Tile Ideas

We've been planning to tile the kitchen backsplash since we bought our house last year. I have had a hard time deciding what to do, but saw these tiles on the floor of the Irvington Lodge, and liked them. I like the use of different tiles, and the designs are kinda medieval, which fits with the way I see our (barn) house.

In other news, I have been travelling, giving demos, and getting a little studio time. I have a sculptural project in progress, but I would rather wait until it is done to show images, so you will have to make do with pretty pictures of tile instead.

Little by Little

I have done two bisque firings in the past week (even though the vent isn't installed yet), the horse took up the entire kiln for one firing. In this picture you can see the seam where the head comes off for firing.

I haven't had much time for the studio lately, and when I am in there I have been trying to clean up the space. In this pic you can see the bin behind the horse (its full of finished pieces) and boxes (ditto, some going back to grad school). So little by little I am transferring the work out of cardboard boxes, into platic bins, and toting the darned things down to the basement. I hate having to play musical bats every time I want to work on something, so its neccessary. Arg. My test tiles for a neighbors kitchen project came out chartreuse instead of taupe. You would think that when a mason stain says taupe it would be taupe, not vividly and acidly GREEN, but c'est la ceramique. Pictures of the tiles will come along later, I rather like the crackle slip textrure, if not the green glaze.

Now the big decision, how to glaze the horse.

Myths unravelled

Self-Portrait as a VanGogh, currently at Amaco in Indianapolis. This was a demonstration piece, but I enjoyed the color work.

As part of my thematic investigation I have been contemplating stories I like, and considering their themes. For example, Shantaram, which I finished a few weeks ago, is a wonderful and meandering story, but in the end I would say it is about revelation and forgiveness. I am also rereading some Joseph Campbell, and his analysis of folklore and mythology.

Life is a journey, but the places we have been are just as important as the places we are going. Unfortunately, the maps are all places well travelled, and an artist needs to pioneer new territory, personal territory. This is difficult for me, as some of my revelations are uncomfortable for me to even write, let alone make visual art about. I'll take VanGogh's example today and let myself be sensitive.

Recovery and Redemption

I really enjoyed my two days at the Clay Expressions Conference last week, I hung out, I chatted, and I watched. I sat in on the workshops by Rimas Vis Girda, Randy Schmidt, Paul Wandless, Melisa Cadell and Richard Zakin. Although I have done the clay transfer / monoprinting process before, that Paul was demonstrating, doing it with the group at the conference made me rexamine the process and what possibilites it holds for me.

My biggest realization though was that my work has been lacking a unified theme for quite some time. I have drifted through different expressive avenues without a sense of an underlying theme or purpose behind the work. So, although my newer work may have appeared similar to older work, it was becoming lifeless. Why did this realization take me two years? Maybe the lack of dreaming time that comes with looking after a small child full-time, or the sleep-deprivation, or my own over-confidence. So bear with me while I rummage around in the attic of my brain, and start making some new connections. (Can I get hip coordinating new color storage systems for my brain?)

In the meantime, while I was at Amaco on Monday (being photographed with the green modeling clay. I am a spokesmodel?) I finally got around to taking my own pics of the demo pieces on display there. This one is my self-portrait as a William Blake.

Clay Expressions

I have spent today at the Clay Expressions conference in Indianapolis, had a great time, and am now wondering, why is it I never see any ceramic blogs? Knitting blogs are everywhere, you can't surf the net without tripping over the danged things (much like a yarn stash, I suspect) but I have managed to miss any ceramic blogs lurking on the edges. My paltry attempts to find such things have come up with nothing, just a couple of people who like clay but don't really blog it. Hmmm.....

Tomorrow I will have pics of the conference to share, maybe even a pic of my own hands on project. I had a great time, have some ideas for tiles ...

Man

Man (2003) 21" high, ceramic. $900. includes shipping in the continental US. This piece is constructed using a combination of handbuilding (slab and coil) and slip-casting techniques. the entire form is handbuilt, including the head, then a head and other parts, are cast with very thin ceramic slip in a mold, and applied on top of the handbuilt head while the slip-cast form is still wet. The whole piece is then fired and glazed.

Dragonfly Platter

Dragonfly Platter with Rutile glaze. $80. High fire ceramic, dishwasher safe, lead-free, appx 16" long.

Large Horse in Progress

This piece is now up to the poll (behind the ears) and is 30" tall. After firing, with ears, it should be about 28" high.

Introduction

Almost all the artists I know have websites, but I'm too lazy. So instead I am starting a blog. This site is where I will post images of my current projects, art which is available for sale or rent, and updates of what I am doing professionally. I can be contacted through the comments section of the blog or by email. Thank you for visiting.