Franco Rampi
My ceramic work
My ceramic work is a language in -the-making between present and future, held togheter by a thin but persistant line to the past and tradition.
As a means of expression, I prefer organic material and the form. The natural path that follows is the continual research of clays and materials, which shapes the body of my ceramics.
An element such as clay, extremely plastic and flexible, offers incredible opportunities of transformation.
The mixture required for high temperature (1260°C – 1280°C ) consists of a blend of refractory clays and low temperature clays, in varying proportions. On this base I then apply slips, which are another form of prepared clay.
My work is once-fired (without a biscuit firing) in a gas kiln, and undergoes a reduction process which draws out the iron from within the clay, while the continuous flame marks my work, at times very dramatically.
