Mobilizing Drawings

For many years I have been blind drawing, almost ritualistically as a part of my daily art practice, and always feeling like the drawings needed to be extended beyond their short lifespan of process, and then being kept quietly in sketchbooks that rarely got opened.

Over the summer I made many coil built pots, form inspired by ancient greek and egyptian pottery, intending to make pottery that appeared like an artefact, that could perhaps be made by any hands in any era. Intuitively, I felt compelled to scribe onto the surface of the pots, carving scenes and portraits that I had blind drawn long ago. I didn't immediately see the connection between these scenes and the greek and egyptian narrative bearing pots that I had been inspired by. I also have a fondness for Grayson Perry's work. I feel torn about whether to continue this as a part of my degree practice. On the one hand, the drawings have been such a constant in my work that mobilizing them on pots makes sense as a part of the work, making place and placement tangible, but on the other hand the work could be seen as derivative and slightly too literal. The process of making interests me, in some ways more than the actual finished product, although I do like the finished work. The process itself is like a deep meditation, fragmented into many parts- Draw, many times over, coil the pot, dry, carve scene into pot, fire, glaze, fire. I like the idea of a long process in making something. It increases the preciousness for me.