| The
collection of eight remarkable clocks has finally been delivered after
a wait of some five months due to the demand for Mark's work both
in the UK and America.
Karen
Tait of the bohemia gallery said, "We have been waiting for
these clocks for what seemed an eternity, but the wait was worth
every second, the originality of design, the finish and just the
overall quality of the work is outstanding and is exactly the type
of work that inspired us to set up bohemia."
 |
| 'King
of Hearts' by Mark Dally |
Mark
said "I take my inspiration from mass-produced, recognizable
everyday forms; my contemporary ceramic clocks are a reinterpretation
of popular culture.
"At
the same time, perhaps conversely, I strive for quality workmanship
in my pieces with strong attention to detail.
"In
my work I try to transform the everyday into the surprising and
witty - yet still faintly familiar.
"Starting
with shapes taken from plastic children's toys or household gadgets,
and by adapting some industrial ceramic techniques to my studio
ceramic approach, I rearrange and re-assemble elements from mass
production to make my handmade clockwork characters.
"These
design ideas have developed from my childhood fascination with 1950s
and '60s Sci-Fi, like Robbie the Robot's fake functionalism, or
the quaint aerodynamics of Dan Dare's 'streamlined' space rockets.
"Other
influences include playful cartoon animation, as in Fantasia and
Max Fleischer's Hoppity Goes to Town.
"More
recently, John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland seen afresh have inspired me with their odd yet familiar
composite characters.
 |
| 'Giant
Queen' by Mark Dally |
"My
interest in pre-Hispanic South American and Australian Aboriginal
art has influenced my decorative style, along with modish textiles
and surface patterns of the '50s, like Ridgway's Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔmaker pattern.
"To
make my work I start with hand-modelled or lathe-turned shapes,
along with found objects. From these I make plaster moulds which
I use to translate the shapes into clay components.
"From
my extensive library of moulds, I slip cast components in white
earthenware which, later, I join when leather-hard.
"Once
composition of the piece is complete I decorate the green ware with
slip trailed and brushed slips.
"After
the initial firing I glaze with a combination of under glazes and
brightly coloured earthenware glazes.
"Finally,
in a third lustre firing I apply metallic lustre's and touches of
liquid bright gold and platinum".
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