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| Victor Greenaway |
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On ceramics
The strength of my work is in the ability to create spontaneity in each piece during the session on the potter's wheel. As a brush or chisel is the tool of a painter or sculptor, so too is the wheel mine. The dynamics are created through light and shade, modelled through the use of indentations and various surfaces and colours. The translucency of the fine Limoges porcelain contributes to this by passing light through thin linear markings and fine edges.
In contrast, the Bucchero pieces are made from an Italian volcanic clay, mostly wheel-turned and polished, then smoke-fumed in a reduction atmoshere to permeate the black colour through the clay body which, when polished and fired, has the appearance of metalware. Bucchero is a distinctively Etruscan product that emerged around the 7th century BC in Southern Etruria (central Italy).
Regardless of the medium, as in a quick sketch or abstraction, the outcome relies on experience, intuition and a confidence in technique. Often the result is uncertain and the work lost or discarded but the journey is an exciting one and constantly rewarding.
On painting
Painting has always been a personal and private passion and is a significant addition to my development as a complete artist. It does not replace or impede my work as a ceramic artist, on the contrary, it enhances the creative process by introducing new elements to my work such as colour and pictorial expression.
In my paintings, rather than attempt to paint the scenery as it is, I attempt to absorb the feel of the environment and return to the relative distance and comfort of my studio to paint from the experience. I find that the memories are often all the more poignant in the recalling of them rather than trying to capture the scene on location. The act of recreating pictures in the studio is an exciting revelation in the re-living of the journey.
Details tend to appear sketchy in the memory and the subjects, therefore, tend to be depicted with minimal information, inviting the viewer to interpret the scene and to share the mysteries.
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