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ABOUT
Atelier Anglais is the ceramic studio of Jess Gildersleve, based in Burgundy, France.
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I make slip-cast porcelain tableware using traditional methods largely unchanged since the 1700s. Historical ceramics are a constant source - the profiles of eighteenth-century porcelain, the straightforwardness of English delftware. I sketch in clay and plaster, working three-dimensionally, thinking about silhouette and how an object holds itself in space.
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I'm intrigued by the friction between technology and the objects we live with - what we gain by employing it, what we lose, and why we're still pulled towards something made by hand.
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THE PROCESS
I work with hard-paste French porcelain, mixed from powder in my studio. The only machine is the mixer. Everything else is done by hand.
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Each design begins as a clay form thrown on the wheel, then cast in plaster to create the master mould. Vessel and handle are cast separately - a two-part process that allows for the small variations that accumulate into personality.
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Slip is mixed for hours before casting. A test piece calculates the casting time for that day - too short and the walls are thin, too long and they're heavy. Once emptied and trimmed, the moulds are left to dry for two days.
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Handles attached, bases stamped - positioned by feel rather than measurement. Pieces dry for a week on wooden boards, then each one is sponged to smooth imperfections and taper the rim.
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Bisque fired at 1000°C, then dipped in a transparent glaze. The final firing reaches 1300°C.
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