STATEMENT

Edinburgh born Artist, Lorraine Robson, makes beautiful, thought provoking, sophisticated hand-built ceramics that pay homage to ancient skills while embracing contemporary influences. She creates intuitively, a fusion of ideas, drawing on a kaleidoscope of images and observations to make work with a unique identity balanced between manufactured, machine made and organic references.

Inspiration, perhaps only a glimpse in the finished work, stems from Lorraine’s interest in nature, human form, primitive tools, childhood games and cross cultural museum artefacts, along with a myriad of observations from every day life.

 “It intrigues me to toy with these influences outwith the context I find them in.”

With ideas, the sculptural qualities in ceramics are of utmost importance to Lorraine. That is her roots.  Interest is in form rather than relying on surface colour or pattern to capture imagination. She, therefore, deliberately chooses a monochrome pallet of one overall colour to focus on subtleties of shape and form.

Her ceramic sculptures, often dictated by the classic vessel form and containment, are not designed as functional pieces. She uses coiling as her main method of construction, slab and pinching for more complex forms.  The surface is then refined using metal scrapers and further worked using abrasive papers when dry. It can take upwards of six hours physical work to build each vessel over a period of weeks. 

Each vessel is fired a minimum of three times in a kiln. Between each firing, increasing to a top temperature of 1150˚C, the surface is sanded and polished using silicon carbide paper, then diamond abrasives, working through the grades, coarse to fine. Finally, a museum quality wax polish is applied and buffed to a soft sheen to seal the surface and enhance the colour of the naked clay.

“In a world where pressure is on instant results, dominated by commercialism and technology, I enjoy the meditative nature of allowing the form to evolve with handwork, imagination, and human labour using the most primitive and natural materials available - the earth itself”.

Her recent solo exhibition at Roger Billcliffe Gallery Glasgow is a result of eight month’s research and creative development supported by the Scottish Arts Council.

 

 

SELECTION OF EXHIBITIONS