Ceramic torso – sale!
Published June 12, 2011
There will be a studio sale of ceramic torso sculptures during the next few weeks.
Ceramic angels, too
Perfect wall mounted gifts for yourself or someone else!
Please contact me here if you would like to come and have a look!
About Anna
I am a ceramic sculptor living on the South coast near London, England. My work is influenced by my experience of the earth as a living being and seeing how we are all connected with eachother and with the things that surround us. I create ceramic torsos using molochite clay which I often smokefire in galvanised dustbins. I also make House Gods to protect and amuse, and Fat Birds – little smokefired sculptures that tell the story about what it is like to be a fat bird at peace with its surroundings.
Ceramic torso vase, the final result.
Published April 6, 2011
The ceramic torso vase looks pretty different from side to side, and that is down to what happened during the smoke firing process. I used red Botz glaze for the hearts,
while the body had a wash of copper, manganese and red iron oxide. It is glazed with transparent glaze on the inside to render it water tight and also to add a bit of contrast to the matt finish outside.
Auction for Japan – update
Published March 24, 2011The Auction for Japan has now started on Facebook -
And the bid for this torso is £150 at the moment. If you want a bargain you can place bid on this site as well as on Auction for Japan’s site on FB. They have a lot of different goodies up for grabs so they’re well worth a look.
Here is a link to more ceramic torsos on my website
Auction for Japan
Published March 18, 2011
This ceramic torso have been made from many separate little pieces of earth put together to create an image of the one living Godess. It is as blue as the sea on a calm, misty day, and I have rubbed some gold into the cracks as a blessing for good fortune and prosperity…
The selling price from my website is £330, but I will start the bidding at £150, and the proceeds will go to help the resque efforts in Japan. I am doing this together with Auction for Japan on Facebook.
Please make your bids here on the blog via a comment or via my facebook page so that everything remains in the public eye.
This is a link to my website where you can see more torsos.
The bidding will start on the 21/3/2011 and finish on the 28/3/2011 at 8pm.
Happy bidding!
PS Transport is not included – please contact me before bidding to find out the costs. The piece is appx. 19”x16” and it weighs around 1.5 kilo
Mid Winter
Published January 10, 2011
I guess this time of year often lends itself to introspection, tax returns and the cleaning out of sock drawers…
I’ve spent some time updating my website; drawing up workshop classes for the spring. Here is a link to those .
There is also a new page about my alernative portrait and body cast commission service here.
Making a ceramic sculpture based on an individual body cast is a process that I thoroughly enjoy.
I start off by covering the area with plaster bandages. Once they have gone hard, I carefully remove them and pour in plaster to create a cast.
I then build clay walls around the cast and pour freah plaster on top.
Once I have seperated the two lumps of plaster, I should have my mould!
And now the real fun begins; incising small portions of clay individually, I place them inside the mould reproducing the torso.
At this stage I can add any embellishments to further personalise the ceramic torso according to our discussions.
Life casting update
Published December 12, 2010
I have recently had a couple of life casting commissions from ladies who would like a ceramic torso based on their body. I feel very honoured to be trusted in this way. It is exciting to discover how somebody would like to be seen and then figure out how to get that message across. A lot is being said without using actual words.
I have this great affinity with Gaia, the Goddess, and I see everyone as an aspect of her. Creating beautiful images of people this way is blissful and a priviledge…. And jolly hard work!
I glazed this torso in a dark gold aventurine – the lady was mysterious - reminding me of a dark river flowing underground….
The image looks a bit dark here, but if you click it, it should expand.
Life casting commissions
Published November 8, 2010I adore it when people ask me to create a ceramic torso based on their body. 
It is nerve wrecking of course, because so much can go wrong – anytime.
You start by applying plaster strips over the skin. 
And then you make a plaster replica, filling in any under cuts with clay..
You now need to build clay walls all around the replica in order to contain the fresh plaster poured over it in order to create the mould.
When the plaster has dried, the replica needs to be separated from the mould. Often, the two lumps of plaster get stuck together…
And you need to use a mallet and chissel in order to separate them…You can see how the arm is hopelessly stuck…This is the stuff nightmares are made of – If I don’t manage to remove the arm without damaging the mould I will have to start from scratch.
At last I have my mould and it now needs to dry for a week or two until it is ready to use. In my next post I will let you know how I got on. In the mean time, please have a look at my ceramic torsos at www.annakeiller.com/torsos
Ceramic torsos; Zechariah’s Angel
Published September 25, 2010
Zechariah was quite an old man when one day an angel appeared before him announcing that his wife – who was also pretty ancient – was going to give birth to a son. This is all in the new testament, and the son was John the Baptist.
I have made a pregnant angel – she is the angel of the future, really. 
She is made inside a press mold and glazed with oxides and then smoke fired.
At the moment she’s hanging at the Battle Contemporary art fair, http://www.battlefineartfair.co.uk
‘Wind in my heart’ ceramic torso
Published August 22, 2010[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXUpKmYwnEE]
I have always loved this Talking Head song and so I decided to write some of the lyrics on one of my ceramic torsos. I’ve added a pair of wings on her shoulder.
See more torsos at www.annakeiller.com
Summer exhibitions
Published July 28, 2010
Rye Society of Artists have their preview a few days earlier on Friday 6th of August at 7-9pm and I hope to see you at either shows – or both!
Sign up for Anna Keiller's Newsletter