A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Alfred University
Constructing Light by Natalie Poklop
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Alfred University Honors Program May 6, 2022
Under the Supervision of:
Chair: Matt Kelleher, Associate Professor of Ceramics Committee Members:
Adero Willard, Visiting Assistant Professor of Ceramics Cory Brown, Adjunct Ceramics Professor and Mentor
Introduction
Through the past four years, ceramics has gone from a practice to ease my mind to a practice that activates it. I have begun to question what motivations drive me to do ceramics and what need it fulfills in my life. I have asked myself: What does it mean to be in control? Is it I or the material around me that has the power in decision making? Who has control when viewing an object? I constantly wrestle with my primal need for complete control, with clay being a medium that allows me very little of it. I find myself battling for control at the pottery wheel or through the firing of a wood kiln. In these instances, I need to ask myself how control will benefit the outcome. I work to challenge my belief that control leads to quality work. I am learning to understand how moments of uncertainty and giving into unknown outcomes is what can lead to my own creative satisfaction. Throughout my thesis work, I have used the idea of light to process this need for control and learned to find the intersection between fighting for control and embracing the unplanned.
Influences on My Practice Natural forms
Patterns found in my forms are often inspired by natural textures found in nature. One example is of a fossilized riverbed I found while hiking in Colorado, as seen in Figure 1. I was so fascinated by how the ripples in the stone interact with each other and how they moved with each other. I appreciate how random the
Figure 1: Fossilized Riverbed in Colorado
lines feel at times while they are also so uniform in others. I have tried to replicate the same phenomenon in my work, which I see as another way to immortalize this relationship in texture and movement.
I also find the creation of natural highlights and lowlights through the weathering process engaging. The rock formation in Figure 2 illustrates a beautiful layering of limestone rock
discovered on the same Colorado hillside. The movement of the rock layers as the planes of rock collided with each other through time allowed me to think of layering, pattern, and texture in a new way. It made me think about the idea of perceived shadow through the intentional use of color.
Finally, the shale layers found in the gorge of Stonybrook State Park (Figure 3) have also been influential in my recent work due to the intense shadows created within the rock layers.
That type of intensity is something I have tried to embody in my work.
Figure 3: Shale at Stonybrook State Park Figure 2: Limestone Layers in Colorado
Architectural Inspiration
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s approach to lighting spaces through indirect and direct light is another strong influence on my practice, both in concept as well as form. Having been in many of his buildings, I have been able to evaluate how different lighting methods and forms impact the surrounding space.
In Wright’s personal studio (Figure 4) as well as in the Fellowship Dining Hall (Figure 5) at Taliesin II in Wisconsin, he took a unique approach to indirect light. In both instances, light seems to radiate from within and is a strong presence without ever exposing the actual source of light. The actual form Wright used for both pieces served to
enhance the effectiveness of indirect light.
Wright’s use of light in more direct ways also interests me. For example, the wall sconce seen in Figure 6 from Robie House in Chicago, is one where Wright displayed the actual source of the light prominently. While at the Kentuck Knob House (Figure 7) in Pennsylvania, he utilized direct natural light – a much more subtle approach. The forms chosen for these two sources of direct light are very different yet compliment the source of that light. The form holding the Robie House sconce is bold and
Figure 4: Standing Light Designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright
Figure 5: Hanging light in Fellowship Dining Hall
prominent while the cutouts channeling the direct natural light at the Kentuck Knob House are simpler.
I have used what I’ve learned from Frank Lloyd Wright’s use of indirect and direct light as well as the variability of the forms he chose to combine with that light to inform the design quality of my own work.
Thesis Development
Throughout my senior year, I began thinking of ceramics beyond its traditional function to explore conceptual ideation and nontraditional ceramic motifs. Using the concept of light, I have discovered how light and shadow impact the way viewers perceive a form and how shadow can become a material for creating pattern and texture. I explored these ideas through the creation of forms that emit light as well as organic, undulating platter forms that receive light. Designing for both giving and receiving light has kept me engaged with questions regarding function. What does it mean to be functional, and how does
the act of working with function connect to the act of working conceptually?
