Glasswork: pattern and texture

 I wanted to experiment with pattern and texture in glass, so I first laid small pieces of black glass onto a small sheet of clear glass, so there would be a texture when it came out of the kiln.

I also did the same thing but using confetti glass in different colours, inspired by snake skin. I used a very small amount of vaseline to make sure the pieces wouldn't move when it is being put into the kiln.

 I then started looking at encasing things between two pieces of glass. I did this with copper, because the glass gets very hot in the kiln, so things with a low melting point like plastics would not keep the pattern as I wanted. I cut copper into the shapes I wanted, to make zebra pattern and a repeating pattern of diamonds. I also used copper wire to make a handle so the pieces could be hung, or possibly be made into jewellery, although they would be very heavy to wear.

 I drew the pieces as they look before going in the kiln, so I can compare these pictures to how the glass pieces look after firing.

Ceramics: Natural pattern.

After a visit to West Midlands Safari Park, I started to think how pattern is used to hide animals in their natural habitat, and started thinking about how I could hide things in pattern, instead of hiding the pattern itself. I think this will make my jewellery a lot more patterned and decorative, but also keep the idea of hiding  something in it, so what you see at first is not all that it is, and the jewellery will be more special and valuable to the person who owns it. I first looked at the pattern on zebras, and how this helps them to hide and be protected from predators  I then thought how a zebra shape could be hidden in a patterned background, carrying on the stripes outwards.

I used a photo of a zebra I took at the safari park as a guide for the outline and stripes, then continued the stripes out, up to the edge of the piece of clay. when the clay was a bit drier, I carefully took the zebra shape out, then stuck the outside part onto another piece of flat clay with slip.

 This made a base which the zebra fitted in, and could be taken out like a jigsaw piece. I am planning to fire them with the zebra in, using a powder to stop it from sticking. Because clay shrinks as it dries, when it is fired, the thicker base part may shrink at a different rate to the zebra, so it may not fit exactly, so by leaving the zebra in it, I am hoping that this will be less likely.

I have made two small tunnels on the back, which will hold the weight of the piece, which I hope to use as the centre piece of a necklace. I have left a gap between them, to leave space for a small metal clip, which will hold the zebra in place. I hope to use oxides when it has been fired, to make the indented stripes black, and leave the more prominent parts white.

Metalwork: Making a brooch.

I wanted to make my piece of patterned copper 'wall' into a brooch, without just shoving a pin on it. I decided I wanted most of the pattern to be on the inside, so only the wearer knew it was there, and to keep the outside fairly minimal. I thought of what would be on a wall, like railings, and because the pattern was similar to patterns of paving slabs I have looked at, I also looked at what would be on floors, like footprints. I decided finally on drainpipes, because that would be a decorative way of attaching it to something, because a pin or a few pins could go into the pipes to hold it on. I also went out and did some observational sketches of how pipes fitted together, and how they were attached to the wall, to get ideas of how I could arrange the pipes on my brooch.

I decided to have one straight piece of pipe, and one bent, so I could have one long pin that would go all the way through the pipe, and not fall out. I soldered a bent piece of wire to the straight piece of pipe (it is solid wire not pipe because it doesn't need to hold the pin, and wire is easier to bend without miss-shaping it) and then made small loops from thinner wire, and used lead solder to join them on without melting the previous soldering.

 After polishing it in the tumbler, I super glued the brass pieces on so they would stay still while I was drilling, and centre punched each side of each brass piece so I knew where to drill.

I drilled the holes, then neatened them and made them a little bit bigger so the rivets would go through.

 The rivets are decorative on the other side, so it will still look nice when worn so that the main pattern is hidden.

I wanted the pin to go through the pipe, and hold on to the garment at both the top and bottom, so it would hold on securely.

 I used a piece of wire, and melted the end so there was a small blob, which would stop it going through the fabric. I also curved the wire slightly, so the tension would keep it held in the right place.

Ceramics: After glazing and firing.

I think the cabbage looks really good, because the stripes are straight when looked at from straight on, but the lines are wobbly when viewed from an angle.

I think this has worked really well with some parts shiny and some left matte, and also the very small detail with the larger pattern works really well together.

I think these squares worked really well, because they are so simple and not overly busy. I think together, the larger one in the middle and two smaller either side, would look good on a statement neck piece.

