| Since moving to Australia Mellor
has been able to concentrate on developing the ceramic forms and also to
explore other directions. With her husband's support she has pursued
further studies at universities in Hobart and Melbourne. A Bachelor of
Fine Arts Honour Research program at the University of Tasmania, Hobart
in 1997 led to an exploration of organic forms and ceramic translucency
that culminated in a new body of work called Light Forms. This
new work investigated the translucency of bone china and its potential
for the transmission of light. Pieces were decorated by either painting
with soluble colourants or by relief decoration, using shellac resist
and sponging away the still-damp clay. Three exquisite up-light floor lamps and matching wall lights - prototypes for a production range - exploit the second of these methods. Photographs of shadows on her garden wall are translated into patterns of light and shade on the translucent china. The form was inspired by the datura or angels trumpet flowers. The style is a little reminiscent of the wheel-thrown porcelain of Norwegian Arne Åse whose work, like Les Blakeborough's, has attracted her study. However, she is taking it further, working in slip-cast bone china and using insertions of paper clay to provide texture and design in crisp relief. Mellor has been selected in a number of national exhibitions since arriving in Australia, including the 1986 Porcelain Exhibition at Perth Galleries and Mapping Identity. In 1998 five of her small bone china cups were exhibited in the prestigious Fifth International Ceramics Competition, held in Mino, the centre of Japan's ceramic industry. Some 200 exhibitors from 52 countries were selected from the two thousand entries. Four were from Australia. Mellor's entry in Mino, 1998 consisted of bone china cups in a black momagami box, which received an Honourable Mention. Similar work, titled Sake Cups Series II, is represented in the touring exhibition "Mapping Identity", which opened at the Centre of Contemporary Craft in November, 1998 and will proceed around various States until 2000. Having had little opportunity previously to visit the seashore, Mellor was fascinated by marine life in Tasmania and incorporated the textures found on the coastline into her work. She was also introduced to glass while in Tasmania and has cast glass bases for some of the ceramic forms. She hopes this will enable more light to enter the bone-china vessels. This new work is still in its formative stages but has resulted in her receiving a Monash Graduate Scholarship to research for her MA at Monash University, Melbourne. Using the seashore theme she intends to pursue the exploration of translucency by combining glass and bone china and is experimenting with nitrates painted on clay after the bisque firing to give a watercolour effect to the bone china. As she says, 'The white, sensuous, smooth quality of bone china does not require a glaze, just a delicate hint of colour that will not obscure its translucency.' Mellor felt the need to extend the range of vessels that could stand as a group and to control the grouping. She therefore elected to join them together as sculptural forms set in a "wave" base of pâte de werre. Angela Mellor's concerns are with the environment, light and space. Her current experiments into translucency and the seductive qualities of bone china will undoubtedly result in further intriguing work. Dr Dorothy Erickson Dr Dorothy Erickson exhibits jewellery worldwide and writes on art and design from her base in Perth, Western Australia. |
 'Bone China Cups in Black Momagami Box'. Award winner, Mino, 1998, Japan |
 Bone china and glass, 1998 |
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 'Clouds', 1994, slip-cast bone china, ht 17 cm |