Placed in rural sites close to water, these ceramic ‘rock’ artworks, make visual and physical connections to the East Dunbartonshire landscape. Highly glazed they have been secured onto larch posts and make reference to and take inspiration from the local geology and industries that once utilised the resources that the landscape provided. The work subtly acknowledges these natural resources that influenced the industry history of East Dunbartonshire while referencing the cultural heritage of the clay and ceramics making in the area.
Rachel’s practice often incorporates walking with local experts to understand a landscape through someone else’s eyes, knowledge and expertise. On this occasion she walked with Professor Paul Bishop, a local geographer and geologist. Through this engagement she was introduced to the geology of the area particularly the Lime burning and abandoned kilns of the late 18th Century that are scattered in the landscape. Now overgrown and reclaimed by nature the kiln sites are invisible to all but the trained eye. Lime was burned off on site in these outdoor kilns to provide mineral lime for a wide range of industrial, agricultural and chemical processes.
Along side this walking research she also looked at ceramic artefacts from the area including medieval and Roman pottery, and the more recent Campsie Ware and Allander Pottery. The later providing inspiration for the glaze effects that she would utilise in combination with a unique home made glaze created by using ground down collected lime kiln waste that was applied to the ceramics ‘rocks’ and ‘boulders’ that she has hand built.
The rocks had initially had been installed in local waterways but a technical problems meant that most had to be removed. This new imagining sees the work act as way-finding and reflective points in the landscape.
