All the Raku and WIP

Enjoy this array of raku work and works in progress.

Process Follow-Up - Pressed Clay Stamps

Failure is part of the Process Right....

So I spent waaaaay too much time on trying to turn Barbie into a glass trophy and as a result of not adding a pour hole combined with my silicone application, I did not have a successful mold.

Trophy Wifes and Wanna-bes

Part of my series of work is highlighting women and men who want to be a trophy wife or consider them a trophy wife.

Glass Casting - 1950s Gelatin Food

Part of my work has taken me in the direction of the mid century in particular gelatin food.

I did lost wax casting and cast glass little jello molds.

Glass Casting Part Deux

And now the results!

Protest Art - Not for the Faint of Heart

We have to consider our audience when we create art in particular public art. Is it controversial or provocative? Will it have the same impact in Commerce Texas as it would in Dallas Texas. Location is everything.

We watched the video about pranksters that hung a fake poster in a McDonalds : https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/21/us/guys-get-money-for-hanging-fake-mcdonalds-posters-trnd/index.html

and every since I’ve been staring at all that stock art in the Starbucks on campus and thinking how easy it would be to swap out a piece for one of my own. Ask for forgiveness later.

So often we have to think about the consequences. Will this go on my PERMANENT RECORD?

The art protest group INDECLINE has done some major work that is provocative in public spaces. They take risks that I wouldn’t, like cutting out images on silos, trespassing, and more.

My version of public art will be on campus because I want to reach this audience - the unwed youngin’s with their life ahead of them. Stay tuned. I don’t want to give it away yet.

Dallas Pottery Invitational - Fine Art V. Craft

Today, I had the pleasure of attending the Dallas Pottery Invitational and soaked in all the ceramic wares I could. I met some great potters and had riveting conversations about process, craft, and fine art.

I put Chris Alveshere on the spot when I picked his brain about craft and fine art. Showing me some of his functional wear (mugs) he said that those are craft and that his sculptures are fine art. We agreed that a simple dinner plate in a single glaze color is craft (while beautiful) and he pointed to Eddie Dominguez’s totem and classified it as fine art.

I find the conversation riveting and we agreed that pottery is craft that can be elevated to fine art.

I saw a lot of use of 3d printing models to create slip cast molds and plenty of traditional pottery. Jen Rose was most intriguing to me because she was creating sustainable art - little golf tee shaped vessels capture rain water to feed the bees. I mean how cool is that.

I walked away with a few pieces: one from Eiko Ceramics, Chris Alveshere, and Lisa Orr.

What I most appreciated about the experience is that so many of the artists were willing to talk about their process and even recipes for glazes. I found that to be extremely valuable.

Here are some photos from the event:

Glass Casting - Opening the Kiln Tomorrow :)

After the student show on campus, I was approached by a number of students who were interested in learning about fused glass.

Because I can’t help myself, I invited them into the world of glass casting. We loaded two kilns with the work from 5 students, including myself and tomorrow is the big day to open the kiln. (I will post updated pictures, soon)

In the meantime, enjoy the photo montage.

Work in Progress - Linotype, Glass Casting and More

These past few weeks since break seem like a whirlwind. Wait … has it only been a week? Who knows. Below are some photos of some of the work I’ve been doing.

Working on some linotype glaze testings, glass casting with some of the undergrads and some grads and of course, more RAKU!

Enjoy:


Studio Visits - Prof Josephine Durkin

When Prof. Durkin and I get together we can come up with some pretty zainy ideas. When I first met her this semester, I was woefully unfocused: towing the line between ceramics and fused glass.

In the first visit, she stressed the idea of context for the pieces I’m working in. She wanted me to consider where they would reside and suggested I work with a space in mind. I found that information to be extremely beneficial in my late night sketch sessions and I feel pretty close to a solid thesis show, even though it’s a year away.

By our second studio, I had really narrowed my focus to celebrate the American Housewife.

We discussed artists such as Cindy Sherman and Wayne Thibaud whose work closely relates with my intentions and I mentioned my idea to pose as a “Trophy Wife” on campus. We discussed artists such as James Luna and Gilbert and George to compare my style of public art with theirs.

She also had some good suggestions for creating “cookies” in clay that used my advertising.

Studio Visits - Prof. Joe Daun

Professor Daun and I had the pleasure of leading the undergrad ceramics classes last semester and were able to spend time coming up with wild ideas for art and unique ways to create them.

