biography
Eleanor Bartleman was brought up on Scotland’s Ayrshire coast. She studied ceramics at the Glasgow School of Art, completing a postgraduate year of study in 1979, and set up her first workshop soon after.
Initially working in earthenware, she pursued her interests in mythology and, in particular, the Beast Epic of Reynard the Fox, taking various strands of mythology and developing her own style of figurative ceramics.
She quickly established a career as a ceramic artist making and selling her individual handbuilt ceramics to a wide range of quality outlets in the UK.
Eleanor was a lecturer in ceramics for several years in the ‘90s, setting up and teaching a degree course at Petroc in North Devon before returning to full time making, this time concentrating on porcelain.
She has been based in North Devon since 1990.
She is an elected member of Make South West.
development of ideas
I have always had an interest in the dark side of fairy tales so when, in my final year at Art School, I discovered the Beast Epic of Reynard the Fox, I felt quite at home! I initially worked on the themes of these intriguing, humorous and bawdy tales, illustrating and embellishing the medieval stories. Eventually I took the idea of animals portraying human characters and developed my own narrative from it.
I now find ideas in many different places - ancient manuscripts, fairy tales, museum exhibits, history books and make them my own. However, I often return to Reynard and foxes in particular as a vehicle for my ideas.
I like to keep a mysterious feel to the work, to have the viewer looking in on something strange and dreamlike. For example, looking through the undergrowth to see a group of foxes dancing round a tree, or through a window to see a horse wearing a big flowery frock. I hope the viewer will be intrigued, amused and maybe slightly unnerved too
technical
My work is handmade from porcelain clay which is a fine, white clay which has a lovely bone like quality when high fired. It’s good for detail and colours applied to it fire up vibrant and intense. The work is mostly handmodelled although occasionally I use my own moulds to press out basic shapes and sprig moulds to create surface patterns and texture.
The work is decorated with incised patterns, coloured slips, stains and underglazes. Pearls are handrolled and diamonds and stars are cut out and applied to create a decorative jewel like effect.
The work is fired in an electric kiln and goes through three firings. The bisque firing is to 1040c, after which I apply transparent glaze to selected parts of the work. The second firing is the high firing of 1260c, during which the work is supported by props and purpose made porcelain ‘scaffolding’ to prevent warping and slumping.
Lustres and gold are then applied after which the work undergoes its final firing of 780c.
