Ian Chapman
Ian Chapman studied three dimensional design at Manchester Polytechnic (now MMU) in the 1970s, where he first experienced clay. After a career in teaching he retired in 2011 to concentrate on ceramics
Ian makes pots, wall panels and dishes, and the forms have a sense of balance in form and decoration with arrangements of lines, textures and colours. His influences are from the design world: architecture, abstraction and sculpture, as well as the paintings of early twentieth century abstract artists, especially Ben Nicholson and the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Also his own two dimensional collages and mixed media abstracts he created in Portugal have been an inspiration for decoration.
When creating his pieces, sketches and design ideas on paper come first, then ideas are transferred to slabs of clay. As the clay dries the forms are made and are refined before incised linear, textured and slip decoration are applied. After biscuit firing, an oxide is washed into the lines and textures to emphasise these features. Glazes, usually matt or semi matt, are sprayed on thinly, to be fired in a gas kiln at a stoneware temperature of about 1280 degrees.
After the stoneware firing the decoration of some pots continues with areas of colour added to enhance and balance the composition of the decoration. This is like making a three dimensional painting. The pots are then fired at a lower temperature of about 1100 degrees. The process can be repeated until the pot has a balanced appearance.
Ian Chapman studied three dimensional design at Manchester Polytechnic (now MMU) in the 1970s, where he first experienced clay. After a career in teaching he retired in 2011 to concentrate on ceramics
Ian makes pots, wall panels and dishes, and the forms have a sense of balance in form and decoration with arrangements of lines, textures and colours. His influences are from the design world: architecture, abstraction and sculpture, as well as the paintings of early twentieth century abstract artists, especially Ben Nicholson and the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Also his own two dimensional collages and mixed media abstracts he created in Portugal have been an inspiration for decoration.
When creating his pieces, sketches and design ideas on paper come first, then ideas are transferred to slabs of clay. As the clay dries the forms are made and are refined before incised linear, textured and slip decoration are applied. After biscuit firing, an oxide is washed into the lines and textures to emphasise these features. Glazes, usually matt or semi matt, are sprayed on thinly, to be fired in a gas kiln at a stoneware temperature of about 1280 degrees.
After the stoneware firing the decoration of some pots continues with areas of colour added to enhance and balance the composition of the decoration. This is like making a three dimensional painting. The pots are then fired at a lower temperature of about 1100 degrees. The process can be repeated until the pot has a balanced appearance.
