Into Thin Air: Porcelain Drawing

Mountain landscapes, light and winter environments, continue to inform my work. However, this series is as much about material and process, as it is about the landscape that inspired it. Using porcelain in an unconventional way challenges me in a way that suits my nature.

The drawings are laid down on plaster slabs, using a pallet of colored porcelain casting slips. Working in much the same way as a mono print maker would work, the images are built up, foreground to background. When I feel enough information is laid down, the pieces are sealed with a thin layer of liquid porcelain. The drawings are lifted from the plaster slab and turned over to reveal the fully integrated images. The pieces are fired, sanded, refired and sanded yet again, before they are fully resolved.

Porcelain in the unfired state is fragile, offering relentless technical challenges. And yet, when fired to high temperatures, it becomes one of the hardest surfaces known to man. The complexity of porcelain continues to fascinate me.

Rose Bauer