Blueware Vases are the result of a process that captures direct impressions of botanical specimens on ceramics using light and photo sensitive chemicals.
Using age-old preserving techniques, humble weeds of inner London borough pavements are pressed, dried and then composed between plates of glass that function like photographic negatives. Working with light sensitive chemicals, the plates and tiles are then exposed under ultra violet light, which develops a photogram of the specimens in intense Prussian blue. What remains is a crisp white silhouette of the specimens, creating intricate floral designs of the subjects from root to tip.
This film shows the pressed designs incorporated into a vase.
Song credits: ‘Shadow Journal’ by Max Richter
From 2024-2026 British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) commissioned a research project exploring the creative reuse of construction spoil clay. The research was carried out by BCB Researcher Claire Baily and was supported by Louise Trodden (HS2 Arts & Culture Team).
Check out more of the research and download the article HERE.
Yaddo is a nonprofit retreat for artists in Saratoga Springs, New York. Our mission is to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for writers and artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.
We offer residencies to professional creative artists working in the following disciplines: literature, choreography, film, musical composition, painting, performance art, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video. Artists apply individually. They are selected by panels of professional artists without regard to financial means.
Tertiary to our core mission, we build an engaged audience for the work of Yaddo artists and share arts programming, educational opportunities, and other resources with our local community and beyond. We are committed to a sustainable future for Yaddo.
Last chance to apply for the McKnight Fellowship and Residency for Ceramic Artists! Click on the links below to learn more and apply now. All McKnight Fellowship and Residency applications are due by Friday, May 15, 2026, at 5 pm CT. Pictured in image: Dorothea Nold, McKnight Resident 2024
This program is made possible by the generous support of the McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis.
