One of my latest commissions fresh from the kiln involved a beach scene from where the customer grew up and spent a lot of their childhood. I always enjoy working on special pieces that have a nice story behind them.
This was the original image supplied by the customer below, of Porthmeor Beach. in St Ives. It is a print available at the Claire White Gallery in St Ives.
I tried to portray the scene as best as I could by hand engraving onto the ceramic surface, which was a little time consuming but totally worth it, I really enjoyed working on it.
Once happy with the overall transformation of the image from paper onto clay, I added a few decorative touches including impressed shell patterns and small pieces of recycled blue glass.
After a day or two of allowing the clay to firm up, it was ready to stand up on it’s own and be formed into a ceramic curve.
It was a nerve wracking experience patiently waiting for the kiln to finish firing and then cool down with this piece inside! Custom orders are always so precious.
But there was nothing to worry about after all… I could not be happier with the results!
I added some of my signature elements to the piece such as colours and textures, as well as the melted glass.
I particularly love how the detail of the people on the beach turned out.
After doing a bit of research on Google I came across this image of Porthemor Beach below, very similar to the design I was working from. It looks like a beautiful place… I shall have to visit someday!
Oh wow Charlotte, what a beautiful blog, brought a wee tear to my eye, with the research you took into my piece, it is going to have to be put somewhere high, so my little fella does not get his hands on this one off piece.
Truly an amazing multi media artist you are, i wish you so much luck for your bright future ahead of you xx