You take a sheet of clay, you twist it at one end, you join one end onto the other and it goes from being a flat, two edged, two surfaced piece to having only a single edge and one single continuous surface.

你取下一塊粘土，將其一端扭轉，然後將一端連接到另一端，它就會從一個平整的、有兩個邊、兩個面的作品變成只有一個邊和一個連續面的作品。

I use Ashref Hanna Raku clay but it is fired and is quite tolerant to firing to stoneware.

我使用的是 Ashref Hanna Raku 粘土，但這種粘土是經過燒製的，非常容易燒製成石器。

So on the unglazed pieces I fire to just over 1200 degrees centigrade.

是以，在未上釉的作品上，我將火燒到略高於 1200 攝氏度。

So it is fully vitrified stoneware.

是以，它是完全玻璃化的石器。

I start off by wedging the clay, simply cutting it and reorienting the two halves relative to one another.

我首先楔入粘土，簡單地切割粘土並調整兩半粘土的方向。

Sealing over that surface around those cut edges, recutting, rejoining and so I'm constantly reorienting all the particles of the clay.

在切割邊緣的表面進行密封，重新切割，重新連接，是以我不斷調整粘土顆粒的方向。

Once I've done that I put the clay through the slab roller, create a long slab.

做完這些後，我就把粘土放進板坯滾筒，形成一塊長板坯。

The proportions of the width and the length are something that I just practice with.

寬度和長度的比例是我在實踐中摸索出來的。

There is a sort of harmony between the width and the length which creates a nice depth to the form.

寬度和長度之間有一種和諧感，使造型更有深度。

I then work over with the rib to consolidate the slab.

然後，我再用肋條加固石板。

I then trim it down to rough width and length and then I set it to one side to dry out for several hours.

然後，我把它修剪成大致的寬度和長度，再把它放在一邊晾晒幾個小時。

Having allowed it to dry to that point where it's slightly stiff,

讓它幹到稍微有點硬的程度、

I then need to prepare the edges for the great deal of stretching that they're going to need to do when I twist that slab.

然後，我需要為邊緣做好準備，以便在扭轉板坯時，邊緣需要進行大量拉伸。

So I add just a little bit of moisture along each edge and work over that edge.

是以，我只在每條邊緣加一點水分，然後在邊緣上工作。

Once I've done that I'm then ready to start to stretch and manipulate that slab so that I can join the two edges to become one.

完成後，我就可以開始拉伸和處理板坯，以便將兩條邊連接成一體。

I need to pre-stress that whole slab down its length to get that stretch along the edge but also to get the whole slab limbered up.

我需要在整塊石板的長度方向上施加預應力，以獲得沿邊緣的拉伸效果，同時也讓整塊石板得到放鬆。

Once I've done that then I'm able to take one end and bring it into contact with the other and to begin to gently make that connection between those two edges.

做完這些後，我就可以將一端與另一端接觸，然後開始輕輕地將這兩條邊連接起來。

That joining process is slightly more gradual than you might think.

加入過程比你想象的要稍微緩慢一些。

I then start the process of beginning to shape the piece and start to create that lovely curve across the width which actually allows the whole form to bounce into three dimensions.

然後，我開始塑造作品的形狀，並開始在寬度上創造出可愛的曲線，這實際上是為了讓整個造型彈跳到三維空間。

That's where I start to introduce the heat gun.

這就是我開始介紹熱風槍的地方。

It allows me to speed up that process of stiffening and to concentrate it in certain parts of the slab and not others.

它可以讓我加快僵化過程，並將僵化集中在板坯的某些部分，而不是其他部分。

So the part that I've begun to shape I can force dry a little bit so that it's a little more able to support its shape.

是以，我可以把已經開始塑形的部分稍稍晾乾，這樣它就能更好地支撐自己的形狀了。

And through that process which is quite lengthy and quite gradual I suppose, slowly this form begins to emerge from this flat, slightly dead, single plane into something that really moves through three dimensions.

我想，這個過程是相當漫長和漸進的，慢慢地，這種形式開始從平面的、略顯死寂的、單一的平面，變成真正能在三維空間中移動的東西。

I've recently started creating these openings in the form and they've been interesting to develop.

我最近開始在表格中創建這些開口，它們的開發非常有趣。

What I really like about those is that opening up of new sight lines and the creation of new symmetries and relationships between the edge and the edge of the opening.

我最喜歡的一點是，這些作品開闢了新的視線，在邊緣和開口邊緣之間創造了新的對稱和關係。

And the intention really is that, both with the edges and the opening, is that they are almost, they're not cuts.

這樣做的真正意圖是，無論是邊緣還是開口，它們幾乎都不是切口。

They are almost the appearance of transparency where I've taken that clay away.

它們幾乎是透明的，我把粘土拿走了。

I start off with a fairly thick slab, ten, eleven, maybe even twelve millimetres thick at the beginning.

我一開始用的是相當厚的石板，十、十一甚至十二毫米厚。

So I have to gradually pare that clay away to create that sense of levity.

是以，我必須逐漸減少粘土的用量，以營造輕鬆感。

And so there's a lot of paring down.

是以，需要進行大量削減。

It takes place over quite a long period of time using the serrated kidney to the much more delicate and much more nuanced refinement with the smooth kidney.

從鋸齒狀的腎臟到更精緻、更細微的光滑腎臟，這需要相當長的時間。

At which point I'm really looking in the initial stages at refining that surface so that there's no faceting, there's no, you've got a nice gradual transition of shadows.

這時，我就會在最初階段對錶面進行細化，這樣就不會有切面，也不會有陰影，你就會有一個很好的漸變過渡。

The final part of that refinement of the edge is just to add a little bit of moisture and to burnish with a wooden tool.

修整邊緣的最後一道工序是添加一點水分，然後用木製工具打磨。

I like boxwood, I love the fine grain of it and the way that it allows me to polish that edge.

我喜歡黃楊木，我喜歡它細膩的紋理，也喜歡它能讓我打磨邊緣的方式。

I want it to look strong enough to be flamboyant, to be slightly ostentatious.

我希望它看起來足夠強大，足夠張揚，足夠炫耀。

I don't want it to be a delicate wallflower.

我不想讓它成為嬌弱的壁花。

I want it to look robust enough to be able to celebrate that sense of movement and that motion.

我希望它看起來足夠強壯，能夠彰顯運動感和動感。