About
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My name is Lisa Biris, I am a Dutch ceramist living in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
At the start of 2013 I took up a workshop hand-building at a art center in Amsterdam just to try something new and to really use my hands again to create something. Having never really worked with clay before I never imagined that it would become my passion. After learning some of the basics at this workshop I soon discovered my love for texture and started experimenting on my own with different types of clay and different techniques. Most of the techniques I use are either self-taught or learned from asking tips from other ceramic artists.
At the start of 2013 I took up a workshop hand-building at a art center in Amsterdam just to try something new and to really use my hands again to create something. Having never really worked with clay before I never imagined that it would become my passion. After learning some of the basics at this workshop I soon discovered my love for texture and started experimenting on my own with different types of clay and different techniques. Most of the techniques I use are either self-taught or learned from asking tips from other ceramic artists.
Inspiration & principles
The inspiration for the objects I create comes from all the beautiful shapes, textures and colors nature has to offer. Particularly corals, fungi and seed pods, but also feathers, skin textures, scales, wood, exotic plants and geological formations. There are three main principles in all of my work, these are texture, contrast and movement.
Texture is the main focus, texture for me is something to experience, not only by looking at it but also by touching it. To explore what you are seeing by running your fingers over for instance bumps or ridges or other kinds of texture. And it's very important that my work creates that same feeling of wanting to touch it. Texture can also make a hard rigid object seem soft or pliable.
Contrast is also one of the main principles I work with. Contrast can be seen in many different forms, it can be contrast in shape, in color, in smooth versus rough (texture) or in glazed versus unglazed parts. It has the ability to reinforce the shape, organic feel or the overall experience of a piece.
Besides texture and contrast, movement is also important. The illusion that an object is moving or has movement or direction in it. It also is about the organic feel of an object, that it might have grown naturally into the end result instead of being manmade. Creating movement in an object is usually a more subconscious part of the making process. It is a result of the organic process of creation and seldom pre-planned.
Process
In general I make art objects but on occasion also functional pieces such as jewelry boxes and jewelry. I start by making a basic smooth shape out of coils or slabs, to this basic shape I add all kinds of texture. The objects are completely hand-built but sometimes I press-mold the basic shape to ensure a smooth and clean result. The texture is made by rolling each individual element one by one between my fingers and shaping it into its final form. For this shaping I use mostly my fingers but also tools I either buy or find around the house: toothpicks, spatulas, brushes, pins, etcetera.
I work with porcelain paperclay, porcelain and stoneware. To add color to my objects I color my own clay with color pigments (stains), these are added to the clay and kneaded through. I rarely use colored glazes, mostly just clear glaze. But on the grey stoneware, which is naturally this color I use a metallic glaze of contrast. I use glaze and sometimes oxides (e.g. cobalt, copper) to either accentuate or offset the texture on an object. I also use gold, platinum and mother-of-pearl luster to further accentuate the texture and to add a little something precious and sparkling to the objects.
Each object takes a lot of hours to create, not only is every little element of texture made and added individually, but also the glaze, oxides and lusters are applied separately with a (small) brush on the object. Most objects go through 3 firings: bisque, glaze and luster firings. I do both the bisque and glaze firings at 1250⁰ Celsius, the luster firing is at a lower temperature at 750⁰ Celsius.
For further questions about my work please use the contact form
To stay up to date with my latest news, work in progress and events, please visit my Lisa Biris Ceramic Art Instagram.
The inspiration for the objects I create comes from all the beautiful shapes, textures and colors nature has to offer. Particularly corals, fungi and seed pods, but also feathers, skin textures, scales, wood, exotic plants and geological formations. There are three main principles in all of my work, these are texture, contrast and movement.
Texture is the main focus, texture for me is something to experience, not only by looking at it but also by touching it. To explore what you are seeing by running your fingers over for instance bumps or ridges or other kinds of texture. And it's very important that my work creates that same feeling of wanting to touch it. Texture can also make a hard rigid object seem soft or pliable.
Contrast is also one of the main principles I work with. Contrast can be seen in many different forms, it can be contrast in shape, in color, in smooth versus rough (texture) or in glazed versus unglazed parts. It has the ability to reinforce the shape, organic feel or the overall experience of a piece.
Besides texture and contrast, movement is also important. The illusion that an object is moving or has movement or direction in it. It also is about the organic feel of an object, that it might have grown naturally into the end result instead of being manmade. Creating movement in an object is usually a more subconscious part of the making process. It is a result of the organic process of creation and seldom pre-planned.
Process
In general I make art objects but on occasion also functional pieces such as jewelry boxes and jewelry. I start by making a basic smooth shape out of coils or slabs, to this basic shape I add all kinds of texture. The objects are completely hand-built but sometimes I press-mold the basic shape to ensure a smooth and clean result. The texture is made by rolling each individual element one by one between my fingers and shaping it into its final form. For this shaping I use mostly my fingers but also tools I either buy or find around the house: toothpicks, spatulas, brushes, pins, etcetera.
I work with porcelain paperclay, porcelain and stoneware. To add color to my objects I color my own clay with color pigments (stains), these are added to the clay and kneaded through. I rarely use colored glazes, mostly just clear glaze. But on the grey stoneware, which is naturally this color I use a metallic glaze of contrast. I use glaze and sometimes oxides (e.g. cobalt, copper) to either accentuate or offset the texture on an object. I also use gold, platinum and mother-of-pearl luster to further accentuate the texture and to add a little something precious and sparkling to the objects.
Each object takes a lot of hours to create, not only is every little element of texture made and added individually, but also the glaze, oxides and lusters are applied separately with a (small) brush on the object. Most objects go through 3 firings: bisque, glaze and luster firings. I do both the bisque and glaze firings at 1250⁰ Celsius, the luster firing is at a lower temperature at 750⁰ Celsius.
For further questions about my work please use the contact form
To stay up to date with my latest news, work in progress and events, please visit my Lisa Biris Ceramic Art Instagram.