Through the outsourcing and mechanisation of labour and the outsourcing of materials, we have steadily become increasingly distanced from the objects that surround us, the processes involved in their making and the materials from which they are comprised.
We ceramists tend to think of ourselves as having a heightened understanding of material and process, but in truth it is rare that we consider where our raw powders come from – how they are extracted, who extracts them and what immediate environmental impact their extraction might have.
Through technical experimentation with locally sourced clays, shells and ashes, I have begun to build a portfolio of natural, abundant materials which will aid me in taking greater responsibility for my own environmental and ethical impact, granting myself greater agency over my practice.
I hope to use this portfolio to achieve beautiful, functional surfaces which resonate with their natural origins and which will adorn every-day objects to be cherished by their user.
I see my practice almost as an act of resistance, crafting functional wares which offer an alternative to those mass produced, consumed and then discarded so readily.
Trwy gyrchu o gyflenwyr allanol a mecaneiddio llafur a chyrchu deunyddiau o ffynonellau allanol, rydyn i wedi dod yn raddol fwyfwy pell o’r gwrthrychau sydd o’n cwmpas, y prosesau sy’n ymwneud â’u gwneuthuriad a’r deunyddiau maent wedi’u gwneud ohonynt.
Rydym ni ceramegwyr yn tueddu i feddwl am ein hunain fel meddu ar ddealltwriaeth graffach o ddeunydd a phroses, ond mewn gwirionedd anaml y byddwn yn ystyried o ble mae ein powdrau crai yn dod – sut maent yn cael eu hechdynnu, pwy sy’n eu hechdynnu a beth allai effaith amgylcheddol uniongyrchol eu hechdynnu fod.
Trwy arbrofi technegol gyda chleiai, cregyn a lludw lleol, rwy wedi dechrau creu portffolio o ddeunyddiau naturiol, toreithiog a fydd yn fy helpu i gymryd mwy o gyfrifoldeb dros f’effaith amgylcheddol a moesegol fy hun, gan roi mwy o reolaeth i mi dros f’arfer fy hun.
Fy ngobaith yw defnyddio’r portffolio hwn i gyflawni arwynebau hardd, ymarferol sy’n cydfynd â’u gwreiddiau naturiol ac a fydd yn addurno gwrthrychau bob dydd iddynt gael eu gwerthfawrogi gan eu defnyddiwr.
Rwy’n gweld f’arfer fel gweithred gwrthdystio, gan grefftio darnau ymarferol sy’n cynnig dewis amgen i’r rhai sy’n cael eu masgynhyrchu, eu defnyddio ac yna eu taflu mor barod.
