Whilst visiting the nearby Novium Museum in Chichester I happened upon a locally discovered complete Roman Imbrex roof tile; a common overlapping tiling technique in ancient Roman and Greek architecture. Similar in design to pantiles, I was once told they were shaped over the thigh of the maker - a disputed belief due to production impracticalities. I spent time in the studio re-producing a number of these from Terracotta, embodying the manufacturing process to think about clay as an industrial and practical material, whilst simultaneously holding a makers mark.
One warm evening, several of us from the College, led by Fine Art Tutor Sarah Hughes, took a field trip to visit West Monkton, the site of a deserted Medieval village on the West Dean Estate. Whilst walking, we traced the footprint of the building, identifying hand-made bricks, pottery sherds and features of the landscape which indicated surviving earthworks. Walking here reminded me of ancient sites set in rural Teesdale where I grew up, the features of which remain below ground, only suggested through shifts in the land — a dip, a rise, a collection of stones.
The West Dean library is a treasure trove of resources, and I spent a lot of time reading my way through books on Medieval tiles, kiln building, Sussex landscapes, soil colour charts, ceramic conservation; finding gems of information on tile restoration, alternative kiln constructions, field and hedge dating, visualising complete pots from pottery sherds and historic field names and land law.
Towards the end of the residency I joined a Raku firing led by pottery tutor Alison Sanderson, in which I was able to fire some works I had made back in the studio. This was a brilliant day, sharing joy and conversation whilst pots were revealed from the flame.
Spending time at West Dean allowed me space and time to bring together and focus my thoughts. Students and staff at the College were incredibly welcoming and generous with their time, making it easy to feel part of the community. The ideas and observations developed here have continued to unfold back in my studio.