I like how this mosaic piece has turned out, the brown stain in between the tiles make it look old, like a roman floor.

The transparent glaze has worked really well on this woven piece. Because of the shine, I think it looks like a jewel, and the colours work well together.

I also like the matte piece, where the texture is the main feature and it is accentuated by the colours in the dents.

 I was a little bit dissapointed that the darkening of the orange red parts, which I was hoping to be more vibrant.

 I used the same colour on this piece, and this has come out a terracotta red, not the very dark brown that is on the edges of the diamonds. this could have possibly been because of the thickness of the glaze, or because it was on top of a glaze, so could not soak in to the clay.

Ceramics: Glazing the patterned pieces

 This is the cabbage textured piece, with stripes of lilac under glaze with transparent glaze on top. Because the piece is so small, I was worried I had put the transparent shiny glaze on too thick, and if it is too thick, it can come out cloudy or opaque, which would obscure the stripes, and possibly the texture of the clay piece.

 For my bigger woven piece, I used ceramic pencil crayons to draw a pattern on some of the clay strips, the pattern taken from knitted stocking stitch. I then used royal blue under glaze and transparent glaze on top for the other strips, so it will hopefully look like shiny threads and knitted threads have been woven together

 For these very small ones, I didn't want to colour them particularly, but I wanted to use something to bring out the texture, so I used black copper oxide, then used a sponge to wipe the surface so the black was only in the indented parts.

 I did the same with this one, using a brown stain, wiped off the surface, to highlight the gaps between the mosaic tiles.

 This was my smaller woven piece, I have used royal blue under glaze and green stain for the different threads, then transparent glaze on top.

 I wanted to highlight the textile pattern on this piece, and I thought the detail could have been too easily obscured if I put a transparent glaze on it so I left it as a stain, wiped off the surface to create a contrast between the colours and the white clay.

 This was more compicated to glaze, and I had to buy a very small paintbrush to create the detail. I started with a white tin glaze, then painted on the green stain pieces. I couldn't find a glaze which was the right kind of orange, so decided to use a darker one, which will come out a darker colour than it is now.

I used the same colour for the middle of this piece, and painted the edges with the royal blue under glaze. I wanted these pieces to be quite vibrant, to possibly use these (or pieces made by a similar method) in jewellery.

Metalwork: Creating pattern on copper

 First, I used punches and a hammer to create a pattern, based on the pattern found on brick walls and paved floors. I was careful to make sure the grooves were continuous and all the same depth. I then used a wooden mallet to make sure it was flat without distorting the grooves.

 I painted on flux, and then heated it up with a blowtorch and touched solder to the surface. Unfortunately, it didn't spread out, it just stayed as a large blob in the corner, which is not what I wanted.

 I then pickled it in the acid before adding more flux (lots and lots of flux) and heating it up again. Thankfully, this time the solder spread out and covered most of the surface. I thought about putting more solder on, to cover all of the pattern, but I decided to leave some of the indents solder-free, because it reminded me of when cement falls out of walls, and I quite liked the look of it.

 I pickled it in the acid again before using the linisher to take the solder off the surface of the copper, so that the solder was only left in the grooves and it left a flat surface.

 I then used wet and dry paper to remove the tiny scratches the linisher had left, before buffing it and polishing it. I like this outcome, because the pattern is flush to the surface, and at first you only see the grooves in the corner, then you have to look closer to see the rest of the pattern.

Ceramics: Using pattern in clay.

I wanted to try making some relief patterns in clay, from my photographs and observational sketching. I made small pieces, with the intention of using them to test out different glazes, and see how they work on the textured surfaces, but also to test how the patterns look on a very small scale, with a view of possibly using ceramic pieces in jewellery.

I made two pieces using a weaving technique with strips of clay, based on both the pattern of woven fabric, and also based on a pattern I found inside an envelope. I then made a piece with the pattern of a cabbage leaf, with parts that were pressed in to create depressions, and also adding strips of clay to create veins. My last two flat pieces were based on patterns from floors, one a paving slab, and the other a mosaic floor. 

I then created a cube, using six squares of clay, with a different pattern on each square. I then assembled the pieces so the pattern was on the inside of the box and lid, hidden.