silk thread with a steal core, Cornelisen’s pure gold 24ct leaf.
Techniques: Porcelain loops are thrown, from the hump, on a potter’s wheel. Edges are defined using a copper profile tool. The resulting loops are cut, pulled and stretched into rod forms. This manipulation results in the formation of fluid and crisp struts, which when fired (1280°C), are bound together in a grid like structure. The silk textile which binds the porcelain sections together has an underlying steel core which gives strength and flexibility to the structure when assembling. Within the form hangs a gilded porcelain element which has been modelled and carved from the same porcelain struts to create a rounded, smooth profile.
Techniques: Porcelain loops are thrown, from the hump, on a potter’s wheel. Edges are defined using a copper profile tool. The resulting loops are cut, pulled and stretched into rod forms. This manipulation results in the formation of fluid and crisp struts, which when fired (1280°C), are bound together in a grid like structure. The silk textile which binds the porcelain sections together has an underlying steel core which gives strength and flexibility to the structure when assembling. Within the form hangs a gilded porcelain element which has been modelled and carved from the same porcelain struts to create a rounded, smooth profile.
Dimensions
height (body): 30cm
width (body): 32cm
depth (body): 28cm
Object number
2019.16
Category
References
'Visual Language' in Ceramic Review, Issue 287, September/October 2017
Credit
Purchase supported by Art Fund.
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Amulet, Kate Haywood, 2016. Crafts Council Collection: 2019.16. Photo: Stokes Photo Ltd.
Maker's statement
What place does this work have in the context of your career and development of practice?
‘Amulet’ was created during a shift in my practice where I altered the means of construction beyond the point of firing the ceramic work. By combining elements of textile with this piece (and additional materials in other works at this time) I began a period of experimentation where new forms and ideas were generated with a ‘Thinking Through Making’ approach. The use of contrasting materials heightens your awareness of the individual qualities of one material in relation to the other; whilst the interplay of material and form affect the overall reading of the piece. I view these works as poetic objects in the sense that multiple elements and layers come together in one reading, in one moment, but they have the capacity to change over time as they offer an open reading.
What are your sources of inspiration/reference for this piece?
There’s an editing and filtering process with my work that may take years, one piece of work could be born from looking at 100 objects or more over time. With ‘Amulet’ key areas included quipus, Polynesian stick charts, bamboo scaffolding, collections of tokens and many visits to the Pitt Rivers Museum. As I make one group of objects, they inform the next and previous bodies of work can act as starting points for future works. In this way the choice of reference points and the work’s development are never linear.
‘Amulet’ was created during a shift in my practice where I altered the means of construction beyond the point of firing the ceramic work. By combining elements of textile with this piece (and additional materials in other works at this time) I began a period of experimentation where new forms and ideas were generated with a ‘Thinking Through Making’ approach. The use of contrasting materials heightens your awareness of the individual qualities of one material in relation to the other; whilst the interplay of material and form affect the overall reading of the piece. I view these works as poetic objects in the sense that multiple elements and layers come together in one reading, in one moment, but they have the capacity to change over time as they offer an open reading.
What are your sources of inspiration/reference for this piece?
There’s an editing and filtering process with my work that may take years, one piece of work could be born from looking at 100 objects or more over time. With ‘Amulet’ key areas included quipus, Polynesian stick charts, bamboo scaffolding, collections of tokens and many visits to the Pitt Rivers Museum. As I make one group of objects, they inform the next and previous bodies of work can act as starting points for future works. In this way the choice of reference points and the work’s development are never linear.