Gillian Parke

My work explores the fusion of rough and fine textures and surfaces into complete pieces of ceramics. The roughness is embodied in the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in the natural imperfections that arise when throwing and firing stoneware; the fineness emanates from traditional Western manufactured porcelain ceramics. Feldspar inclusions are added to porcelain, and the resulting surfaces are achieved through a combination of an unpredictable atmospheric gas firing and reliable electric firing. The conflict is further explored by incorporating open-stock decals and metallic lusters  resulting in each piece electric fired up to a dozen times.