I’m sharing some of the best posts of 2014 throughout this month, and I love Emma Alington’s surface pattern design technique which mostly involves blowing bubbles…
Emma Alington is forever blowing bubbles! Her With A Twist collection is decorated by blowing bubbles in soapy water and underglaze before applying the bubbly result to the surface. We might have already had the behind-the-scenes tour of her studio, but this is a making method that warrants further investigation!
“Everything begins with a ball of porcelain on the wheel,” says Emma. “I just have the one wheel in the studio – it’s pretty old and like a tank but it’s still going strong.”
Emma then centres the clay as the wheel rotates. This first step is crucial to any throwing on a potters’ wheel – without it, the pot will wobble as its spins and be impossible to shape. Once centred, Emma starts to make a hole in the middle of the clay, which will become the inside of the vessel.
Emma then starts “pulling up” the clay, forming the shape of a vase. “My designs usually start as a vague shape on paper, then I make initial models in porcelain. I keep the decorative element at the front of my mind at every stage of the process – tying in the shape and surface decoration in equal measure is important to all of my work.”
Emma then refines the shape using a plastic tool to create a straight edge. “I’ve got lots of tools for throwing; metal, bamboo and plastic ribs and kidneys. I keep them all in an old wine box.”
She then uses a scalpel to add details. She can hold the tools perfectly still as the wheel spins to create an indentation all the way around the vase.
Next she prepares the bubble mix – it’s a mixture of water, black underglaze and washing up liquid, inspired by blowing bubbles into soapy water as a child.
The next step is all about blowing bubbles, through a straw, into soapy water – just like when you were little! Well, almost: “It takes a while to get an even black consistency throughout the bubbles,” says Emma.
The next stage is “applying and blowing the bubbles onto a dry porcelain vase; carefully rotating each piece as I blow the bubbles.”
“Once applied, the bubbles can take a moment to absorb,” says Emma. It all sounds like a lot of fun to me! And the results look fantastic…
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- here’s one I made earlier :: samesame
- here’s one I made earlier :: utopia & utility
- here’s one I made earlier :: woven oak
- here’s one I made earlier :: wood tailoring
