I built these sections during the Summer of 2024, as I was testing a lot of porcelains, searching for something strong, light, easy to work with which can withstand the shocks and rigours of extreme temperature changes.

I was initially inspired by the early skyscrapers of Montréal, which are covered by amazing architectural terra-cotta tiles that have survived more than a hundred Montréal Winters. Since then I’ve changed tactics, instead looking for a perfectly vitrified porcelain body (less than 0.5% absorption). I think I have it, just have one more set of tests to carry out. I will post the results, in case any ceramics nerd out there might find these formulations useful.

In progress – 2024-2025

I’m still dreaming about building stacked ceramic sculptures large enough to look a human in the eye, and large enough to house multitudes of microscopic beings.

When complete this will be a medium-scale prototype, plugged into an exterior wall outlet outside my studio. With a single humidity sensor attached to a weather-proof relay enclosure which will switch a small pump on an off, misting the surfaces once or twice a day, it will be far simpler than the complex pieces that I built with the Critical Gardening Collective in 2023.

I will install it outside my studio next Summer, then I will have a working prototype whose long-term changes I can monitor.

Thrown and altered. Initially bisqued to cone 08; glaze-fired in an electric kiln to cone 9. Stacked dimensions variable (each section ~18″ – 30″).