Shoal Arts

Artist: Angela Wickenden

Title:

Small coloured porcelain bowls………………………………………..£27

Large, granite and large quartz bowl………………………………..£95

Medium: Ceramic

My work is  inspired by the history of ceramic technology and by archaeology, and   presented in this show, is very much about the making of wheel thrown and turned bowls as a universal and ubiquitously functional vessel. The bowl form has been used in British Isles since the Neolithic , 4000cal BC.  The Hembury bowl which is a  stunning example of a Neolithic bowl, can be seen at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.  I have also included other functional vessels- teapots and mugs.  

It is the use of everyday vessels which inspires my practice.  I make bowls from small, medium to fairly large and they can used as salad bowls, pasta bowls or fruit bowls.   I have always loved and used teapots and continue to do so on a daily basis. And although the teapot is now an art form, it is still an everyday functional object.  It is this continuing function which inspires me to make these objects as I have a fondness for their use.

 Using a mixture of local, recycled and bought ceramic materials, I have combined these locally prospected materials, granite and greensand sand, some china clay and bits of feldspar.  I enjoy the preparation of the clay, as often, I use recycled clays, and wedge the granite sand into it and it takes a while for the clay to be ready for throwing. 

 I have recently completed  a Masters in Experimental Archaeology, in 2014,  making Neolithic pottery, local to Devon and Cornwall which also involved prospecting for and using materials local to Devon and Cornwall.  I now have a good practical knowledge of the clays and sands of  east Devon in particular.

Since graduating I have continued to research into the materials required to make the Calenick assaying crucibles 1750-1900 and the use of white clay bodies. This research has informed this current practice, using materials such as Cornish stone(Found nr St Austell) which the crucible makers used to make their clays.    I have always searched for a speckled surface to use as a decorative expression of teapots, cups, bowls and plates and finally after three years of experimenting with various glazes and different clays,  I have only recently  produced these pieces using granite sand and gravel with a feldspathic glaze.   They are the first pieces where I have successfully produced a surface of this type.