Digitally Printed Ceramics And Porcelain By Alice Mara.

The next time you find yourself eating over the kitchen sink, the stove, dishwasher or washing machine, you may find that you're actually dining on one of Alice Mara's digitally printed ceramic plates.

She takes computer enhanced photographs of the urban landscape and objects and digitally prints them upon slip cast porcelain, ceramics and earthenware. The results are wonderful, witty and unique.

Available for purchase:

Plates (27cm x 27cm):







Matching Coasters:



Mugs:


Buy the above Alice Mara Ceramics here

Hanging People (porcelain tableware):





See the complete collection of her Hanging People tableware printed on fine bone china (and buy it if you like) at the Hidden Art Shop

Other pieces (no longer available for purchase, but of which I have long been a fan):










"My work is about the urban landscape.
Having lived in London most of my life I enjoy walking around the place and taking pictures of buildings that interest me. I recently completed a body of work depicting my local environment, Walthamstow, which involved cataloguing (sic) a nostalgic journey of familiar landmarks.

Using a computer, I enhanced the photographs to give them a fantastical, surreal appeal. I like the viewer to be able to recognise the environment that I choose to decorate the plates with, either through a sense of having visited the place or a general recognition of the London theme.

By placing these images onto plates, I transform the identity, function and value of the plate into a decorative work of art which becomes readable for the viewer." -Alice Mara


above: Alice Mara

In 2003 Alice successfully completed her Masters in Ceramics at the prestigious Royal College of Art. Since then she has shown work at many galleries including Canary Wharf, crafts council and the Richard Denis Gallery.

Ms. Mara has also been awarded the Queensbury Hunt prize for innovative use of ceramics and the Ella Doran prize for best new designer at ELDS.

Alice Mara
Archway Ceramics
410 Haven Mews
23 St Paul's Way
London
E3 4AG

Canadian Emblem Vases By Katharine Morley

Miss your native Canada? Or want something to remember The Great White North by? Then consider these sweet Emblem Vases by Canadian artist and designer Katharine Morley.



Each of the porcelain vases features a hand drawn icon- be it flora or fauna- reminiscent of a province or place in Canada;
Pink Lady’s Slipper - PEI
Common Loon - Ontario
Great Horned Owl -Alberta
Inukshuk - Nunavut
Fleur De Lis -Quebec
Woodland Caribou -Newfoundland & Labrador
Spirit Bear -British Columbia
Red Spruce -Nova Scotia



Photos by Noa Bronstein

Title: Canadian Emblem Vases
Material: Hand drawn on porcelain, glaze
Dimensions: Approximately 7″ tall by 2.5″ diameter
Available: The Design Exchange Shop
Price: $50

Katharine Morley

Bottega Veneta Does Dishes: Introducing Intreccio Svenito Porcelain Dinnerware

Bottega Veneta, which is owned by the Gucci Group of French company PPR, has also teamed up with KPM (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur KPM), the porcelain company famously acquired in the 18th century by Prussian King Frederick the Great, for a range of dishes featuring a hand-painted version of the intreccio motif -- starting prices at around 85 euros.

The collection incorporates their famous woven leather motif, only hand painted upon porcelain to give a very unusual look and style.

Introducing Intreccio Svanito:













And don't forget, they make stunning woven leather chargers, placemats, napkin rings and more to compliment their new dishes.



And if you really want to fork out some dough, buy their dining room furniture to compliment your new dishes!



Visit the Bottega Veneta website to learn where to purchase and to see all of their fabulous items.

Meet A Ceramicist Who Puts Her Head & Heart Into Her Work: Renate Hattinger

The following pieces of Renate Hattinger's were exhibited at Blickfang 2007 in Kongresshaus, Zurich:

Think Tank



Material: porcelain, gold plated, luster
Dimension (H/W/D): 15x11x10,5cm
Approx. $173.00 USD
Think Tank in nacre version, pink version and blue version available for purchase here.

Think Tank is part of the series Human Interior. Human Interior are porcelain containers in form of the central human organs, heart and brain. The highly specialized organs heart and brain designed by nature are symbols for life, intelligence, love.

The invisible inside becomes visible and gets a concrete emotional meaning by careful processing and refinement of the object's surface. The objects are not only to be admired on pedestals and in showcases but to be used and filled. This perhaps allows an irreverent, but hopefully humorous usage of my creations.


Golden Heart:


Golden Heart
Material: porcelain, gold plated, luster
Dimension (H/W/D): 13 x 15 x 14 cm
Approx $317.00 USD
Buy it here.

Golden Heart is part of the series Human Interior. Human Interior are porcelain containers in form of the central human organs, heart and brain. The highly specialized organs heart and brain designed by nature are symbols for life, intelligence, love.

Also in White (biscuit):


The heart is also available in biscuit.
Approx $275.00 USD, just order it via Email

In Renee's own words:
After my education at the HTBLA Ortweinplatz in Graz in the department of ceramics, I studied product design for ceramics with Matteo Thun at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna.

As a ceramist I work with different materials in ceramic technology. In the last years, however, I mainly specialized in the production of unique pieces and small series of porcelain.

I consider myself neither an artist in the classical sense nor a designer. I'd rather like to create a connection between the two disciplines. This means that the artistic expression of a product is more important to me than its ergonomic usefulness, I however create small art works which can also be used (e.g. as a box).

You can buy Think Tank and Golden Heart here at Pure Austrian Design's online shop.
Or you can contact the artist directly: renate.hattinger@chello.at


Visit her site to see her other work as well here.