Contemporary ceramics – organic cones

Contemporary ceramic art - organic handmade clay cones

Organic cones

Glazed ceramic. 2007 30 x 30 x 40cm

A cluster of organic forms, possibly resembling aquatic lifeforms. The small indentations in the top of some of the cones adds to the organic effect. The worm-like appearance of the cones makes them a slightly disturbing.

The cones are hand-rolled clay.

Contemporary ceramic sculpture – organic form

Modern ceramic abstract sculptural form

Contemporary ceramic sculpture – organic form.

Height: 25cm. 1995

A ceramic sculpture that is slightly suggestive of a fungus such as a stinkhorn, although the work was conceived as a purely abstract sculpture.

Below is a view of the sculpture from above, in directional lighting. This view shows well the dramatic differences that differing viewpoints can make when viewing three dimensional artwork (or anything else for that matter).
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Modern art ceramic sculpture - abstract organic form

Ceramic sculpture

Contemporary ceramics - clusters of ceramic organic cones

Contemporary ceramic sculpture – organic forms

Ceramic forms between 2cm and 25cm tall. 1995

A group of works composed of clusters of coloured ceramic cone-like forms.
The forms are individually rolled by hand as cones and are then distorted to create a sinuous waving effect.
The forms were conceived as purely abstract, however they have an organic feel to them with something of the suggestion of marine or aquatic organisms. They could be worm-like creatures emerging from the sea bed and waving in the ocean currents.

Spanner Man

Contemporary art sculpture featuring hand tools - spanner with a ceramic head

Spanner Man. Hand tools in art

Ceramic head and spanner. July 2015

The ceramic head in this sculpture is held in the jaws of the spanner by a thin wooden rod that forms the head’s neck.
It is uncertain whether the head is trapped in the jaws of the spanner or whether the head and the spanner form a single entity, with the spanner as the body (The shape of the spanner suggests a seated or crouching body).
It could be interpreted that the head in the sculpture represents the thinking part of the person, while the spanner represents the physical body of the person, the thinking part thus being clamped (possibly against its will) to the physical part. This could have metaphysical connotations or connotations invoking the expression “born in the wrong body”.
This tension of ambiguity of meaning is one of the things I like about the piece.
Workshop tools and handyman tools such as spanners, hammers and pliers are a recurring feature of my small scale sculptural work.

sculpture made from hand tools - spanner with head
A close-up of the top of the spanner