Milan, Made by Hand and Christmas excitement!

I’ve been busy making work for the various exhibitions that I’ve been chosen to exhibit in the next few months. I’m looking forward to travelling around the UK and to Milan with the UK Young Artist group for the Biennale des jeunes créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Milan with UK Young Artist. 

Here's a small article about the work that's going to Milan through my old university news page: 

http://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/news/Pages/Cardiff-Metropolitan-University-graduate-selected-to-represent-UK-at-international-art-festival-in-2015.aspx

And here's some of the pieces that I've been making for the Festival in Milan:

A friend of mine recently made this beautiful picture of the above photo as a birthday present. It's a programmed machine that can replicate shapes and facets, then it's possible to create layers in the image by using various colours of pen. What an amazing invention! In the photo below, every mark is made in a small circular motion, I can't believe how realistic it can draw.

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I’ve found out that I will be showing at Y Galeri, Caernarfon for the Art Open 2015 between the 30th of October and the 11th of November 2015. I will be showing with some of my original moulds from my degree show, although the pieces are new this year. I hope to use the same floating shelves too in order to re-create the impact of my previous display, inspired by the Victoria & Albert’s Ceramic Collection. 

http://www.galericaernarfon.com/

I will also be exhibiting at the Christmas Show at Craft in the Bay, Cardiff with some new work that I have been working on in the past few weeks. These pieces will be a series of 3, and will be introduced in the joint exhibition that I will be showing my work at in Machynlleth, MOMA Wales. Here is the link for the exhibition information for our joint exhibition: 

http://www.momawales.org.uk/?page_id=433 

I hope to also create some new 3 dimensional pieces to complement the existing pieces in the Minimus Maximus body of work. Here's a step by step of a new wall piece I've been working on.

Above is the master copy piece that I have made a mould of in order to slip-cast once the mould is finished. I wanted to create a piece of work that can be wall-mounted, as I had only attempted a wall piece once before. Unfortunately due to the complexity of this piece, I struggled to get the piece out as a whole. The handles around the edges in the below photo were so fragile before firing, and would break off so easily. I wanted to find a way to continue the idea that I had previously touched upon, but wanted to find a way that the form is slightly simpler, and smaller in order for the fragility of the handles to only be a problem on two sides of the piece, instead of all the way around. I do understand that this piece might say something different to the other, and that the simpler form is not as pleasing to the eye, but unfortunately due to the issues that I had encountered I couldn’t risk having to use the mould as a press mould instead of a slip-casting mould which evidently I struggled with, and lost a lot of texture from the surface decoration and intricate details in the work.  

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I have also been shortlisted for the Arts and Crafts Design Award, check my work out on the below URL:  

http://www.acd-award.com/ 

There are some amazing artists that have previously been shortlisted, and are shortlisted this year so I’m so happy to have been shortlisted and now have to wait a few months to find out the result. 

I will also be demonstrating in Made by Hand, Cardiff Hall which I'm so excited about. The fair runs from the 30th of October to the 1st of November. Here is the link to my demonstators page: 

http://www.madebyhand-wales.co.uk/Eluned-Glyn/Exhibitor/

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I had previously shown images of the Milk Jug that I have also been working on recently. Here are images of the pieces once fired, glazed and ready to sell. I feel that the texture of various facets are successful in this piece, and is one of my strongest so far. I have also been thinking about a less expensive range of work that can be sold, that are slightly more craft led. This is the first piece that I have created and is really popular, selling out in the first day in the Contemporary Craft Fair in Bovey Tracey!  

Here's another piece I've been working on recently, that's more of a retail item than the Minimus Maximus Collection. 

These are small espresso cups, I wanted to create a collection that had a simpler form, but would still echo my work.

   

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I treated myself to a visit to the National Museum last week, as I really wanted to see the Fragile? exhibition before it ended in October. What a fantastic collection of ceramics, it was so inspirational to see ceramics from different eras and countries in one big room. My favourite part was this room where they were showing the makers creating their particular ceramics. It's great to see how other artists make their work, and the final pieces that they created in the video was there in the flesh. Here's Adam Buick's moon jar:

 And Walter Keeler's Work.

I can't wait to visit Milan, and see my work among other artists' work from the UK. There will be roughly ten of us representing different disciplines from photography, fine art to sculpture and installation based work. My work will represent the Applied Arts discipline. I've got a busy few months ahead of me, and I will try to post more often from various fairs and events that I've taken part in, but for now that's all.