Clay – The fundamental start point of Craig Bragdy’s manufacturing process – raw, wet, malleable, plasticized and laid on the studio floor as one enormous sheet, the size of the pool – the first and a crucial stage of the process. Teamwork - Once prepared, the lead ‘artist’ will map out the main design content, loosely, on the surface of the sheet. Cutting. Constant reference is made to the approved design throughout manufacture with all individuals working as a ‘team’ to complete this stage of the work. The clay sheet is then cut into small, tile sized pieces – a fundamental requirement and vital to the character and design of the work. Cutting the clay sheet requires serious planning, thought and application. After that the ‘tiles’ are numbered, fettled, dried and fired before the next stage begins. One large malleable sheet is laid on the factory floor - artists and clay workers move around using a series of protected stepping ‘stones'. Once the lead artist has completed the mapping out process he or she will be joined by others, each fully briefed and each with a particular role to play. They will combine as a single unit and clay work will be completed ‘without delay’ to ensure survival of the clay. Heat. The work may require up to six individual firings, each at a different temperature, each for a specific phase and serving a particular purpose. The initial firing is the highest and for most of Craig Bragdy’s work, is to 1240°C. Our clay body completely matures at this heat and so brings intrinsic strength and vitrification (making it frost proof on completion). People - The work that Craig Bragdy produces is truly transformational and big in scale. Here, at left Stacey works on final sculptural and drawing work before completing the clay process on our client’s whale. At right, several weeks and several processes down the line, the finished work begins to take shape. The same team of artists who were involved with the clay work will be involved with the glazing. Work is always laid in full on the studio floor for every step of the process. Glazes are all specifically mixed and matched for each and every project. Glaze - Again, working under the direction of the ‘lead’ artist, individuals work together, first applying base colours or engobes (each requiring a further separate firing). The glazes are applied by hand using predominantly brushing, sponging, spraying and layering techniques. Non-slip treatments may be applied. At this stage the raw glaze materials have yet to mature and so the artists are working with a palette of colour quite different to that which will appear in the finished work. Knowledge of the materials and artist experience is key. Once complete, there is a rigorous checking procedure (and discussion) to ensure the design has been faithfully reproduced, that the glazes and application have been appropriately applied and that the work carries with it all of the client expectations. Finishing - Gold, platinum, copper, enamels are all options to help ‘finish’ a work and all of these precious and semi-precious enamels are applied by brush (sometimes by air-brush) before the final, lower temperature firing. Design Installation
