Context Video
Critical Reflection
At the start of the year, all I knew was that I enjoyed creating beautiful things. Through this project, I’ve explored my interests more deeply and discovered the reasons behind what I’m drawn to. The core theme throughout S&R has been how beauty and functionality should coexist. I am deeply tied to the role of functional everyday objects and their potential to bring beauty into daily routines and rituals. In this project, I explored the idea of creating objects that could be shared and conversed over to enhance connection through functionality and beauty.
A book that was extremely influential in deepening my understanding of my ethos was ‘The Beauty of Everyday Objects’, By Soetsu Yinagi. This book was a turning point for me as it put into words things I have been trying to express since I began my ceramic journey. Elements from this book have deeply influenced not only how I view my craft, but also how I approach my practical work. The notion of longevity spoke to me as it made me realise that the key to creating a ‘meaningful object’ is not something that can be engineered; it comes with time so that objects can absorb the essence of memories, people, and place. This element gave me the initial drive to centre my practical work on skill refinement and repeatability, recognising that the better an object is made, the more likely it is to endure over time. The other main motivation comes from my drive to make my practice as developed as possible, ready for me to enter the professional world after university.
My work is deeply rooted in process, both the process of making and my interest in my internal processes and how they both come together to enhance my journey of self-discovery. My practical interest throughout has been looking at the capabilities of clay and how my schema of that has changed as I have improved my skill level. I am incredibly proud of how far I have come since the beginning of this project. For me, I have realised that ceramics is a full-circle experience. Every ounce of energy and thought I put into it I get back two-fold, helping me deepen my understanding of ng of myself along with my material.
In hindsight, identifying my focus earlier would have streamlined my process; while I explored various elements like bowls and additional concepts, concentrating on refinement from the start could have elevated the final outcome even further. However, I can confidently say that within this project, I exhausted all avenues and did whatever it took to create a resolution that I was proud of.
I think that the future for this concept is bright as I am completely committed to the quest of refinement and this project has enabled me to deepen the relationship between myself, material, and purpose. I am glad that I can end my university degree having a clear understanding of my ethos being centred around the idea that we should not have to sacrifice beauty in the utilitarian objects we have in our everyday lives, instead, we should embrace it as part of an elevated, divine experience.
