Texture - 5.10.23

Experimental Statements

Inspired by the coiled spring shape, I wanted to experiment with how it felt to push it into the wet clay. This resulted in a beaten texture on the clay.

I wanted to explore how soft wet clay would react when the surface was dried with a heat gun then pushed from behind with a fist. This produced a craggy organic surface resembling a dried out dessert floor.

I used a pine cone pressed into soft clay to create an organic pattern then sliced into the clay with a knife creating a wavy pattern. The clay was then stretched by dangling it. Some of the clay naturally ripped off to leave a gentle fragile texture.

‘Man Made’/Mechanically Inspired Textures

Using a metal bolt I pressed it into leather hard clay to bore segments out of the clay creating an inverted texture . Using another metal object with smaller indentations played on top of the original indentations made the texture appear busier almost like a busy factory .

Using a soft clay tile I used a plastic shape cutter to create a symmetrical but overlying pattern that created an unbalanced mechanical texture.

Using a metal bolt slammed into wet clay a mechanical wheel texture was created along side spaces.

A leather hard tile was stamped into using lego bricks to create straight lines into the shell impressions. This made the tile texture to be linear but with a soft curly back ground.

Using a metal bike tool the soft clay was stamped into then punched from behind leaving an undulating but formed texture.

Natural World Inspired Textures

The clay tiles surface was dried using a blow torch and them pushed from behind using my fist .This created an undulating organic texture very similar to ploughed fields left to dry in the sun.

Laying and plating clay then pressing a nut to create further imbalance created a busy organic texture

Smooth and flattened clay pressed together then dried with a blow torch created a ripped disengaged texture .

A leather hard tile pressed into with a pine cone created a craggy undulating texture.

Pressing a sieve into wet clay produced a woven texture with many different shaped indentations.

Textures that each convey a feeling, emotion and /or sensation.

Overlapping clay using formed features on a soft tile that was then moulded from behind created facial features that took on textures and emotions of their own.Which could be the fear to getting something wrong or of not fitting in.

Soft clay tile pressed into by a nut then moulded from behind created expressions and a ruddy texture. Almost the need to display thoughts and feeling in a traditional format.

Lots of wet clay squeezed and mushed together to create a turbulent texture representing dilemma mixed feelings.

Laying on strips of clay them pressing a nut into the surface added dimension to the surface so it appeared organic but man made at the same time and feelings of calm and confusion.

Soft clay tile that was scratched then bent in half created a cavernous surface almost a feeling of despair.

Conclusion

Experimenting with the creative potential of clay as a medium has enabled me to express and explore different design concepts.I enjoyed using different experimental statements to change the surface and texture of the clay.