This project originated in an investigation into the hybridisation
of digital and handcraft processes in the generation of form. It
quickly departed from that, when I realised that the underlying
issue was that of relationship and transition between two and
three dimensions. It became clear that this was a lens through
which my previous practice in both vessel making and sculpture
could be usefully viewed and understood and thus it presented
rich potential for further research. The initial investigation gave
me some useful insight into the value of CAD software for the
rigorous language of its menus as guides in analysing the
handmade, and also the limitations of its output in delivering
the nuance of materiality. It continues to inform my method
and thinking about process.
I am exploring the potential for a cyclical and reciprocal
relationship between drawing and making, line and form, plane
and solid. This embraces exploration of methods for generating
a three dimensional solid from a two dimensional image, and
then revealing formal or aesthetic qualities of that solid through
a two dimensional intervention or analysis, such as that derived
from cross section, silhouette or shadow.
Consideration of cast shadows as an example of a three to two
dimensional transition have led me to focus on the penumbra,
the boundary between light and shade. I am doing this by
attempting to realise its material equivalent, the boundary
between matter and space. The use of cross section as a
method of construction of and intervention in form is a key
method in the physical manifestation of this phenomenon.
The boundary of clay, the difference between its presence and
absence, is finite and abrupt. The boundary between the light
and shade, however, appears infinite in its gradation and thus is
inherently indistinct. Thus the notion of transition from the
project title becomes crucial. Through exploring transitions
between dimensions and between presence and absence I aim
to capture ephemeral and fugitive visual qualities in the material object.