Andrew Halford
Artist Statement
My work is an accumulation of influences from nature, ceramic culture from around the world, and a long and intense training in my younger years. That training included working under the supervision and guidance of Jan Gluch, Gillian Bronowsky, Shiga Shigeo and Les Blakebrough in the period from 1961 to 1971.
From 1973 to 1978 I worked and trained under two master potters. First I worked seven days a week, with breaks only after monthly kiln firings, for two years under Hamada Shoji protégé, Shimoka Tatsuo, in Mashiko. It was here that I developed my love of, and skills in making, slip inlay work – the hallmark of Shimoka.
This was followed by four years training under master potter Shimada Haruo on the south west coast of Honshu. During this period I specialised in throwing large-scale vessels and in firing traditional climbing kilns, some with as many as 23 chambers.
I’m influenced by these traditions, concentrating on wheel work, slip inlay and specialised firing techniques to do with glaze quality.
I strive for perfection of craftsmanship to the point where I need not be conscious of my hands, but let the clay flow naturally; at this point a potter can begin to develop the eye and the spirit and achieve harmony and balance. When this happens, these qualities should be easily and clearly interpreted and appreciated by others. Then the work speaks for itself.
At the moment I am using the slip techniques of inlaying patterns, using surface textures from shells, rope, stamps and various nuts and seeds I find in the surrounding bush.
April 2006
Vase
225 x 230 mm
Coarse stoneware with incised geometric pattern inlaid with white stoneware and coated with a granite spray. Reduction-fired under a sager with charcoal in an electric kiln.
Vase
230 x 230 mm
Wheel-thrown ribbed form with squared lip.
Every second band brushed with a cobalt slip and coated with an over-all granite spray. Reduction-fired under a sager with charcoal in an electric kiln.
This form is inspired by wave rippling of sand.
Represented
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
| |
