KATY WEST

RSA - Design Futures

RSA Design Directions Award 2006

I have been inspired by the origins and creation of bone china in the 18th century - In an attempt to imitate the porcelains that were being imported from the east the resulting body was even whiter and more translucent. The same ships were importing tea that became as popular as the china cup in high society. I have sought to mix the elaborate ornamentation of the Georgian society with a modern sensibility. By using the handle as a motif to evoke the past I have made a drinking vessel that reflects the more relaxed attitude to tea and coffee drinking we have today.

Made simply in bone china with a clear glaze the quality of the material highlights the engraving skills still prevalent in the Staffordshire potteries today.