Porcelain Echoes is a body of work that Kala developed during a six week residency (June-July 2019) in Jingdezhen, China - the porcelain capitol. at Menlo Studio. The work is comprised of five collections she made while working at Menlo Studio and in the Sculpture Factory area.

• Tea Tray Assemblages: Readymade tea trays available as unglazed blanks in Jingdezhen were cut, sanded, and assembled to transcend the autonomous object; referencing Chinese characters.

• WaterWare: Visual interpretations portraying environmental issues regarding freshwater are expressed through images of Lake Ontario. Kala’s photograph was made into image transfers using ceramic inks, cut, and reassembled before firing onto the glazed surface.

• Tea Ware: Tea cups, designed and carved by Kala were casted in the local porcelain and paired with ready made tea trays.

• Decal Bricolage: Commercial decals were sourced and deconstructed. Readymade platters were resurfaced with improvisational bricolage and a gold plating process (PVD).

• Archiving an Abandoned Factory: An abandoned porcelain bottle factory was a source of fascination and place of exploration. Kala sifted through thousands of found molds and made charcoal rubbings of the faces before they erode to nothing. The remaining molds in the abandoned factory are gravestones, a metaphor for the laborers now gone and the cease of production in this specific location.

• Tea Tray Assemblages: Readymade tea trays available as unglazed blanks in Jingdezhen were cut, sanded, and assembled to transcend the autonomous object; referencing Chinese characters.

• WaterWare: Visual interpretations portraying environmental issues regarding freshwater are expressed through images of Lake Ontario. Kala’s photograph was made into image transfers using ceramic inks, cut, and reassembled before firing onto the glazed surface.

• Tea Ware: Tea cups, designed and carved by Kala were casted in the local porcelain and paired with ready made tea trays.

• Decal Bricolage: Commercial decals were sourced and deconstructed. Readymade platters were resurfaced with improvisational bricolage and a gold plating process (PVD).

• Archiving an Abandoned Factory: An abandoned porcelain bottle factory was a source of fascination and place of exploration. Kala sifted through thousands of found molds and made charcoal rubbings of the faces before they erode to nothing. The remaining molds in the abandoned factory are gravestones, a metaphor for the laborers now gone and the cease of production in this specific location.

Variable.

A data visualization in ceramic of California's annual precipitation in a 1:1 ratio showing inches of rain represented by blue photographic ink fired into glazed surfaces of remnant tile. Each vertical line represents a calendar year, left to right 2010-2021.

Cited from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance: Statewide Time Series, published February 2022, retrieved on February 27,2022 from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/

Handmade stoneware remnant tiles are glazed and then fired a third time with photo transfers of Kala’s photographs and 24K gold.

Each vertical column of tiles are hung separately making this piece modular and scalable to your ideal location. 32" × 32" total dimension

Stoneware, glaze, photo transfers, 24K gold metallic luster

2022