Argyll Hope Spot Trust Residency Application
Supporting Images
The following images show material research from coastlines across Scotland, Iceland and Norway; the threads of which slowly pull together over the years to result in The Cephalopod Vase.
Site documentation and experiments illustrate my process of responding to place and gathering ideas, techniques which I would love to explore further in the Kilchoan area.
The Cephalopod Vase, 2024
"[The] Cephalopod Vase is a beguiling creature. From some angles it appears to have emerged from the briny deep; at times it feels almost extraterrestrial. It has a shimmering presence that stands apart from time"
- Bard Scotland
Site Research
Painting with pigments found on location.
Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland
Colour matching found objects using a facsimile of Werner's Dictionary of Colour.
Building up a picture of the colours, textures and shapes in a particular location.
Sketchbook of material research from harbour location near residency studios
Imagining the world beneath the surface of the water
Materials: Mud and Clay Silts collected from Quarry next to harbour wall, Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland, Egg Yolk, Vinegar
Looking at water samples under a microscope and discovering a hidden world of diatoms, algaes and single celled organisms, impossible to see by the naked eye.
Seaweed on Bedrock
Interpretation of underwater vents
gushing mineral-rich water into the ocean.
Experimentation
Just like using a microscope, foraged glazes can be used to make hidden information about a site visible to an audience...
A selection of the glaze experiments on test tiles
Mountain Box, 2024, coated in an experimental glaze that uses wild clay collected ethically from the East coast of Scotland
Creating a glaze from harvested materials gives an indication of the chemical and mineral composition of an area. e.g: a higher iron content may create a dark brown glaze, or mica-rich clays might shimmer in the light.
Notes created whilst developing a glaze using sustainably harvested seaweed from Gairloch and shells from Loch Fyne and Flatanger, Norway.
Exploring Form
Working from the shapes of Kelp fronds and Jellyfish found in the Minch, Gairloch.
This experimentation led to the design of a series of trays for the seaweed ash glaze, which went on to inspire the undulating forms of the Cephalopod Vase.
Continuing to explore the possibilites of the shapes I can create, this time through the wall-hung sculpture, The Nest for Curiosities.
Barrel Jellyfish, spotted near Gairloch, the form of which goes on to inspire the Cephalopod Vase.
The completed Contemplation Trays, 2024. Coated in seaweed ash glaze made with Loch Fyne mussel shells
An alternative idea, where the structure is left more open and linear.
The Nest for Curiosities reimagines the form of the Bladder Wracks' floating mechanism. The gas-filled bladders which allow it float on the surface of the water, are opened up in cross-section and their shapes transformed into a sculptural wall-hung cabinet.
Starting to pull the shapes of seaweed fronds into a more three-dimensional shape which undulates and flows; inspired by a kelp forest spotted in an ocean current.
This idea is scaled up gradually over a series of different sculptures;
eventually finding itself in the Cephalopod Vase
The Cephalopod Vase, 2024
The glaze made from Gairloch seaweed has a rough, mottled appearance that reflects the textures of peatlands and heather that surround the area...
Materials: terracotta crank clay, seaweed ash glaze: seaweed ethically harvested from the North West coast of Scotland, Mussel Shells from Loch Fyne, Metallic glaze
...through its form and materiality, the Cephalopod Vase becomes a part of the landscape it was inspired by....