Karen Murrell
Artists Statement
Motivation/Inspiration
My work takes a delight in the processes involved in its construction- the shaping and manipulation of copper, and the exploration of the reactions between the metal and the enamels. The process can involve applying many layers and I am always excited by the effects that can be achieved, constantly refining my technique to get the best and most interesting combination of colour and pattern.
Pattern
My work addresses my long-standing interest in pattern and ornament as a visual currency within societies. Pattern in its earliest forms was often a mark of belonging or exclusion and was often inspired by natural patterns and geometry. It acquired different significations as it moved through place and time and became a fluid visual language for cultural exchange. In my enamelling I am exploring my interest in pattern and particularly working towards a consideration of the relationship between natural pattern and culturally created pattern.
2D work: Panels
A History of the World in 100 Swatches
This piece of work was for my MA exhibition. It was based on the idea of sampling and presents a purely visual version of history that extracts pattern from its various contexts and thereby strips away the accretion of hierarchy and considers patterns inspired by, for example, lace and weaponry side by side.
On flat panels I use a variety of techniques, such as screen-printing, stencils and etching to work in pattern on copper with multiple layers of enamel.
3D work: Vessels
Hidden Depths Series
Pattern first appeared in vessels that had both functional and ceremonial use. In this series of vessels I have taken inspiration from fluid organic patterns seen in natural micro cell structures. I use the qualities of the material when layering different enamels over and under each other to make unique patterns in the vessels that are beautifully coloured and marked, but also very fine and appear very delicate.
Metal spinning by hand on a lathe is an ancient but dying craft with very few practitioners left in the country, but it gives me the satisfaction of designing and making my copper vessels from scratch. To create the vessels I turn maple on a lathe until I have perfected the basic form, then spin circles of sheet copper on the lathe over the wooden mandrel, but vary the size and the finish of the edges so that I create a series of vessels that have both coherence and difference.
Future development
I am interested in the further development of work that explores pattern as a visual language in both in 2D and 3D forms. I see the interaction of artistic ideas and continuously developing craft skills as important to my work .