Printmaking within the applied arts is an extremely diverse practice that can extend the concept of what a print can be. Rather than the dissemination of published images and text, in this context printed information is transformed into objects and materials, ceramics, textiles, tableware, clothing. Prints such as these are not ʻreproductionʼ they are ʻproductionʼ.Process is crucial to both printmaking and the applied arts and the determining aspect of production plays a vital part in defining the qualities of a work such as print-decorated ceramic objects. To work with a printmaking process in this sector requires interpretation, predictive foresight and a degree of ʻthinking-through-makingʼ to transpose an image into the physical world of materials and objects. Printmaking, specifically within the ceramic discipline, is often plagued by issues of integrity brought about by problems relating to ʻdivisionʼ, these issues include: - - The physical divisions between image and object - The divided tasks in production that can disrupt thinking and making - A division of perceptions surrounding the surface/form relationship that considers the surface as supplementary or artificial Commercial production has developed approaches and techniques to integrate surface and form, combat these negative perceptions and raise the value of this type of work. These methods are not, however, always appropriate or accessible to individual ceramist-printmakers working in the studio. How can this sector overcome these negative factors and adopt strategies that invest some value of visual integrity within production? The research project answers this question in two ways: A low-tech, accessible method was developed in the studio with the aim to offer a new practical approach that physically integrates complex ceramic forms with the printed image. The aim was to facilitate this unity at an early ʻraw-clayʼ stage, where the combined manipulation of surface and form can take place together, resulting in an aesthetic that has ʻvisual integrityʼ. The second aim of the research has been to identify the inherent qualities of working and thinking ʻwithinʼ the language of ceramics and print materials and processes. ʻSyntacticʼ qualities and factors have been determined through research into historical innovations and the observation of current commercial practice in the field of screenprinting and screenprinted ceramics. This has helped to establish approaches to overcome negative factors relating to the perception of division, and invest integrity in the work through principled approaches to practice. The project adopts a methodology of ʻthinking-through-makingʼ where iterative studio experimentation is undertaken through tacit understanding, gained from experiential knowledge combined with research of contemporary and historical precedents. This approach is reflected upon and informed by writers who discuss working within the inherent language of printmaking. The research contributes to the advancement of knowledge through the development of a new versatile technique that can be easily accessed by ceramists and printmakers who wish to produce integrated ceramics and print works. This contributes to the advancement of technology, perception and knowledge in the field of printed ceramic objects. My approach and the development of a value system also offers a tool to further the critical
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:566845 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Brown, Steve Royston |
| Publisher | Royal College of Art |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/1134/ |
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