Judith Davies

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Blue

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Judith hand-builds in porcelain by pinching and slowly coiling forms which are asymmetrical and organic in their nature. Much attention is paid to subtle changes of direction and to edges and undulations in the form.  The surface texture with its distinctive striations contouring around the form, so reminiscent of ripples in sand or water, is created before firing using a form of burnishing, a technique discovered through experimentation and it is, as far as Judith knows, unique to her practice.

 

Colour is applied after firing, using high quality pigments, including natural earth pigments and indigo. These are layered on, repeatedly sanded back, washed in and then sealed with wax. This procedure, again the result of experimentation, results in rich veils of colour and wonderful markings. The processes she chooses to deploy allow the work to emerge rather than being controlled, by the uncovering of textures and markings inlaid into the porcelain through her hand’s interaction with the clay. As a result the work is intensely tactile.  Judith’s aim is to make work that looks as if discovered rather than constructed; objects that you could perhaps find washed up along a tideline or river’s edge, carrying their own history and sense of place.

 

Judith is based in the North East Scotland where inspiration is found from the dramatic and wild coastal locations of Angus, providing the elemental and contemplative backdrop to her work.