Artist statement
The Artist’s Apartment
Radcliffe Burt
Ceramics 2
After coming to Trinity, I never thought ceramics would be a path for me, but after only two semesters here, I’m loving my journey here of uncovering a buried passion and working to perfect my art. As a student in my elementary school, I always loved working with clay, even though it only happened about one time a year. I remember walking into the art room and seeing the massive behemoth block of plastic clay, and was itching to get my hands in it. After these beloved elementary days my excitement for clay grew dull as I went through middle school where clay wasn’t in the curriculum. Luckily, I have been reunited with this medium sparking my passion and creativity which allows me to continue to push my skills .
For this collection, I wanted to focus on functional work while experimenting more on the wheel to better improve my technique. In Ceramics 1, I focused more on some of the more basic forms including bowls, plates, and mugs. In entering Ceramics 2, I definitely found more enjoyment in challenging my skills and creative process by focusing on crafting pieces of higher technical difficulty, like teapots, lidded forms and the perfect handle. I gained inspiration and motivation to create from Florian Gadsby and Shinobu Hashimoto, both potters who create videos on YouTube and document their creative processes.
My glaze technique was a mixture of painting on Tourmaline, Lustrous Jade, dipping Oasis and Pam’s Green. I then painted on with Indigo Float, Blue Midnight and Cobalt to create a theme of cooler colors ranging from a deep, thoughtful green over to a strong, forthright blue with combinations in between, with no two pieces being exactly the same.
This year, I applied to, and was accepted into IB 3D art for my junior year. That accomplishment has given me more inspiration to continue to create my best work yet. Undeniably in my time as a Ceramics 2 student, I have been able to focus on and expand my portfolio of technical skills, and have applied them to my work this semester and have grown not only as a student but as an artist as well.
Radcliffe Burt
Ceramics 2
After coming to Trinity, I never thought ceramics would be a path for me, but after only two semesters here, I’m loving my journey here of uncovering a buried passion and working to perfect my art. As a student in my elementary school, I always loved working with clay, even though it only happened about one time a year. I remember walking into the art room and seeing the massive behemoth block of plastic clay, and was itching to get my hands in it. After these beloved elementary days my excitement for clay grew dull as I went through middle school where clay wasn’t in the curriculum. Luckily, I have been reunited with this medium sparking my passion and creativity which allows me to continue to push my skills .
For this collection, I wanted to focus on functional work while experimenting more on the wheel to better improve my technique. In Ceramics 1, I focused more on some of the more basic forms including bowls, plates, and mugs. In entering Ceramics 2, I definitely found more enjoyment in challenging my skills and creative process by focusing on crafting pieces of higher technical difficulty, like teapots, lidded forms and the perfect handle. I gained inspiration and motivation to create from Florian Gadsby and Shinobu Hashimoto, both potters who create videos on YouTube and document their creative processes.
My glaze technique was a mixture of painting on Tourmaline, Lustrous Jade, dipping Oasis and Pam’s Green. I then painted on with Indigo Float, Blue Midnight and Cobalt to create a theme of cooler colors ranging from a deep, thoughtful green over to a strong, forthright blue with combinations in between, with no two pieces being exactly the same.
This year, I applied to, and was accepted into IB 3D art for my junior year. That accomplishment has given me more inspiration to continue to create my best work yet. Undeniably in my time as a Ceramics 2 student, I have been able to focus on and expand my portfolio of technical skills, and have applied them to my work this semester and have grown not only as a student but as an artist as well.