The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What techniques do you use to make your work and why?
Elizabeth Degenszejn: These pieces were made using slip casting. This technique had many advantages over handbuilding, which is how I originally started making my sculptures. It allowed me to obtain a geometric form
with a level of perfection that would be challenging and time consuming to achieve by hand.
Slip casting successfully brings about a form with flawless sides and well-defined edges in a timely manner. This meant that I could dedicate precious time to deform them and to bring in a genuinely personal and more fluid identity. I was able to
work instinctively and intuitively to create smooth and elegant curves that were in contrast with the forms’ distinct sharp edges and corners.
Finally, this technique resulted in a visual balance and refinement that conveyed movement and transformation.
CM: What strategies have you developed to handle challenges you face, including setbacks in the studio or difficulties along the path to becoming an artist?
ED: In ceramics, there is no shortcut that substitutes for research, experimentation, and thorough annotation. In order to control the outcome and reduce setbacks, it has been important to dedicate time to having
a detailed understanding of the materials and processes I work with and their behavior over changes in temperature and time. In the last few years, I have created my own little library of books that serve as references to explain faults and give
insights. Equally important has been Google research. Some of the websites that have been very helpful were Digitalfire.com, Glazy.org, and CeramicArtsNetwork.org. In addition, I also rely on the manufacturers’
technical departments, some of which have been very generous in their support, as well as exchanges with makers I consider experts in the field. But above all, it is important to be patient and to believe in yourself.
Regarding my path as an artist, I have a BA in economics and have had a corporate career in finance and marketing. I was passionate to learn ceramics in short courses over the years, but it was a comprehensive two-year technical skills and glaze technology
diploma course at City Lit, UK, that put me on track to become a professional ceramic artist. However, I felt that artists who had graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, London, were more developed conceptually and had more visibility.
With that in mind, I pursued an MA in ceramics and glass from the Royal College of Art, from where I graduated in June 2022.
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The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What techniques do you use to make your work and why?
Elizabeth Degenszejn: These pieces were made using slip casting. This technique had many advantages over handbuilding, which is how I originally started making my sculptures. It allowed me to obtain a geometric form with a level of perfection that would be challenging and time consuming to achieve by hand.
Slip casting successfully brings about a form with flawless sides and well-defined edges in a timely manner. This meant that I could dedicate precious time to deform them and to bring in a genuinely personal and more fluid identity. I was able to work instinctively and intuitively to create smooth and elegant curves that were in contrast with the forms’ distinct sharp edges and corners.
Finally, this technique resulted in a visual balance and refinement that conveyed movement and transformation.
CM: What strategies have you developed to handle challenges you face, including setbacks in the studio or difficulties along the path to becoming an artist?
ED: In ceramics, there is no shortcut that substitutes for research, experimentation, and thorough annotation. In order to control the outcome and reduce setbacks, it has been important to dedicate time to having a detailed understanding of the materials and processes I work with and their behavior over changes in temperature and time. In the last few years, I have created my own little library of books that serve as references to explain faults and give insights. Equally important has been Google research. Some of the websites that have been very helpful were Digitalfire.com, Glazy.org, and CeramicArtsNetwork.org. In addition, I also rely on the manufacturers’ technical departments, some of which have been very generous in their support, as well as exchanges with makers I consider experts in the field. But above all, it is important to be patient and to believe in yourself.
Regarding my path as an artist, I have a BA in economics and have had a corporate career in finance and marketing. I was passionate to learn ceramics in short courses over the years, but it was a comprehensive two-year technical skills and glaze technology diploma course at City Lit, UK, that put me on track to become a professional ceramic artist. However, I felt that artists who had graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, London, were more developed conceptually and had more visibility. With that in mind, I pursued an MA in ceramics and glass from the Royal College of Art, from where I graduated in June 2022.
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