Organic Objects | Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

Patterns in Nature

January 16, 2013 Charlotte No comments

I think these amazingly close up images of tree cells and cross sections of tree roots are stunning! I’ll be using them as inspiration for some new designs… I love the different sized circular shapes bundled together in little patterns.

Posted in: Inspiration, nature, nature photography, organic objects, surface decoration, surface design, surfaces Tags: surface pattern

Natural Inspiration

February 17, 2011 Charlotte 5 Comments

The inspiration for my ceramics comes from the natural world and many of the organic objects and surfaces around us. Nature is a huge source of inspiration for many artists & designers, but we all take something different from it in our own way, with how it is interpreted in our work.

above – Sea Urchin by Marie Cloke

Not only do I love this arrangement of cut apples above, (the different forms, how they are grouped together, the subtle greens from inside of the apples and the deep reds on the skin), but also the distressed paint in the background, what a gorgeous surface!

This photo by ‘redmegan‘ below is equally as beautiful, I love the layers of thick leaves with that burst of colour.

This beautiful pattern that has been formed from sand erosion reminds me of an impression in clay. The detail is amazing. The photo was taken by Ken Douglas on Flickr.

Next up is this carefully arranged cobbled pathway, which reminds me of individual sheets of clay that are pieced together when constructing my sculptural vessels.

I found the image above on this blog. I was particularly inspired by the following quote, written by the author of the blog;

“Natural fractals can be found in so many forms, shells, snowflakes, crystals, wildlife, the coastline, trees, leaves, plants, germs. As with fractals’ pattern inside another, the list goes on and on.”

I saved the best image til last

Don’t you just love the crevices and rock formations? The photograph above was taken at Shore Acres, Oregon Pacific Coast, and was one of the many striking images to win the International Award in Photography for the Conservation of Wildlife. <-- Check out some of the other photographs by following this link, especially if like me you love nature and wildlife, they are stunning!

If you’re interested please also feel free to take a look at my full collection of Inspiration images over at my Pinterest pinboards, more added weekly!

Posted in: Inspiration, natural surfaces, nature, nature photography, organic objects

Collecting Nature

July 19, 2010 Charlotte 3 Comments

I couldn’t help noticing many of nature’s organic objects at our local country park whilst we were out walking this evening. I’m terrible for picking things up, inspecting them, and usually popping them in my carrier bag for use as inspiration. (I do wash my hands when I get home!)

At the moment I’m currently working on some new decorative hanging mobiles, using fired pieces of ceramic, shells, glass, and copper wire. I wanted to use some suitable twigs or branches to attach the decorative hanging bits and bobs, so the twigs I collected from the country park will make good use for that. I wish I lived closer to the sea so I could use driftwood, but I’m going to have a go at washing my collected twigs in sea water to try to create the same driftwood effect.

This week over at Poppytalk, there is an inspiring project going on called Collecting Nature. People from all over the world are uploading their nature finds into this Flickr Group Pool, and then will later share projects using their finds. I’ve uploaded these photos of my organic objects to the group, why not join in and share yours too?