Alison Kay: Selected works, 2016-2022
Clay has been the central force in Alison Kay’s creative practice over the past 40 years. Her deep interest in plants and the natural world has fed into her work. Inspiration comes from diverse sources; the shape of seed pods, aerodynamic forms, car designs, atmospheric impact on surfaces.
Her ideas develop in an organic way and the works evolve by making changes to what has come before. She enjoys returning to certain forms as with a piece of music and fine tuning the design.
Through the slow process of coiling, pairing back, adding openings and meticulously refining the surface, she becomes fully engaged with each piece.
She applies thin layers of Terra Sigillata to the surface which is then polished. After the biscuit firing, she adds a pattern of clay resist to the piece and then smoke fires it. Afterwards, it is cleaned and polished.
Integrating surface and form is a continuing engagement for Kay, as in nature where surfaces are eroded and polished by weathering. The process of smoke firing imbues an aged and timeless quality to the work.
Photography by Cyril Byrne
Photo captions
- Wide Pale Green Form with side opening, 2017, White Raku Clay, H28 x W40 x D18 cm.
- Wide Blue Vessel with off centre opening, 2016, White Raku Clay, H25 x W43 x D18 cm.
- Heeled Blue Wedge Form with side opening, 2017, White Raku Clay, H24 x W28 x D16 cm.
- Sky Blue Vessel with squared off centre opening, 2018, White Raku Clay, H29 x W20 x D14 cm.
- Green Form with double top openings, 2019, White Raku Clay, H31 x W21 x D14 cm.
- Green Form with double side openings, 2020, White Raku Clay, H34 x 32 x D12 cm.
- Tall Copper Green Form with off centre opening, 2021, White Raku Clay, H39 x W28 x 15 cm.
- Pink Horizontal Vessel, 2021, White Raku Clay, H14 x W24 x D14 cm.
- Yellow Form with side opening, 2021, White Raku Clay, H32 x W20 x D15 cm.
- Small Blue Horizontal Vessel, 2022, White Raku Clay, H11 x W17 x D11 cm.
- Yellow Form with Curved Neck, 2022, White Raku Clay, H28 x W20 x D14 cm.
