Kathryn Watson
Sculptural Ceramics
Urn
The beginnings of the Urn body of work came from the clay scrapings of the Strata series, tall vessels made from layers of different clay bodies. There was a need for a freer way of working after the constraints of the rigid forms, a textured surface where different clays mixed and merged. An element of abandon and intuition took over, of fantasy, of big ball stoppers, spiraling patterns and twisty handles that could never be used. Emulating elaborate, ornate stone urns elevated on plinths or at the end of a vista in a grand landscaped garden .They have been developing for some time referencing the ceramic vessels of early cultures and prehistoric rock carvings: the raw, unglazed, patterned surfaces combined with the motifs of concentric rings, spirals and cup and ring marks .




