IN STUDIO WITH CURLY BOY
Local ceramicist Jack Parnaby has been working with clay for the past six years, his pieces are all beautifully hand crafted and unique. We have collaborated with him on a line of bowls, plates and platters exclusive to Florian Home. We caught up with Jack in his sunny Collingwood studio to see how they were coming along and asked him a few questions on the process of completing a body of work like this and his own personal project that he has been working on for the past two years. Jack's collaboration with us will be available very soon, but you can see a sneak peak below!
First of all, tell us a bit about yourself!
Hey my name is Jack Parnaby, however my nickname and makers mark in the ceramics community is Curly Boy. I’m 23 years old and I have been making with clay for the past 6 of those years. I have worked as a studio technician and wheel throwing teacher for almost 4 years now in various Melbourne studios. I make functional tableware and decorative vessels on the potters wheel to sell and exhibit, but most importantly, to continue my practice and learning about the craft.
I still have the first pot I ever made resting on the tv unit in my parents home as a reminder of how far I’ve come since I first touched clay in my year 11 ceramics class. I originally wanted to paint when I was in high school however when I moved to Dickson college it was a requirement to do at least one course in ceramics if I wanted to major in visual art. I never had the desire to touch clay and was not drawn to it … ever, but after my first lesson I was hooked and haven’t been able wash it off my hands since. Which is probably a good thing that I took this route considering my first mentor and teacher Kate Leedham, said that I am miles more talented with clay than I was ever going to be with paint.
What does the making process of your pieces look like? How long does it take?
The making process of my work always starts with an idea or a new challenge in my journey of learning that I strive to resolve.
- I prepare by cutting, weighing and wedging the clay into individual balls that are all the same weight to make it easier for repeating the same shape.
- I then throw each piece on the potters wheel using various tools to measure the height and width of the work for repeated forms, making sure that I also take into account the shrinkage rate of clay as it dries.
- I then leave the work to become firm overnight in the air until it is leather hard and can be safely trimmed.
- I turn over each piece back on the wheel to use sharp turning tools on the base to create a foot ring on the bottom of the vessel.
- The work is then left to dry for a few days or weeks depending on the weather situation before it can be bisque fired.
- Once ready each piece is carefully packed into the kiln in an elaborate stack with pots balancing on top of each other, fired slowly over 3 days to 1000°.
- Once cool the pieces are removed and then dipped into a bucket of milky glaze that coats the walls. Each piece is then wiped clean of any glaze from the foot ring and placed back into the kiln only this time the pieces cannot touch otherwise the glaze will fuse the pieces together like glue.
-They are fired a second time only this time it is to a stoneware temperature of 1280° over 3 days.
- Once cooled the pots are unpacked and inspected to make sure there are no faults and no need to be remade.
The whole process can take up to a couple of weeks or even months depending on the volume of work and how much time a potter can allocate to the studio.
What are your favourite forms to create?
My favourite forms to make at the moment would have to be my square rim mugs. This form is really exciting to me as it has allowed me to find a signature style for what can be one of the most mundane and limiting forms made on the wheel. When done right a mug can be the most delightful and rewarding thing a potter can make as it needs to be a specific and appropriate size for hot beverage's and should barely weigh anything when empty.
What/Who has inspired your style of ceramics the most?
I am still early in the game and I am forever learning more about the direction my style of work is going but for moment I am very inspired by the woodfiring process and the incredible skills of Korean and Japanese potters.
We understand you are currently working on your own collection of 500 hand thrown vases, can you tell us a little bit more about this project?
Oh yes the never ending 500 vessel project.
For the past 2 years I have been making my first big body of significant work that I hope to exhibit as my first solo show. The concept is to make 500 completely unique vessels that are all relatively the same size but are different in form and decoration. It nods to us as individuals and the effort we feel to find a sense of identity within society. Each vessel tells a story and looks different to the next however when all together they are all of the same scale and made from same material, just as we are. I hope that when the project is complete and available to the people of Melbourne, each person who visits the work finds a vessel or two they connect with to take home.