text catalogue of sculpture built in Penzance by Trev Miller
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Six works made to be displayed at the 2005 Sancreed House summer art exhibition, Sancreed, near Penzance, Cornwall, and those following on from them, are described here.
The prices on the works below are a guide to their value to me, the artist, and include any commission payable. If you would like to make an offer for a work, or to exhibit it, please send me a message from here.
The figurative works were all made by observation from life and photographs, with occasional measurements, allowing for clay shrinkage, using techniques of vessel construction rather than modelling methods involving application of material to an armature. No moulds or castings were used in their construction. My objective was to highlight aspects of the form rather than to replicate it, while maintaining its realistic credibility.
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| catalogue item number 05-06 |
A lifesize fairly realistic rendering of a female partial torso developed from a life study of a model. The construction was by means of rolled clay slabs that were fused and then reworked while plastic and leather-hard. After hardening, the form was sanded then burnished to achieve a regularly contoured, smooth surface. This study was inspired by the model's sacrum [from the Latin os sacrum, "holy bone", at the base of the spine]. The discontinuity of the rim is a feature of the work and was planned from before the actual construction. The angles so constructed required engineering, to prevent unintentional cracking or warping, adding to the potential interest in the form.
An unintentional result of the electric kiln firing was vitrification, probably resulting from an inacurate kiln temperature controller exceeding the recommended firing temperature of the body which was 1200°C. Vitrification did not result in any unacceptable movement in the form, which was still essentially, as far as could be determined, as built. The partial vitrification confers additional strength on the form, as well as resistance to water and possibly freezing damage, compared with the normally fired material.
The firing cycle also resulted in a water-vapour "blow-out" of a 3 cm area diameter of the surface of the inside front of one of the thighs. I built the work thicker at the base (up to 15 mm thick) for stability and strength, compared to 3 - 5 mm in higher regions, and should therefore really have allowed the work to soak for longer at low temperature during firing, but this was offset against practical considerations. The blow-out was neat and able to be refixed with epoxy adhesive, and any joins filled with epoxy mixed with grinding dust of the same fired material to result in a repair of minimal visual impact. Nevertheless, the work is priced to reflect this imperfection. The item is reasonably robust and will withstand summer outdoor display in temperate regions.
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| catalogue item number 05-05 |
A lifesize fairly realistic rendering of a female shoulder, arm and breast, developed from a life study of a model. The construction was by means of rolled clay slabs that were fused and then reworked while plastic and leather-hard. After hardening, the form was sanded then burnished to achieve a regularly contoured, smooth surface. The study was inspired by the creasing of the model's skin over her underlying adipose tissue and muscle, in positions that I had not observed before. The positions of these creases were observed with the model reclining rather than in the upright position in which the item is intended to be displayed.
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| catalogue item number 05-07 |
A follow-on from the previous item, Amazone. Similar contruction techniques and materials were used, but the work was built within a shorter time (2-3 days). A different posture was used and the relationship between the convex/concave elements rather than the creasing of the form emphasised, while still refering closely to realism. The contrast between the raw, ragged edges and the intensively worked, smooth, burnished, regular surface is an essence of the work. Yet to be fired at the time of writing.
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| catalogue item number 05-04 |
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| catalogue item number 05-03 |
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| catalogue item number 05-02 |
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| catalogue item number 05-01 |
Items 05-01 to 05-04 were constructed simultaneously from the same materials and have much in common, and are therefore described as a group. They represent my refamiliarisation with my process of creating small ceramic forms after a long break. They were developed from a series of sketches made on my computer. They were each begun from a ball of clay, worked initially with the hands and later with tools. The forms were extended with sheets of rolled clay or tubes made from rolled clay.
I made deliberate attempts to construct the pieces rapidly and without preciousness, and without striving for perfection of finish. This is in contrast to my earlier works, after which my spontaneity may have become impoverished by my over-attention to perfection. All these pots are technically fine in their own way, however.
For exhibition purposes, these pots are mounted on metal screws on to heavy plinths. They may be supplied with the screw attached for more secure display or the screw removed for display on a solid shelf where disturbance likely to cause toppling will not occur. Due to their narrow bases and fragility, damage due to toppling is quite likely on an insecure surface.
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page edition 1.2: 2006, September 26th