This project was based on the contents of the Hunt Museum, which houses a wide variety of art, crafts and history collected by the Hunt family over the years for public display. We were asked to take inspiration from the pieces on display at the museum
, focusing on ornate decoration in particular. I was personally drawn to two pieces more than the others, a French rosary decade and an iron tiara from Russia. I sketched and photographed the two repeatedly from a variety of angles to get a full understanding of their make up.
, focusing on ornate decoration in particular. I was personally drawn to two pieces more than the others, a French rosary decade and an iron tiara from Russia. I sketched and photographed the two repeatedly from a variety of angles to get a full understanding of their make up.
Then I took elements from these two pieces and combined them, experimenting with pattern and repeats to see what had the most interesting effect for me. I found that layering up a flower detail from the tiara with an image of a sketch of the skull at the base of the rosary was the most successful to me, and then I began to work in paper to create a 3D model.
Almost as soon as I began to work in 3D, I realised a larger vessel would have a 
far more imposing effect on the viewer, and built up some large scale ideas to try and work out the problems that might occur. Making the vessels in clay was quite a challenge, as I made each skull and flower from press moulds to give consistency, but this also meant that I had to build up the vessels piece by piece, rather like a puzzle instead of working in one solid sheet of clay, and consequently it required a lot of support as I was making them. I had to find large moulds of the correct size and shape to support the clay, and not allow the
base to dry before I had finished the top, as well as ensuring that the base was thicker than the rim to give support at the bottom and not have any extra weight at the top. I wanted to give a really delicate, lacy finish to the vase, and make it even more overpowering to look at, so I made a sprig mould mimiking the flower pattern from the tiara and used it to make cut out flowers to attach to the top as a rim.
far more imposing effect on the viewer, and built up some large scale ideas to try and work out the problems that might occur. Making the vessels in clay was quite a challenge, as I made each skull and flower from press moulds to give consistency, but this also meant that I had to build up the vessels piece by piece, rather like a puzzle instead of working in one solid sheet of clay, and consequently it required a lot of support as I was making them. I had to find large moulds of the correct size and shape to support the clay, and not allow the
base to dry before I had finished the top, as well as ensuring that the base was thicker than the rim to give support at the bottom and not have any extra weight at the top. I wanted to give a really delicate, lacy finish to the vase, and make it even more overpowering to look at, so I made a sprig mould mimiking the flower pattern from the tiara and used it to make cut out flowers to attach to the top as a rim.
Glazing these pieces was something I had only begun to consider as the semester ended, and I hope to finish of the pieces in naturalistic colours to give an overall effect of a plant or flower vase, enticing the viewer to look closer, untill they realise that there are skulls hidden amonst the flowers, giving a slightly macabre twist on a classic vase.
