Hasta La Ideas

War-torn cities, dinosaur fossils and destroyed art inspire thoughtful ceramics

Sculpting work based on images from conflict-ravaged cities, British ceramist Mary-Jane Evans presents adaptations that somehow resonate with the same sense of destruction as war itself. Inspired by places like Beirut that are seen every day on local news bulletins, she started creating these individual buildings—entitled “Cities” and “Ruins”—that eventually develop into large-scale pieces. Evans’ most recent work “Ruins” is currently being presented in the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art in London .

According to Evans she begins each piece intuitively to allow the structures to evolve and develop on their own throughout her process. To create a burnt effect she multi-fires the ceramic at 1,300 degrees Celsius and adds corrosive materials such as copper and oxides. Evans’ violently affected ceramics compel observers to look beyond the physical appearance of her pieces in order to contemplate the inevitable destruction of war.

For “Coast Series” Evans drew inspiration from the fossils littering the coastline of Dorset in the South West of England where she grew up, crafting wall-mounted pieces she created from her own photographs of the beach treasures. The same Jurassic inspiration carried over to the site-specific installation “Trails,” which, explains Evans, “evolved and grew and finally ended in destruction.

Evans recently ventured into creating smaller pieces of art that double as one-of-a-kind jewelry. The ceramic necklaces, buttons, and rings appear to be shards of a greater piece of art or destroyed structure, allowing the owner to be connected to the artist’s original mission.

Evan teaches many of her personal ceramic techniques in workshops run in her studio, as well as in a course at Kingswood School in Bath. The Summer Exhibition containing Evans’ work will run until 12 August. For more information on Evans and her work visit her website.

Japan’s Starnet share their most recent creations at Heath Ceramics Los Angeles

In their first visit to the United States, Japan’s famed Starnet artisans fill Heath Ceramics in Los Angeles with a gallery of handcrafted designs. Curated by Shin Nakahara of Playmountain and Heath’s Adam Silverman, the Starnet Works summer shop features delicate ceramics, hand-worked leather goods, dyed textiles, wooden boards and chopsticks, photography prints and light boxes.

Founded in 1998 by designer Baba Koshi, the original Starnet location in Mashiko, Japan has grown into a gallery, cafe, studio and shop. Now Starnet has gallery spaces in Tokyo and Osaka and a growing number of fans throughout the world.

Shin toasted the summer shop and its showcase of modern Japanese pottery with Silverman upon its opening. “This line is very daring and offers a new challenge for Starnet,” he explains. “Its sensitive approach to its design, directed by my friend and pottery master Baba san, uses a specific type of clay and glaze from a town in Japan called Mashiko. I believe the series of Nukajiro is truly indigenous to Mashiko, while quietly breaking new ground in Japanese pottery.”

The Starnet Works Summer Shop is on view at Heath Los Angeles until 10 September. Pieces can be purchased in person at the Los Angeles location or by viewing the online gallery and calling Heath Ceramics Los Angeles to place orders by phone.

Milan 2012: Dutch designers Scholten & Baijings showed a varied service based on the archives of hand-painted porcelain company 1616 Arita Japan at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan last week.

The Colour Porcelain collection is decorated with three different levels of intensity, selecting traditional colours from the company’s archives on the the pale grey background of natural porcelain.

Each set includes plates, cups, bowls, serving platters, candleholders, vases and a tea set.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile took place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here and see more images in our Facebook album and on our Pinterest board.

You can see all our stories about ceramics here.

Here’s some more information from Scholten & Baijings:

At the request of 1616 Arita, one of the oldest (1616) Japanese porcelain manufacturers, Scholten & Baijings designed a very comprehensive porcelain service. The collection consists of three series: Minimal, Colourful and Extraordinary. In addition to exclusive plates, cups and bowls, each series also comprises serving platters, candleholders, vases and a tea set.

The distinctive Japanese Arita porcelain is renowned for its superb quality, where fine hand-painted decorations play a central role. The tradition of porcelain painting dates back to 1616, when the abducted Korean potter Yi Sam-Sam-Pyeong discovered a superior quality clay in Arita.

For the collection of 1616 Arita, Scholten & Baijings prepared a colour analysis involving historical masterpieces. Typical Japanese colours, such as aquarelle blue, light green, red-orange and yellow ochre, were the ones that played a prominent role.

These colours have been used individually in the new designs, but together they form the specific Arita colour spectrum. The results are layered colour compositions, executed in different shades of glaze, in combination with the natural porcelain colour. The latter has a special delicate grey-white hue, which makes it unique in the world.

The names of the series refer to the amount of colour, details and patterns used. ‘Colour Porcelain – Extraordinary’ is the most elaborately finished version.

By applying the compositions to an extremely functional service, a splendid dialogue has been created between applied art and everyday use. The combination of this traditional craftsmanship and Scholten & Baijings’ recognizable signature style has resulted in a unique mix of Asian and European culture.

Designed in Hackney: designer Ian McIntyre hand-crafted this pottery collection for furniture brand Another Country at his Hoxton studio in the London borough of Hackney and fired some of the pieces in his own kilns.

The range of tableware includes a jug, pinch pot, plate, bowl and cup.

The pieces explore the properties of different clays including industrial terracotta, stoneware and porcelain.

Another Country first presented the ceramics as part of their Series Two collection during the London Design Festival 2011.

Ian McIntyre graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010 and we featured his degree project on Dezeen, which was a set of tableware that included Chai teacups. His studio is located on Ermine Mews, just behind Kingsland Road in Hoxton.

Key:

Blue = designers
Red = architects
Yellow = brands

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Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney each day until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.