The Forms
Figure 6: Robie House Wall Sconce
Figure 7: Direct Light source from Ketuck Knob
Working through a series of simplified, modular forms, I landed on the cylinder to create iterations of ideas for my lights. The cylinder has many advantages. It is a form I can construct easily in all different modes of making, including hand building, wheel throwing and slip casting. The cylinder is a useful form to think about elements of architecture, design, and construction. It is forgiving when working through different compositions of hanging and standing lights. Its smooth and consistent surface make a great slate for different textures and concepts of how light changes the viewer’s perception of form. Finally, lights constructed from cylinders are recognizable to many and make my work approachable.
The biggest challenge in working with these modular forms was exacting the measurements so that once completely fired, all pieces fit seamlessly when assembled.
Furthermore, the pieces, especially slip cast ones, tended to warp, so I managed this issue by using shrink slabs to take some of the strain off the forms themselves. Trial and error were a vital component to the process of resolving these functional forms. I experimented with different hanging methods as well as different ways for connecting all the light pieces together. I had to remain flexible with my ideas and come up with new solutions when things did not go according to plan.
In contrast to the cylinders, I have developed undulating platter forms. Light and shadow move across these forms in an entirely different way compared to the cylindrical forms.
Conceptually, this has created the opportunity to better understand what happens when light is projected on a piece rather than when light is emitted from a piece. I started perforating the platter forms with different patterns to transform projected light into an array of shadows. The
process became challenging with the more pieces I cut away. As I carved and removed more material, the platters would lose structural integrity. The type of clay used also created
limiataions in the process. Through experimentation I learned to make the forms quite thick to prevent cracking and limit warping. I also realized that porcelain is better for experimenting on once it has been bisque fired, while stoneware is forgiving when manipulating the surface in the wet stage of clay.
Light and Shadow as a Concept
Light and shadow are investigated in my work through form, variety in surface treatment, and light source. Through form, light fades across my cylindrical lamps gradually, creating a calming atmosphere. In contrast, as light shines on my platters, bold areas of shadow are created in the valleys of these rolling forms causing more dramatic contrast. With surface treatment, whether the clay is left bare, textured, covered with a glossy or a matte glaze, changes occur in how light is captured. These choices in form
and surface communicate very differently depending if the light source is radiating from the piece as in my lamps or being lit from an outside source evident on my platters.
An outside projected light source and its path on surface has allowed me to address
light in new ways. The rippling surfaces of the platters show how shadow lands across an uneven plane. Thanking this idea further and projecting light through a stencil as in Figure 8, I
Figure 8: Process of Projecting Light
investigate how shapes stretch or compress across the platter. To capture this imagery, I spray glaze through the stencil, mimicking the pattern created by the light.
Figure 9 shows a record of the shadow’s pattern that took place. By contrast Figure 10 shows a piece where light was projected similarly to Figure 8, but in this instance, I carved the marks of shadow. This idea allows me to see shadow as pattern and texture rather than just the absence of light. It has been interesting to translate these ideas back to my functional lamps where the element of radiating light is already at
play.
Finally, I have considered how light projected across a piece is similar to the was fire travels around a form in a wood fired kiln. As the flame moves around a piece, recording patterns and colors, it shows how the piece interacted with the flame. One can visualize
directional movement on a wood fired form with the front of the piece catching more ash than the back. Similarly, higher surface areas catch more ash while shadowy lower surface areas catch very little.
Figure 10: Platter with Carved Representation of Light Figure 9: Platter with Sprayed
Shadows
Concept Versus Form
This brings about discussions of how the concept and the form interact within my work. I do not believe one could exist without the other. I have been able to learn through my own work and allow concept and form to influence each other. I began developing the concept behind my work due to my curiosity of form, however my work has grown in sophistication and
experimentation due to the conceptual ideas guiding my decision-making process. I have made changes in my form to better articulate my conceptual ideas, but I have also done more
experimenting in concept using my forms as inspiration. This relationship between the concept and form has created an environment in my practice where I am constantly finding new
questions to investigate. At the start, I believed form was represented by the clay and light was the concept. However, I have since realized that light is as much a material as clay. Both hold shape and pattern. The concept lies in how I manipulate these materials to communicate my ideas through function and imagery. I believe this dependency of material, form and concept has allowed me to remain invested in the work and develop a final show I am truly inspired by.
The Thesis Show
