Magnolia Watertight by Susan Nemeth 2024

Material: Porcelain, coloured slips, glaze, ceramic transfers, deconstructed transfers from the historical Spode Factory, gold leaf
Technique: Coiled and squeezed, 15 layers of painted, coloured, transparent slips, Poured glaze, Ceramic transfers made from my own photographs, Applied gold leaf, 4 firings, highest 1290 degrees
Measurements: H 48 cm Diam. 33 cm

Focusing on materiality and process my work responds to how we exist in the world: the real, the remembered, and the imagined, and how traces of existence mark time and identity. I am interested in the delicate and fragile nature of living things. The fragile, decaying flowers of a beautiful magnolia tree in my garden were the inspiration here. I liked the way the petals were spider-like. I think of the entrance to the pot as visceral: a mouth contrasting with the pretty flowers.