Nine Calla Lilies and One Fox Tale

Nothing like red. I use Amaco Velvet Bright Red and put it on thick. After a bisque firing, I will lightly stain this piece with red iron oxide/gerstley borate wash making it rustier and deeper in tone---although I think I may leave the fox's face really bright red. Last, I will add a black nose and around the deeper recesses Duncan Cobalt Jet Black watered down, to add dimensionality--shadows. I don't really "read" a story on this piece. For some reason I wanted a fox and nine calla lilies. The story teller who holds this fox has such an exasperated look on her face that I will wait till it comes out of kiln to take a photo. Perhaps by then with a bit of fire, the story will emerge.

Clayish, Thingish Inner Things

"When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it."  Winnie the Pooh (by A.A. Milne)

Having my morning coffee (in the thermos) and fussing about this particular piece.  I started out with something completely different in mind.  How this happened I do not know. 

I had a very enjoyable time with the college art students, talking about their work and then my work. They were very open and interesting group. Each had their own way of working with clay--ranging from pottery to sculptural. We discussed different issues--from making lots of work to how to define your own mark or style. Even about the ethics involved in copying work of well-known artists. It was very energizing and insightful. It made me think more about connections, gathering of information and interactions with other artists. When I first started working in clay, I wanted to explore all its possibilities in the context of my own experiences and need. I was (and still am) in love with the process and the rituals involved in producing even the simplest of cups. Now all of this does not explain why I ended up with a two headed portrait bust. It is just another bearish morning for this ordinary maker of things. 

 

singularly ordinary thing looking across at the doubly thingish thing

Birds Within Happy Spring

"Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated."

~Terry Tempest Williams from When Women Were Birds

 

Inner Nature Series:  Birds Within

lots of birds

even more birds, still a rough sketch, refining later

 Taking a day off and celebrating the first day of spring.  

All for the Love of Clay

roughing out an idea

decided to remove some branches and use a sprig mold for the key

Used scissors to cut apart branches---has a ladder effect

key and keyhole sprig molds I made last year

wanted an Alice in Wonderland face

piece is too long for my kiln so head will be attached later

face has a layer of porcelain slip and layer of terra sigillata

original cut-out sketch---will use later for a flat wall hanging

I was invited to do an artist's talk this month.  It's an one hour talk with another hour of looking at student's work---which I know I will thoroughly enjoy.  No demos. Just interaction and conversations. I have done talks before, but usually just 30 minutes. This one comes with a respectable stipend.  As my studio funds are well taken care of for this year from sales in 2014, it is a nice windfall. A fun day and getting paid for it, too! And all for the love of clay...

Clay + Nail Polish

clay enso ?

"Clay is a medium through which we discover ourselves, and express ourselves in ways we otherwise might not do..."   

~Malcolm Davis

leaf tracery on the first day of March

 "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

~Ansel Adams