At the beginning of this semester I was still struggling with my work: just continuing to make work to keep my hands busy. At that time, Prof. Daun was sharing recipes and clay bodies with me to consider to accomplish the materiality aspect of clay in my work. He saw my love of texture and raku and encouraged me to keep working in that direction.

In the month or so so between studio visits, I had my AHA-MOMENT.

When I shared my sketch books with him, as well as he’s seen my barbie doll mold-making process along the way since most of the time making it was spent in the sculpture lab, he gave me some good ideas to expand my art work.

I showed him the linotype stamps that I purchased online to stamp the clay to created a silhouette of a female. He is going to help me create a stencil on the glow forge. I also mentioned that I had thought of making the work look like paper dolls to which he suggested creating a magnetic form that could be interactive in the show.

He also suggested to photograph myself in other “dream job” scenarios. We also discussed ways to create fake food. I told him about my idea to make a fused glass cast jellow mold and it got us talking about other food ideas I had to create a welcoming dinner party feel to my show.

https://displayfakefoods.com/fake-sandwiches/


Studio Visits - Brian Weaver

As a ceramics GA assigned to Prof. Brian Weaver, I am constantly running art ideas by him. But in our couple of official studio visits, we discussed my work that will take a stance for feminism in the form of the modern-day-housewife.

And while to some that may seem the opposite of a feminist point of view. One of artists he recommended that I’m most intrigued by and think will be a good influence on my work is Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph.

Cheyenne dresses the part of the 1950s housewife, makes mid-century ceramics, and hosts “parties” utilizing the wares she’s created. While I believe that the pots themselves couldn’t necessary stand up as fine art, art yes, the act in which she creates the party and spectacle elevates the work to fine art with performance art.

Studio Visits - Prof. Vaughn Wascovich

I’ve met a couple of times this semester with Prof. Vaughn Wascovich, my professor for studio and seminar classes. He has had several artists, crafspeople and even an admissions advisor for a residencies.

At the beginning of the semester I was still floundering for my “IDEA.”

After our first meeting, Vaughn advised me that I can’t love/work both glass and ceramics, As Ron Swanson says,

https://tenor.com/o7HL.gif

Never half ass one two things. Whole ass one thing.

He asked me about my future endeavors and like most graduates I said that I was interested in teaching at the collegiate level. He shared with me the stats for how difficult it will be to find a ceramics or glass job in a university.

It got me to thinking about what my dream job would be if I couldn’t pull of teaching at the college level. Put simply, the ideal job for myself and many women I know and have asked is to be a stay-at-home mom/housewife. This spawned several late nights of sketching in notebooks to creating a cohesive “thesis show.” Imagining the layout of the main gallery in the art building, I created a scene of what my final show would look like.

When sharing this information with Vaughn at our latest studio visit, he suggested that I speak with Prof. Emily Newman who specializes in art relating to feminism and antifeminism. I spoke at length to a few sociologists who made some great recommendations for books on the topic including, The Second Shift. I grad student in the sociology department said he’d share some vital books with me that would help me formulate and stand behind my ideas.

https://www.worldatlas.com/r/w728-h425-c728x425/upload/fc/e3/6d/feminist-art.jpg

Studio Visits - Prof Chad Smith

This semester has really thrown and it’s hard to believe I’ve met with some professors 2 or more times already. A couple weeks in to the semester and then right after spring break, I had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Chad Smith, a photographer himself.

In the beginning of the semester I was still grappling with simple forms but testing many glazes and applications, inspiring both my grad and undergrad cohorts to consider new ways of firing raku and surface treatments.

Some of his initial suggestions were to add almost appendages to the pot and make them more fine art and curious.

In our most recent studio visit I shared with him my ideas for art related to the 1950s housewife and the modern housewife. One of the ideas I had was to hang a series of pictures of me in other work scenes/uniforms. My statement at the moment refers to how the modern housewife is a coveted position for the modern day woman. (Not all but a fair share of women.) Me included!

He suggested that I look at Cindy Sherman the photographer who changed her appearance to pose for movie still type photography and famous magazine covers. To me Cindy Sherman seems like sh'e’s one bolt shy of toolkit but her work has merit. I appreciate her movie stills that harken to the Alfred Hitchcock movies but her attempts at versions of blackface make me very uncomfortable.

https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/10-Cindy-Sherman-%E2%80%93-Untitled-Film-Still-14-1978.jpg

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cindy-shermans-early-blackface-photos-and-the-art-worlds-white-gaze_n_57b5abb5e4b0fd5a2f415daa

That being said, they have merit to consider when approaching my own work.

