More about The Devil’s Marbles – Lizard Warming, 2017
"The Devils Marbles and Devils Marbles Lustre series is a continuation of my artistic exploration and reinterpretation of the geological formations that make Australia’s ancient landscape so compelling.
The Devils Marbles is a natural rock formation located in central Australia. Karlu Karlu - the local Aboriginal name for both the rock features and the surrounding area - translates as round boulders, and it is this form that has inspired this series.
Although I am most well known for my vessels, I have always been drawn to more organic and sculptural forms and the catalyst for this new direction came in 2016, when I was invited to exhibit at the Henan Museum in China.
Porcelain is perfect for the organic, rock-like forms in this series. It is a sensuous and silky-smooth medium that enhances the layered hues, textures and the finely incised lines of my surfaces; and these surfaces, with the colours and lustres that I choose, are a reflection of the richness of our geological landscape; and to achieve the patina of time, I use lustre glazes of pure gold and platinum.
I am unrestrained in my liberal use of glazes for my surface decoration. It is like painting a three dimensional canvas, laying down colour upon colour, gold upon platinum, platinum upon gold. Each object may be fired up to three or four times, with new layers of glaze applied and burnished between firing.
It is only when each individual piece is fully realized, that I can then consider the topography of form, scale and colour that informs the selections I make for my installations.
In my studio, I have a fabulous team of collaborators. My thrower, Warrick Palmateer and I have spent many hours perfecting the techniques for this new collection. The closed forms are challenging to throw on the wheel and there has been much trial and error to refine the process. Preparing clay and glazes can take days of milling and manipulation to achieve the desired plasticity and fine silky character required for my work.
I have always worked intuitively and my practice is to achieve the balance between technical process and spontaneity.
Finally, you never know what the kiln will reveal, but that is the pure joy of it."
Pippin Drysdale