Porcelain on the Move by Patty Wouters

Vulnerability is the core theme of Patty Wouters's work. With porcelain, she expresses her feelings about the state of nature, about people who have to flee from their homes, about unstable balances, and about transformation into new situations.

7 cocoons by Patty Wouters

Patty Wouters (Belgium, 1957) is socially involved. This is clearly visible in her ceramic work. "People, current affairs, nature and my environment: these are all themes that keep me busy. I am concerned with environmental problems and the vulnerability of people and nature. You can see that in my objects. I have been doing volunteer work for refugee organizations for a few years now. This problem has also inspired me to create a series of works." The fact that this approach appeals to people is evident from the recognition that Patty receives for her work.

"Especially in Korea, my work seems to be appreciated a lot. I was invited several times to give lectures and master classes. In 2007, I taught one year at EWHA-University in Seoul, and in 2019, I taught at Keimyung University in Daegu for a full school year. I also had a solo exhibition there twice in one of the most prominent ceramic galleries in Seoul. I never thought that ceramics would take me to all parts of the world and in that respect I have alreadyachieved much more than what I thought would be possible...'

Creativity

Wouters had the idea early on to develop her creativity. "I never went to art school during my teenage years, but was after school I was often busy with creative things. After finishing high school I hesitated between an artistic or a social education. I ended up doing both: first graphic design and later I took ceramics classes at the evening academy. After teaching crafts for a number of years, I went to the social academy for part-time education.

In the end, the creative side turned out to be the strongest: I decided to focus on my artistic work and started my own studio. There I gave basic courses in drawing and ceramics. During that period I also followed various master classes, such as with Takeshi Yasuda, Suku Park, David Roberts, Tjok Dessauvage, Ian Gregory and many more."

Originally, Patty wanted to focus on making domestic ware, but in between she made unique pieces in raku. She started submitting work to international competitions, and to her surprise, it was regularly selected and sometimes even won prizes.

Continuing to fire raku turned out not to be healthy and Patty discovered pitfire: "I had seen photos of it. The work had been treated with sulphates. I was fascinated by it and started experimenting with it myself. I made porcelain vessels on the pottery wheel, which I polished and treated with terra sigillata. After the bisque firing, I dipped them in sulfates and fired them in a saggar. The results were usually surprising and unpredictable, but sometimes also disappointing. I have been using this fascinating technique for almost twenty years."

Paper clay

About twenty years ago, Wouters started experimenting with paper clay.

"I made a number of wall panels and combined small elements from paper clay with my terra sigillata work. Later I started developing sculptural forms in paper porcelain. During that period I had the opportunity to pursue an MFA at Wolverhampton University (UK). As a graduation project, I made an installation inspired by the theme of cocoons.

This was awarded with the prize from the Dean of Wolverhampton University. Since then, I have made other sculptural objects, such as Fractured, Vulnerable, Enantiodromy, and Migration. In 2021, my work was awarded 2 international prizes: in Bosa, Sardinia (Italy) and in Sofia (Bulgaria)."

Atelier Cirkel

From 1987 to 2020, Patty was the organizer of Atelier Cirkel. "I started the preparation in 1986. A year later, the non-profit organization (Foundation) was established. In the beginning, we organized five or six courses, but there was a lot of interest, and the studio grew in a few years into an educational centre where several teachers taught in different disciplines: drawing, painting, sculpting, jewellery design, and textiles.

In 2006 we were recognized and structurally subsidized as a national, specialized education institution. Twenty teachers were teaching at the center, and more than three hundred students attended classes every week. We organized master classes – especially for ceramics – given by well-known guest teachers from all over the world. This enormous expansion caused problems and the Board of Directors therefore decided in 2010 to dissolve the non-profit organization. I immediately founded a new non-profit organization (Circle 2) and continued organizing master classes on a smaller scale. The pandemic ultimately heralded the end of the project."

Working method

Patty usually makes sketches, sometimes a small model. "Before I start a sculptural work, a whole thinking process already preceded. I'm thinking about a theme that interests me and coming up with a form that expresses it. Sometimes my work has already been largely worked out in advance in my thoughts and on paper, but usually it is a growing process."

She builds the pieces with paper porcelain that she makes herself." I mostly use the trimmings of my thrown vessels to make paper porcelain (usually Limoges TM10). Lately I have been building my sculptures with organic materials that I immerse in paper porcelain. Sometimes I make supports in cardboard or another material that I cover with thin textile, painted with paper porcelain. I use a little glaze, sometimes a little transparent, to fire parts together or to add an accent or contrast. I find that glaze usually creates an overly glossy finish layer that covers the character of the porcelain. I fire my work in an electric kiln at 1250 ºC. Because a lot of organic material is incorporated in my sculptures, local reduction occurs. The result here is again unpredictable and not completely controllable, but that is precisely why I find it fascinating."

This work symbolizes the circle of life. The paper-thin leaf in the opening is a metaphor for nature in general and how sensitive and vulnerable nature is. The impact of human intervention is enormous and can pose a threat if we do not deal with it consciously. This fragile porcelain work demands the attention of the viewer and confronts him with the fragility of our ecosystem.

By Patty Wouters

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Join us for our Paper Clay and Paper Porcelain Course.

An immersive journey guided by Patty Wouters at Cerdeira - Home for Creativity.