Tuesday 30 April 2013

Work In Progress


 

Years ago in Vienna, when I started working with ceramics, I wanted to learn everything about it. I was reading books and magazines. I was talking to experienced potters, asking them all kinds of questions and trying to get some secret tips that would accelerate my learning process. I couldn’t wait to apply everything I discovered and learned.

So, after I learned to throw on the wheel, I wanted to cast a mould. I read everything I could find about it, and I was so convinced I knew what I was doing. It turned out that I had no idea at all.

My first mistake was not starting small. I made a huge sculpture that was supposed to become my very first plaster mould. My second mistake: The frames were not secured enough. When you make an object you want to slip cast, you have to construct stable frames around it, and then pour the liquid plaster in it. So, the six litters of the plaster just burst out of the frame that was supposed to keep it inside. If you have a hard time understanding what happened, imagine dropping a bottle of milk on the floor.

Nasty, right? Well then, try to imagine dropping six bottles! So there was this ocean of creamy liquid all over the table, the floor and my clothes. I was so inexperienced that I even tried to collect all the plaster with some towels before it became solid. This is how I ruined many towels instead of waiting for the plaster to stiffen.

That was it! It was so disheartening that I haven’t touched plaster for years. Luckily enough, in Berne I have shared my studio  with a very nice and talented ceramicist who encouraged me to give the slip casting a second chance. She showed me how to make plaster moulds step by step. I am not an expert, but from time to time I manage some decent moulds.

I am showing you today a work in progress. Once, a wise man told me I should never talk about the projects that were on my mind or those that I have just started to develop. Talking about it may dilute the whole idea. So, instead of explaining what am I up to, I am just going to show you a few photos.

And if you stay tuned, you may actually see the end result.