Product Details

Hand made, one-off piece, signed by Francesca Kaye.

Stoneware clay glazed with blue underglaze.

Size: 15 x 15 x 3cm (Small Plate)

STORY 

A new collection of hand-made plates and platters by British ceramicist Francesca Kaye.

Inspired by French 18th century block printed indigo textiles, this latest ceramic collection is an explosion of pattern and illustration.

Restricting her palette to that of blue and white, Francesca has created a series of pieces that are at once both energetic and contemplative. 

The scalloped edges and deep decorative borders are either filled with silhouettes of flora or portraits of women in traditional folk costume. 

The floral pieces are reminiscent of the cyanotype, a pre-photographic technique that involves laying an object on coated paper before exposing it to sunlight to create white and Prussian blue images.

In much the same way, Francesca blocks out shapes, not from the sun, but from the indigo blue glaze she brushes onto the surface, creating these white silhouettes. She does this by using the wax resist method. An ancient technique often applied to textiles, Francesca uses it for ceramics and regularly employs it throughout her work to achieve these energetic shapes and patterns that are impossible to resist.

The portraits, nestled within kaleidoscopic borders of patterned lace, are very personal to Francesca. They are drawn from books and imagery collected over a lifetime, from early childhood when her father would seek out dolls in traditional dress from whichever country he was visiting for work, to bring home to a young Francesca. 

These portraits are so evocative. In these patterned borders they bring to mind early photography of people in their finest dress, with the photographs displayed in patterned and painted frames.