Zak Holden Ceramicist & Maker

My 55-Word narrative

As part of my module I have been tasked with using a tool which combines ‘steam of consciousness’ writing with a short 55-word narrative about my project.

Here’s the task, step by step with my response.

• Start by writing a very free stream of consciousness account of your project. Ignoring all punctuation and spelling accuracy – for a period of 5 minutes.  Be as quick as you can and then read out what you have written. Look out for anything strange – repetitive or unusual.

The repetitive motion of the burnigshing, the lines and the forms, the turning of the wheel head spinning the clay as it molds and forms in the hand. Watching carefully as the fform realises. I wait I contemplate the form is it right do I feel that ive succeeded what is success lkines constant moving changing evolving no long what they once were but not about the finished result about the evolution the change and the adaption waiting for the kiln to open the axiety of clay the peaceful nature of the making the juxtpostion of it all finding a blanace finding yourself wand seeing hwat it measn to be peaceful no MINDful in practise. The heart slows the pace drops the turning turning turning of the tools on the clay the sunlight glistening and warming youas you work the sterady pace givs you an outcome a target something to truly find yourself within the practise of craft the nothingness and absence being in the moment and seeing every speckle of clay as it shines in the sunblight the surface reflective, warm hues of orange red and yellow, bathuing the clay. Inticing, seeing the time and energy that the vessel has collected weithin its body, the nergy of the maker, of the kiln, of the ground.

These are the words which I took from my ‘stream of consciousness’

Turning

Repetitive

Reflective

Anxiety

This is exactly as I wrote it, with no changes made, try and decipher what I have written :).

• Now write a story using one of the seven basic plots attached. It could be anything – actually some of the best were about quite mundane things that we can all identify with (e.g. waking up and having a wash) They have to be exactly 55 words long – not a single word longer or shorter –  the title is not counted but must be less that seven words. 

Slumberous

I wake. Mouth like sandpaper. Not wanting to expose my eyes to the light I stumble half-asleep though the darkness, mug in hand. I fumble to turn the tap and waste no time. The cold porcelain touches my lips as I desperately sate my thirst. I collapse back into bed. Now I have to pee…

• Now write out a statement about your own work in the style of one of the basic plots. 55 words exactly and then post it to your blog however mad it seems.

Forward

Your peacefulness within is shattered by an invisible demon you only recognise as Anxiety. It waits, watching with intent, waiting eagerly for the words “I can’t do this.” The demon can only be slain with the strength that lies not in muscles, but the within oneself. Steady your breath, calm your mind. Keep. Moving. Forward.

I really enjoyed the writing project and look forward to using it again in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zen Drawings

As part of my project I have been looking into different methods of mindful drawing and different meditative processes.

I found a certain affinity for this type of drawing known as a ‘Zen Tangle’, these drawings consist of loose rules or guides that inform you of what to do next. The drawing is complete whenever the practitioner feels he/she is finished.

Below are a couple of very short videos of a couple of the drawings that I have done.

 

Burnishing Bowls

Part of the process to making the vessels for my project is burnishing. Burnishing is where the platelets of the raw clay are compressed using a tool to create a reflective surface.

I find the process while time and energy intensive is also very therapeutic; the repetitive nature of the process definitely helps.

Below is a short video of me burnishing one of the bowls.

DIY Kiln

So the other week, my fiend Richard and I set about making a kiln – we had never attempted anything like this but were confident we would at least get a couple of successful pieces fired. The below images show the pieces we were trying to fire.

Using ordinary house bricks, breeze blocks, and Richard specially-made kiln bricks we assembled a fairly small kiln, powered by a coal and wood fire beneath, and further fuelled using an air supply.

The results varied depending on where they were palced in the kiln. For instance, the bowl had fired very low, and judging by the colour, it couldn’t have been any higher than 650 degrees. While the bowl fired very low, the large tile, while looked fired, was still crumbling.

Here’s the tile after a clean and a sand down. The way the sandpaper crumbled the tile made me realise how much below temperature the kiln must have been.

 

The experiment was a partial success, and I felt as though with more time to prepare, more kiln bricks and longer to fire the pieces we would have much better results.

3rd Meditation/Reflection

Firstly, I should apologise for not posting this on the Saturday. I ran out of daylight and unable to take a good photo of what I was drawing.

The final meditation session was calming and allowed me to focus more on the forms of the vessels that have had my attention for so long. I chose to reflect on them using drawing.

A 10-minute blind study of cylindrical vessel forms.

A 20-minute blind study of cylinder and bowl vessel forms.

 

Painted with slip and drawn using charcoal.

2nd Meditation/Reflection

This meditation was done listening to www.asoftmurmur.com – The website produces and endless and seamless loop of natural background noises to help limit distractions. I find the website to be really useful when meditating in a place that isn’t naturally quiet.

During my meditation I found myself using excess energy on thinking about the forms I have made for my project. Whether I am capable of producing them to a high quality. I noted these intrusive thoughts and resumed my meditation, but it’s these distracting thoughts that I have chosen to meditate upon.

The drawing below began with regular dot patterns, then was overlayed with a drawing of a vessel form with my non-domiant hand. I finished the drawing by expressing a new form of Vertical Line Drawing meditation that I hope to use within my work more.

1st Meditation/Reflection

The meditation began unfamiliar as I slowly adjusted to the new visual stimulation of the lights.

A quiet concentration was formed once I began focusing more on my breathing.

I meditated for around 10 minutes before wanting to end the machine’s program.

The drawing below is a simple Vertical Line drawing to settle into. Painted with terracotta slip.

1-Day Project – Meditation/Reflective Drawing

So for my live blogging task I have chosen to live blog my meditation and follow-up reflective drawing as it happens. I’m using a Meditation Machine (shown below) to accompany and aid my meditation. The machine provides strobe lighting and binaural beats to aid meditation both visually and audibly.

So my process of meditation and reflection will hopefully go like this:

• Meditate 10-15 minutes using the Meditation Machine.
• Reflectively Draw for 10-15 minutes on paper using a variety of materials, and reflect in writing about craft, project and meditation.
• Upload the image and writing in my next post.
• Repeat again, noting any changes to the plan.

A Meditation in Clay

As I draw down the clay, I am not critical of how the line moves and changes; acting only as a passive observer I watch the evolution of the lines on the canvas. For the brief period of the task there are no outside disturbances or distracting thoughts, only the clay, and only the line.