The test pieces I’ve been working on are developing gradually, and I’ve got a few initial vessel forms in progress. Although the lockdown situation is challenging and things are very unknown, there is somewhat of a plus side in that I have some extra time to focus on my practice while not teaching. Now that we are gradually moving out of lockdown, its more feasible to get to the studio several days per week.
I tend to make test pieces in stages, with them serving different purposes. They are a pretty essential part in my making ‘journey’. The flat pieces are how I work out imagery and composition, as well as colour and marks/lines, and what combination of techniques will work. Three dimensional forms are a useful way to translate a drawing of a form, and to see what works and what doesn’t. I often switch back and forth between drawings on paper, and test pieces in clay. Its a fairly organic process, and there is no set time that it will all take. There is often a stage of pieces for me that are not fully ‘resolved’, but are more evolved than the initial tests.
