Feel like a short break? Come and I will take you to a piece of ‘water-scape’.
I have captured it for you in my porcelain object called Reflection in Water.
Are you just as fond of being at or in the water as I am? In any case, you will often find me at the water’s edge. Whether it is a happily gurgling brook, a beautiful lake or the sea, water draws me like a magnet. Years ago, on a beautiful and sunny Summer’s day, I was sitting near a quiet little lake. The ware was so clear that I could see the bottom of the lake. I thought it was fascinating!
From water world to Work of Art
My porcelain object “Reflection in Water” may look fragile with its thin legs, but it is really rather solid. Dimensions: 25 x 19 x 9 cm (length x breadth x height).
I could see fishes, waving water plants, and much more. I stayed for quite some time, observing the sunlight as it played under the surface. That image stuck in my mind. Slowly it matured into a design for an abstract porcelain object. This would become Reflection in water.
Look carefully! Can you see them move?
What do you see when looking at this porcelain object? You are looking from above into this crystal clear lake. In it there are fishes, a snail, water plants and the projection of the water surface on the sandy bottom. The large shape on the left and the shape in the middle represent the fishes, which are partly crossing each other’s path. The yellow and pink hues represent the glittering sunlight on their scales. When you look at them for some time you can almost see them move. At least, that is what I hear from visitors to my gallery 🙂
Creepy, slimy animals? Not at all!
The ‘desktop’ of my porcelain object “Reflection in Water”. You can clearly see that the various shapes have been cut out.
The yellow shape in the foreground (bottom) is a little snail. Many people think snails are just creepy and slimy animals. But they are really beautiful, functional and special creatures. That is why I used a light yellow paint, placing it literally and figuratively in the spotlight.
Porcelain object with characteristic blue colours
The shapes on the right of this porcelain object are water plants. These shapes are dominated by the blue colours which are characteristic for my work. The brown spots on the white porcelain represent the projection of the water surface on the sandy bottom.
A special moment deserves a pedestal
Visitors to my gallery sometimes ask why I often put such works of art on little legs. I do this because they represent fragile, fleeting moments. This porcelain object, for example, is as if I scooped one single moment out of the water and recorded it in porcelain. I think that special moments deserve to be put on a pedestal.
Legs a little slanted? Supposed to!
A few details of my porcelain object “Reflection in Water”. The large shapes are the fishes. The small yellow shape is the snail. The enamel is one I developed myself.
That is also why I don’t mind if the legs of such a porcelain object are not entirely straight. The more crooked or slanted, the more fragile the moment I wanted to record. After all, special moments can be over before you know it. Such a ‘table’ with crooked legs reminds you of this fact. It looks as if it can fall over any moment. But in reality that won’t happen, of course. My tables are remarkably stable.
Reflection in Water: synthesis of types of porcelain
This object was made with three types of porcelain:
- The upper layer is made of porcelain foil, a thin material I used to cut out the various shapes. It has not been on the market for very long and I like to experiment with it. You can use it to do all sorts of things you cannot do with other types of porcelain. It increases the range of my creative possibilities. .
- This foil is resting on a bed of paper porcelain, which symbolises the water surface.
- The legs are made of ming porcelain. They look slim, but are remarkably strong.
This is how I made Reflecting in Water
After cutting out the shapes in the layer of foil, I first let this layer dry in a mold filled with sand. The paper foil, also, was dried separately. After shaping the legs I baked the various components separately, on the so called biscuit tray. Next, I coloured the porcelain foil and placed it on the paper porcelain. (Read more about my methods and techniques!)
My own type of enamel
The water plants of my porcelain object “Reflection in Water”, which I rendered using my characteristic blue colours.
After applying the enamel, which I developed myself, I painted the brown “reflection” spots on the “bottom of the lake”. Then it was time to bake foil and paper porcelain together. The next step was to apply some highlights using gold luster. When the object was completely to my liking, I finished baking it at a lower temperature. Finally I connected the legs. It was quite a job, actually. In all, it took me a couple of months.
