It was a joy to meet Halima Cassell in person when she came and gave a take to the design MA students early this year. I had read articles about her in Ceramic Review and had been to see her show in Kirkby some years ago. She showed images during her talk, some dating back to her BA and MA courses at UCLAN, so when I went to her show in Manchester Art Gallery I was comfortable that there would be big differences between her work and what I am aiming to do. Of course there is - she started with clay but now works with multiple materials : clay, wood, glass, (as I had seen in Kirkby) marble and Jesmonite. Her ceramics are unglazed, though many are for display outside and of course hers are stunningly precise. I had expected to see sharp edges and rounded deep hollows on her deeply carved forms; perfect symmetry and predominantly geometric shapes. She has now developed rounded crests and some movement away from symetry. Her 'virtues of unity' series started some time ago utilises the same basic dish form for each, using clays from, and trying to express the characteristics of, different countries. She demonstrates the almost endless variety that can be achieved with a similar basic shape and style. Her newer work goes beyond those boundaries. In her own words she has 'loosened up' with flowing lines, rounded external shapes and ridges but with symmetry never far away. I have chosen a few images to demonstrate the variety of form and materials she has used and that now characterize her work Even Halima Cassell has had her disasters, as when her 'Torso' piece blew up in the kiln .....but she turned it into a success and exhibited anyway. I came away from this exhibition in Manchester realising I had been influenced more by Halima Cassell than I had previously acknowledged. I was reassured that although her work is now freer in style there are still very significant differences between her sculptures and the garden forms I aim to produce. it was also reassuring, looking at her Japanese thrown and carved pots, that she too had areas of weakness and had had to move on from them. Also her carving technique is flawless and I need to improve mine!
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AuthorI am indulging my passion for ceramics by undertaking studies for an MA at UCLAN Archives
August 2021
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