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This is the final section of my Earth to Earth film capturing the aurora borealis.
24th October 2011.
Location: Carn Treliwyd, Pembrokeshire, Wales – 51° 54 N 5° 16 W
Aspect: Looking North East towards Strumble Head along the North Pembrokeshire coast.
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The starting point for this idea comes from my degree in Archaeology and Anthropology. One strong rhetoric within archaeology is that the placing of standing stones, the burial of the dead and building of monuments all has strong associations with the surrounding landscape. The location of these is seen as a veneration of the landscape and nature and it is this concept that I am particularly interested in.
I wanted to place an object in a beautiful location in the hope that it would draw attention to its surroundings, as a homage to nature. I see bells as a universal symbol of the sacred and an ideal choice for this.
As this concept developed, I have discovered three things that captured my imagination:
In Meissen, Germany, famous for its porcelain, Paul Börner made porcelain bells for the cathedral up to 50cm in height. Thought by some to be a masterpiece.
Secondly, that across the world, past and present single resonant stones or rock gongs, are used as a substitute for bells. The local village of Maenclochog – meaning ringing stone has in the surrounding area prehistoric sounding rocks.
Finally, another local legend. In a tiny chapel built into the sea cliffs of Pembrokeshire St.Govan had a silver bell. Stolen by pirates, it was returned to him by angels and encased in a huge rock, which would ring if struck. Legend has it that the rock is still among the boulders on the foreshore at St.Govans
N.B. The bell was only hung while I documented it hanging in the cave entrance. It appears this has been misunderstood by some and has been seen as intrusive to the natural environment. Had I left it there, I would agree.
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I have used seaweed in my work for some time, laying it directly onto the surface of pots during firing. For years I have been meaning to test its use as a glaze component. Wood ash is commonly used in glazes as is other organic matter, I have only ever seen one reference to seaweed ash. It took a sack full of seaweed to make a handful of ash, enough for a few tests.
It is so rewarding using raw materials from my surroundings. I am often struck by the subtlety of the materials and how they exude there location. These tests with seaweed ash definitely have a sense of the atlantic about them. Every raw material that I collect has a unique quality, a strength of character that prevails through the extreme metamorphic processes of the firing.
I left a Votive Jar among the kelps and Worts, which have been such a rich and important resource for thousands of years.
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My brother, photojournalist Greg Rodland Buick, has completed the final edit of a short documentary about my work. I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. The discipline of having to portray what my work is about in five or six minutes was a very insightful process. I hope you enjoy it.
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Between the cliffs and the fields lies a stretch of common land, through which runs the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Much of the land is now owned by the National Trust. This stretch of wilderness that can seem like a wild landscape of rock, sea and heath is in fact managed and maintained. One of ways this is done is by burning back the invasive gorse to allow for greater bio-diversity.
A major part of the ceramic process is fire, so for some time I have thought about placing a vessel in the path of one of these controlled fires. I suppose mainly I was curious about what affect it would have on the surface of the piece. I have to admit it also appealed to my boyish fascination with fire. Big fire, burn pot.
By placing my work here, it made me think about our understanding of landscape and nature. How what we perceive as natural and wild is often actually highly maintained. The human influence on the natural world is often overlooked in our aesthetic appreciation of a beautiful landscape.
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We went for a walk down to a nearby cove at the weekend. Sitting at the base of the cliff I noticed a trickle of water running out over the bed rock. On closer inspection the rock seemed to be decomposing. It looked like clay.
Clay is decomposed rock particularly associated with granite, there are two main types, primary and secondary clay. Secondary clay is by far the most common and usually has a low firing temperature. Primary clay is more pure, found at the source of decomposition and more resilient to heat. Could this be a primary clay? It would be exciting if it is as primary clays are very useful if you work with stoneware. Tests will tell.
I made a little pinch pot to test the plasticity and took a sample back to the studio encased between two limpet shells.
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Just came across this photograph I took last year. It is the view from the track up to my studio. Some days I hardly notice the sea, others I am mesmerised. I have already forgotten how it looked today tomorrow will be something new.
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