MY Fragile Reefs project

My project aims to raise awareness for coral bleaching. It focuses on their death cycle and how alike to ceramics they are fragile and easily broken. We view them as beautiful, but if we don't care for them they will not always be there. I have researched through documentaries and scientific articles and made a collection of information that I want to bring to light with this project, attracted at first by the pottery the audience will be lead to read the informative leaflets or plaques (deciding what looks best still). It is going through it's experimental phases a lot, but it's coming along really well though I feel still incomplete :)

Who am I?

I am an illustrator and ceramicist, I love to work with clay, but I love to research even more, just rabbit holes of information that branch off into trees of knowledge. I want to bring some of the more urgent things I have learnt to those around me through my own passion. I enjoy pottery because I like the sensory art and how you must push and pull at the clay and feel it form.

MY story

I'd consider what I'm doing to be unique from the sense that it focuses on a new angle of mass bleaching. As of late, corals have become vibrant and seemingly alive, however, this is actually a warning, a chemical sunscreen they are creating to protect themselves from the sun, unknowing that, that is not where the heat comes from. Global warming has triggered this shout for help, but they are actually going through their death cycle, as protection from UV light does nothing against the heat of the seas. If we were to consider a coral as our own bodies, when we get fevers, it is a rise by a few degrees, and this is what the oceans are currently going through. You'd think it's so little, but centuries upon centuries of growth is destroyed within days and weeks, and this is going to severely hurt us if we don't do more. I do acknowledge it isn't on us... the majority is big industries and governments just not moving fast enough, understandably because of the hit our economies would take, but I hope someone who hears the message, might be able to think of a better way, inspired by the urgency.

Where will the money go?

All money from donations will go towards this project, which I am using to develop my pottery skills, portfolio, and to help raise awareness for the underwater world. How dramatic the impact will be if we don't protect them soon will just be catastrophic! Not to put a dampen on things :(( At this point the deadline for my project is very close, so I've really "all inned" to a point I dug into funds I didn't have as a student, which I'm hoping to cover with the financial help from donations, but with just under 28 day's left, I plan to really work my ass off and make the most of it, to design something that will really pull people in (I hope!) :) 

So far I am investing roughly £470 into my project on glazes and clays and delivery. Despite that, I still seem to need a lot more going forwards, for glazes, decor, set up, photography tents and lighting, and so on... and currently that is looking to cost £412 pounds. And this isn't even including lustre's, as this costs 90 per 5ml, so I'm looking to keep that aside. I know that it's definitely a lot, but I don't plan to waste a single penny, with my spreadsheets managing all the costs as I go along, marking off what I have and haven't bought, and TRYING to be frugal by choosing only colours that a more necessary to this project (mostly blues in this scenario).

Find ME here

On my account @leimoncreations on instagram. I will frequently update on the progress of my Fragile Reefs project :)!!!!!!! You will get to see the pottery that I have already made, my other ongoing projects, the final product of Fragile Reefs, and how I continue to develop it after submission for those who are interested!

I hope you look forward to it as much as me! -Leila