Wendy Kershaw: Drawing in Ceramics

Paul Bailey, editor of Emerging Potters, shares his pick from the exhibition ‘Drawing in Ceramics’.

Ceramic maker: Wendy Kershaw

Exhibition: Drawing in Ceramics at The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle

Until 18th February 2018

Drawing in Ceramics is an exhibition of ceramicists, Wendy Kershaw being one of the ceramic makers, with Myer Halliday, Ilona Sulikova and Yo Thom.

Drawing is central to each of these makers’ process and plays a key role in their finished work. Through these four makers this exhibition examines the role of drawing in ceramics and the way in which these practices intersect and inform each other.

Wendy Kershaw: “I was commissioned by the poet John Rice and his wife Clare to make a piece for their daughter. The piece that I made involved a girl on a windy island day, and her hair being blown about. I really enjoyed her blown about hair, I liked the movement. I’ve been making Stevie girls since then, the hair becomes longer, and it was so windy in some cases that birds and branches became entangled too”.

Wendy creates narrative illustrations on porcelain. Intricately building-up rich layers of imagery, by etching into porcelain with needles, then working in stains, transfers and on-glaze. The skilful techniques and multiple firings produce unique detailed images.

Her illustrations use the qualities of the ceramic material to make the images. The needle etch into the clay surface. Scuffed surfaces of the clay are brought out with underglaze stains. She uses diamond pads to bring out the surface by hand. The decal heads are her own collaged artwork, cutting up photographs and spacing out the eyes, nose and mouth to paint them into older, longer faces. Then painting over parts of them creating a new face with acrylic, watercolour and gouache. She can tweak the features of the photos to make them happier, sadder, more pensive, and on scanning the artwork she can continue to develop it on a computer.

About The Biscuit Factory: The UK’s largest independent art, craft and design gallery is located in the Ouseburn Valley of Newcastle. The gallery opened in 2002 and is housed within a former Victorian warehouse and is characterised by beautiful ceiling beams, large wooden framed windows and exposed brickwork.

The Biscuit Factory exhibits contemporary work from North East, national and international artists, with exhibitions changing every quarter. The work on show and available to buy encompasses paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, sculpture and textiles, together with one of the largest collections of handmade jewellery in the city.

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