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FLOWS ON PORCELAIN

DESCRIPTION: Intense and detailed textural Flows built onto a porcelain under-sheet and the whole work is fired as one, creating a naturally wavy porcelain border. The work is then float-mounted onto a linen board for framing.

IDEAL SETTING: Domestic or small scale spaces where the detail in the surface of the beads and Flow can be appreciated close up; at over 10m distance they start to resemble a velvety texture.

NOT SUITABLE FOR: Outside.

SIZE: Limited by the kiln: the porcelain size is no more than 65cms x 65cms (on any size mount board).

PRESENTATION: These delicate works require framing for protection either in painted wood with museum glass or Perspex (Lucite) cover frame.

SHIPPING: Flows on porcelain require specialist art shipping because the porcelain under-sheet is vulnerable to stress fracture when knocked.

TRADE PRICING: These works can be any size (within 65 x 65 cm) and are costed by porcelain size at £18,000.00 per sq. metre with no additional cost for mount board size. For example:
Largest size possible (65 x 65 cm porcelain + mount board) £7,605.00 + VAT for natural porcelain.

Colour stain extra 10%
Two tone colour extra 20%

PRESENTATION OPTIONS

Colour

If colour is required, a stain is mixed into the porcelain clay before the beads are made. There is a wide variety of colour available. Sometimes the beads are made with two colours of porcelain to make two tone beads and give a more dramatic effect as the colour changes from one side of the work to the other. (For example, opposite the beads are turquoise and grey, below they are charcoal and white).

Find out more information on colour options.

Size Limited

The porcelain beads are built directly onto a porcelain sheet, held in place with slip (runny porcelain), the whole sheet is then fired in the kiln to make one single piece of work. The porcelain shrinks, wavers and sometimes tears apart in the kiln.

Delicacy

Flows on board to not require covering with glass or perspex for general protection: we recommend that they are finished with a frame or border to contain the Flow and make a tidy cover to the edge of the board.

Mount board

The porcelain sheet is carefully lifted out of the kiln and mounted onto a linen board and, once this has been stuck, it cannot be removed and the linen cannot be changed.

Shown is our standard natural linen; you may provide your own choice of linen (or other material) and choose the size of mount board to define the linen border size around the porcelain.

Frame choice

These delicate works can be left "naked" on the mount board if for display in a clean and quiet environment but, for protection from knocks, they require framing either in a painted wood frame with museum glass or in a Perspex (Lucite) cover frame.

With either frame choice, it is possible to change frames without affecting the mount board.

Hanging

Metal fixings are screwed into the mount board for hanging (the frames are just for protection and cannot support the weight of the work).

Flows are best lit by light passing across the surface with down/up/cross lighting to bring out the texture - the Flow flattens out with direct lighting.

WOODEN FRAMES

Painted wood frame with museum glass

Museum glass has a special coating which helps to reduce reflection and has UV resistance to stop the linen fading (porcelain colours do not fade). The frame is held in place with special clips and tape, but the mount board can be removed for re-framing without any sign.

Painted wood frame with museum glass (outer corner)

The frame is usually painted in off-white and waxed with a slight sheen. The usual depth of the frame is 6cms.

Painted wood frame with museum glass (inner corner)

The fillets inside the frame to hold the mount board in place are usually covered in the same linen as the mount board.

PERSPEX COVER FRAME

Perspex (Lucite) cover Frame

This frame has been designed from a single sheet of perspex especially for Flows: it has no glued joins so allows a freedom of view from any angle. The frame is attached by small screws into the side of the mount board but can be removed without leaving any sign. The corners where the sheet edges meet are slightly open.

It is very strong with an open view, but is easily scratched, very shiny and has openings.

Perspex cover frame (outer corner)

The depth of the frame is usually approx. 7cms, but can be made bespoke to any requirement.

Perspex cover frame (inner corner)

The frame allows visibility from all angles, without blocking view.

Yellow-pink fade Ebb_edited-1.jpg — Installations

EBB

DESIGNERS GUIDE HOME >>

Colour

The nature and colour of porcelain

Porcelain is naturally a creamy white colour and so any colour added is softened; black, for example, is more charcoal and red tends to be pink. Porcelain has a slightly glassy surface and because my work is so textural, the light bounces in all directions and tends to pick up surrounding colours from the room. I have often been asked how many colours are in a natural porcelain Flow when there are none – just porcelain doing its thing. If in doubt about colour, you can do no wrong with using natural porcelain.

Adding colour

Most potters give colour to their work through pouring glaze onto the surface or painting stains on. Colour is added to my work by mixing stains into the porcelain body – that is the porcelain clay is coloured right through. This way the porcelain surface is visible and the colour is more reliable.

Origins of porcelain colouring

Colours are derived not from the pigments used in paints but developed from the clever mixing of elements, such as copper, cobalt and iron, which can survive the extreme firing temperature of porcelain (1,300 degrees centigrade). We purchase these stains from a range of ceramics suppliers and they alter from batch to batch. For all these reasons, the range of colours is somewhat limited compared to paint charts and the results are more instinct than science.

Colour range

We have mixed up our current range of colour stains to check how they are coming out. At first glance, it looks like there is a big choice but there are only about 10 colours in varying levels of saturation. The colour charts below give an indication of what we are working with.

Lighting

The biggest difference to colour comes from lighting; it’s direction, colour and strength, or lack of it. By directing lighting across the work from one direction, the texture wakes up and dances, and the colours vary with reflections and shadows. A light directly on the work, or no light, flattens the texture and reduces the colour palette

Two tone colour

For two tone, the uppermost side of each “bead” of porcelain is a different colour to the rest of the bead. I developed this idea to emphasise the texture of a Flow; as you pass across the work the colour of the texture changes from one to the other and the whole Flow appears to shift. This is created by a thin layer of stained porcelain and often the colour behind is visible through, making an interesting surface close up. It is an extra cost and so only worth considering if the Flow will be in a position to pass by and may be visible from close-up, as well as afar.

Samples

We do not have prepared samples and do not lend out our colour master cards (in the pictures). Even with supplied stains, colours are unreliable due to variances of stain batches and firing variables. With textural work in porcelain, it is better to work on an indication of colour rather than holding onto a match because the colour will alter with lighting and other colours around more than fabric or paint colour.