Hello there,
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
My name is Zeb Reynolds, I am fast approaching completion of a BA in Applied Arts at Plymouth College of art. My work consists of wheel thrown domestic ware which is where my heart lies. I believe strongly in ideas that owners of artwork and pottery develop an intimate relationship with their beloved items. Right from the origins of Japanese Raku wares. To quote my recent Dissertation;
"A thrower’s hands can mesmerise the spectator as he manipulates and forges the clay into his desired shape and form. It is this intricate tacit knowledge of the material that allows him to take control and understand the clay’s capabilities and its limitations. He inflicts soul and personality into his work, the form being a reflection of himself; as Chatwin explains “the life giving touch of its maker.”
The use of the tea bowl is directly associated with the tea ceremony itself, where the pot is caressed and enveloped with the hands. This is their function, naturally, to hold, grip and caress, to offer up the substance within the tea bowl, to judge it’s weight, it’s shape, and balance. It is equally, if not more important that the pot’s function is to be held, to be picked up, to be tilted, and to meet the sensitive lips, their bright red colouration indicating a vast and abundant blood supply, to stimulate the nerve sensation, allowing one to sense texture, temperature, shape, and in this case the refinement and delicacy of a rim. The pleasure here is palpable; the high number of nerve endings makes the lips an erogenous zone of the body, typically associated with affection between two people through the act of kissing, or similar. "
My sculptural work is also wheel thrown, however as a potter I try to lean towards and maintain the traditional quality of craft in my work. Incorporating the process of making as heavy inspiration into what I do; for example trying to capture the fluidity and malleability of thrown clay, accentuating its curves and voluptuous composition.
Some work is slip decorated and almost all of it glazed and fired to stoneware at around 1270oc in a reduction atmosphere, gas kiln.
The process of firing to me is the most influential; this is where mud becomes stone.
Fire caresses and licks the pots. It roars through the chamber, with its heavy, unruly breath it brings the pots to life in a way that an electric kiln can’t.
My current artist statement reads as follows;
