No one would have guessed that the Great Pottery Throw Down would make for compelling television entertainment, let alone that BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour would be running its own craft competition to celebrate the programme’s 70th anniversary. Likewise, few could have anticipated the rise and rise of craft, at a time when ‘authenticity’ is everywhere, […]
Everything is connected. People say the world is getting smaller, but external cultural influences have inspired tastes in food, style, art and design for as long as man has travelled. In China, tea has been drunk for millennia, but the art of drinking tea is a culture all of its own. Gonfu Cha, the Chinese tea ceremony means “making […]
The hedgehog population of the UK has fallen dramatically, from around 34 million in the 1950s to around 1 million today. The hedgehog is now an endangered species and could even be extinct by 2020. This is a shame because hedgehogs help gardeners by eating leaf-munching slugs and insects. But hedgehogs may have a saviour […]
We flagged up mosaics and marbling as two key trends in decorative design in Visuology Issue 2. In particular, we’ve noticed that artists, craftspeople and accessories designers are increasingly employing traditional mosaic work in art and interiors. Childlike, yet troubling, Cleo Mussi’s reclaimed ceramics draw on the interaction of human life with the natural world […]
Oscar Medley-Whitfield creates pottery from Thames mud. Based beside the river in SE1, he calls his creations Wharfeware. There are many problems associated with using mud rather than clay. The drying out and tempering process makes the mud crack and it can’t be modelled and manipulated like clay. Oscar has created his own casting process, […]
As climate chaos becomes a more regular feature of our lives, designers will increasingly employ icy effects and frosty finishes in their work. The candle holder above, made from natural rock crystal, will come in handy during power outages caused by freak storm conditions. The glittery, paillette-covered bag by Mawi will cast sparkles of light onto snow […]