Thorny Crown
Thorny Crown
by Tim Warnes
Ceramic and wood
by Tim Warnes
Ceramic and wood
About my Owl Sculptures
The owls are handmade in clay, then decorated in a variety of ways - primarily by painting on coloured slip (liquid-clay) and oxides. I occasionally use wax resist (the wax prevents the slip from sticking) allowing the natural colour of the clay to show through. The clay owls are fired in the kiln twice. After the second firing, I may paint further pattern and detail onto the ceramic owls using inks and paint.
Most of the owls are mounted on to natural wood, which is carefully chosen so that it’s natural beauty complements the colour and pattern of each individual owl. Upcycled off-cuts of timber form the sculpture bases (and sometimes the owls’ perches). I hope this attention to detail gives each piece character.
I find that the sculptures often seem to want to tell a story. I suppose that’s the illustrator in me shining through!
Please note: much of the appeal of the wood lies in the life that went before: fragments of lichen or moss, peeling bark - and evidence of wood boring beetles. Because of this, certain sculptures are chemically treated, and unable to be exported outside of the UK.
- Tim Warnes