Adult Summer Camp

Courtney Bethel told us tales of what I can only assume is the most magical place for artists: MacDowell. A haven for artists to make uninterrupted work from anywhere from 2-6 weeks, MacDowell sounds like the coolest adult summer camp for artists that includes meals! and it’s free….. say what?! You just have to get in. Since it’s such a coveted residency, so many people apply but it’s definitely on my list. If nothing else, I may set my sights on the small town to live in as a way to interact with a lot of different artists on a regular basis.

It sounds like heaven.


Being 35 years old and married, I had never considered the idea of residency. A late in life graduate student, residencies seemed like something that young single people do. But after hearing that they hosted an 80-year-old artist. I suppose, I could do it after all. Something to consider for sure!

Rules, Risks and Melissa Rebholtz

Taking risks is hard ans scary especially when it comes to art.

With fused glass and ceramics, there are steadfast rules like thickness, temperature, annealing and more. So while you can’t deviate in major ways, I can take risks in the type of art I’m creating. I hope that it reveals itself as I work through my art ideas surrounding the “dream job” of the stay-at-home housewife.

One way that I will be doing that is in the treatment of fabrics - I plan to replicate articles of clothing in ceramics by covering them in slip, firing them in the kiln and having the leftovers of the clay - a ghost image of was once fabric. Additionally, I will be casting clothing, too to see what is the most successful in sharing my ideas of the fragility of the role of a housewife or the ability to be a housewife in the modern day and only living on a single income.

Chef and food artist Melissa Rebholtz joined our seminar class this evening and explained the risks she’s taken to get her dream job. Working in restaurants and going to culinary school to owning her own farm to table business, she took leaps of faith and really found a way to make money doing the things she loves. She’s just another example of taking risks - even bigger than the risks that we can take as artists. If a piece of art doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world for an artist. You move on and try something different. Not being afraid of failure will make you a good artist.

Check out some of the stuff she shares: https://weelunk.com/local-nutrition-experts-share-tips-eating/

What was cool is that in talking about her lack of ingredient availability in winter time has made Melissa be more creative in her recipes, something she says she enjoys the challenge of. So perhaps, taking that leap of faith produces the best work - when we’re up against the wall or forced to use certain materials, how creative can we be?

Pretty cool, huh? The adrenaline sometimes produces the greatest stuff.

I’m reminded of an episode of Big Bang Theory when Sheldon tries to find the perfect mental state to work. The anxiety optimazation he calls it. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzqXxe9koBw

Art Experiences - Van Gogh and More

Over break, my mom came to visit me. She helped me clean my house, we went shopping, and of course, we had to experience art.

Beyond going to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience - which was super cool! - we visited the space ship house in Rockwall, took a gnochhi cooking class (art in itself) and found some super sweet gems antiquing.

If you have a chance, go to the Van Gogh experience. It was really cool. :)

Cause you know I can't stop Raku-ing, Mom's first pot

While I’m working on my bigger project, I still throwing forms and rakuing to test different glaze combinations. Here’s some of my latest raku work and check out Mom’s first time throwing. She said she wanted to move to Texas and become an artist because she had so much fun.

Trophy Wife in Progress Pics :) Art Inspiration Studio Visit and More

One of the things I want to tackle is this notion of a dream job. I’ve determined that at the core of it all, I’d like to be a housewife.


Cue screaming from Feminists.


I’m not saying I expect to be thought of as less than but there sure is something wonderful about the duties of keeping house and not having the insane stresses of life. All you have to do is make sure your husband is happy, the house is clean, and there’s food on the table. You get to create a haven away from the stresses of life for your spouse. All I’m saying is, there are worse ways to live.


Barbie is kind of the perfect “Housewife” example: perfectly put together. The first trophy wife I’m creating is the 2022 trophy wife. We’ve traded poofy dresses and aprons for yoga pants and sweatshirts.


Ceramics Professor Brian Weaver showed me some ceramic artists that deal with the notion of femininity in the 1950s. I had planned to cast a dress and apron in glass but he gave me a better idea to show the fragility of the time period as well as the material itself with slip. It’s coming down the line but I can’t wait to show you all!

One of the ceramic artists he shared with me dresses in 1950s outfits and has parties with her handbuilt and wheel-thrown pottery.


My idea is to create two versions of the trophy wife: 1950s and today.


Take a look at the progress so far.

Shout out to Natalie for helping me learn how to make a solid mother mold. I still have another side to complete today.