Update on ceramics

Explosion in the Art Department

Yesterday morning we opened the kiln door and found this....

I cannot really describe how it felt to see this, but what we had put in there the day before were three sculptures, one of which was a ring by Mariana Botte in year 13:

Needless to say, Mariana was heartbroken, and so was the whole staff who watched her spend weeks working on the details on this piece. Today, early in the morning I found her and convinced her to work on a new piece, not necessarily the same, but hopefully as interesting. Mariana made a huge effort to overcome her disappointment and a new piece is indeed being created. I hope I can share an image of it intact after firing it at half term. 

Luckily there are some stunning photographs if this ring. These things happen but we are never really prepared. Another piece in the kiln was a sculpted guitar by one of our year 11 students, the second version of a previously exploded guitar... Today we carved a third version. 

Whatever happens...we do not give up!

Art Trip to Vieira da Silva

The making of an Elephant....

Carolina de Pontes has just completed an outstanding stoneware sculpture of an elephant. This was her creative response to the theme "FORCE"

The finalised sculpture

GCSE Exhibition

The vernissage for the 2014 GCSE exhibition was a wonderful celebration of the many hours of hard work that the students put into their course. The Quinta dos Caniços was an idyllic venue and highlighted the exceptional standard of the work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

The Well

Our Art Department is located in what would have been a cellar of an 18th century palace.....Yes, it sounds amazing but it has its issues (absence of windows and natural light is one). Even though we do have struggle with lack of space, we enjoy the intimate character of our studios. We also enjoy a spectacularly stable temperature (just like a great cellar). We are never very cold or very hot. In a busy day, I sometimes am completely unaware of the weather outside.

One of the outstanding features of our department is the well....We have a well in the middle of the studio, with water and all. There are stories around the well. Someone told me that a gun was once found in it.
We struggled to find use to the well. I sometimes try to convince our younger students that if they don't behave they might end up in detention inside the well.

Meanwhile, we fill it with junk and turn it into a still-life composition. Its the perfect introduction for year 10 students (who start by hating us teachers, and then become very proud of their achievements)

 

Art, Science,Technology...and all those boxes

Theo Jansen