Part of my work will address dream jobs, in particular the idea of being a stay at home childless housewife. One of my works is to make trophy wives. One from the 1950s and one from 2022.
Cue the Barbie dolls.
I’m not even mad that my soon-to-be-35-year-old self is getting to play with barbie dolls and mud.
I’m making mother molds to cast a trophy wife (Barbie) in glass for my “Nostalgia” work … that’s what I’m calling it, I think. Maybe something else. Who knows. Enjoy the barbie pics!
Dr. Ryan visited our class and explained to us the ins and outs of NFTs. While I respect her information sharing, I have no intention of creating or navigating the NFT world. The most successful or wealthy NFT folks are completely invested - more so in time than anything else and it seems like time I’d rather spend making art.
This week in the midst of mental breakdowns, I’ve found my artistic point of view. I will share more photos in the upcoming days but for now check this out.
Dina Brodsky visited our class and gave us some valuable information about beating the Instagram algorithm to get organic growth.
Since following her advice, I’ve seen several new followers and I haven’t even posted as often as I should. She made me realize that to grow your instagram you have to spend a lot of time on the internet. I’m hopeful to just increase my followers by a few hundred before the year is out.
We’ve been reading the “Get Your Shit Together” book and it’s really triggered some shit in me.
I’m in studio every Monday through Friday and found that scheduling exercises is keeping me on a track to get work done. I’ve also been teaming up with my colleagues to grow my ideas and consider solutions that require more than my typical skillset. It’s been fun to trade knowledge with my colleagues and it’s really fealing like a community in there.
I continue to work on raku and am working with Minako to test soluable salts on ceramics. There is still work to be done and the color was near impossible to see.
Mondays and Wednesdays the studios have been packed but the off days of the week are often quiet with spurts of excitement when students stops in the studio on their breaks from class. It’s a wonderful experience to interact, especially with the undergrad students that are so eager to learn and collaborate.
The semester is in full swing and so is my work. I created and installed a fused glass installation at the Texan Theater in Greeenville and I’ve been creating sculptures and raku work. This semester will be heavy on raku and will likely reconnect with fused glass.
I’ve been rakuing a lot as well and here are the results. I’m going to be throwing more forms this week/next that are more intentional.
My fused glass work is on display at the Texan Theater in Greenville through the end of the month. I created fused glass pieces to depict the day and night and feelings of light and darkness.
Yesterday, I finished the semester with day-long critiques with all the ceramics students. It was rewarding to see the work they’ve completed this year. It was an awesome day!
To finish it out, I got in one last raku for the semester. The piece includes raku and fused glass.
Enjoy!
I’m working to create larger sculptures that will be raku’d and then add glass to create a unique effect. I created little vessels to capture the glass in the overall sculpture and am excited to see the results soon!
I recently took an online class with a great instructor: Scott Stockdale who taught me a new technique in naked raku.
I prepared a few small bowls, added terra sigliata, burnished the pieces, added a slip resist and fired them in the raku kiln. After seeing the wonderful results, I fired larger pieces (Some of which are still being cleaned… it’s a tedious process) and I will share those photos soon.
I’m looking forward to combining the technique with my fused glass knowledge to create unique works of art.
I will update more photos with completed pieces soon!
This semester has been full of alternative firing opportunities. Teaming up with Prof. Joe Daun at TAMUC, we led the Ceramics 1-4 students in a saggar pit fire.
All items were previously bisque fired and then some were left uncovered, while others were wrapped in aluminum foil and loaded with salt and carbonates.
While I’m pretty sure everyone on campus thought we were catching the building on fire, it was a fun day and students were able to interact with one another in ways they hadn’t been able to in a normal class setting. There were games galore, pizza and fun.
I’ve been lucky to get feedback from some of my professors at A&M Commerce to critique my work and challenge me to do more things.
My first visit was with Marilyn Thompson. It was very early in the semester so she was able to see some of my work and showed her the first stages of my arm. She encouraged me to keep at it and said that I would be pleased with all the dynamic properties of clay. I’ve certainly been working towards flexing clay in unique textural ways and hope that it will show through this semester in my work.
I later met with Vaughn Wascovich and he challenged me to consider the materials and size - Why is something normal sized versus super sized - why does it have to be made out clay? Why isn’t it 10 feet tall? We considered covid art and it’s relevance 10 years from now. My hand is still on the back burner but I will revisit it.
I met with Joe Daun and we discussed my love of texture and tension with glass and ceramics. He challenged me to make a body of work before the semester is through that is more sculptural. We talked about using “tests” that were more artistic and less sterile in a sense. He talked about how work can be about form and technique and pushing those forms. Joe encouraged me to be more organized with my time each time I’m in the studio and to not let class/students distract me when I’m in the studio.
Finally, I met with Chad Smith who told me to consider using my traditional forms and adding appendages in a sense and still working with that texture. He encouraged me to focus my work but was helpful in making me think about the best next steps and trying to find ways to evoke emotions with abstract forms.
To say this semester has been flying is an understatement!
I’ve been continuing my experiments with texture and clay and took a naked raku workshop to learn the new technique. I threw several small bowls to use as testers and threw 14 pounds of clay bowls to sharpen my throwing skills.
This semester I’ve had the pleasure of teaching Ceramics 1-4 at Texas A&M Commerce. Ceramics 1 has been cranking out masterpieces. Ceramics 2 is throwing beautiful works and Ceramics 3 and 4 recently installed a show “Sanitarium” in the Wathena Gallery.
We are nearly at the end of the semester and are pit firing Friday. They have been learning so much and I’m constantly impressed with their productions.
Enjoy these photos:
Half of the semester is already over. After studio visits with faculty, I’ve bee playing around with more raku and textured work.
Professor Daun has been helping me to do more research to try and find a way to get enough flux mixed with my glass to keep it from cracking. I’ve done several tests and have a slew planned to find the right mix and firing schedule. I want my sculptural work to have a lot of depth and I think that will make a big difference.
As a TA for the ceramics lab, I’ve been able to help the students prepare for their own show, “Sanitorium” that will be displayed in the Wathena gallery on campus.
I will share photos later in the blog once it’s totally hung.
One of the most important parts of creating art work is having an artist statement. It indicates the nature of the work you are creating and the outcome you hope the viewer will take away from it.
When I started grad school at Texas A&M Commerce I fell in love with ceramics. Being a cousin of fused glass, ceramics can be manipulated in some really unique ways.
What I most love in ceramics is Raku - the process of rapid firing clay, catching it on fire and cooling it down rapidly. The quick expansion causes glazes to crack and shrink away from the clay body and can make for some really cool looks.
My artist statement is this:
I am exploring the relationship between ceramics and glass as it relates to the raku technique. By manipulating clay with extreme temperature swings, I aim to create tension between the mediums to produce unique works of art.
I am also interested in developing textural art forms with clay and fused glass. Using my existing knowledge of the nature of fused glass, I hope to find a balance that enhances both forms.
Some of the artists I’m most inspired by are Dylan Beck, Steven Forbes-deSoule, Kate Malone, Christina Bothwell, and Carol Milne.
Dylan Beck is a sculptural ceramacist who specializes in clay and glass sculptures. His artist statement is this: His artwork explores the interaction of human activities with the natural environment and the idea that we are currently living in the Anthropocene, where human activities have had a significant global impact on the Earth's ecosystems.
Steven Forbes-deSoule creates spectacular works of raku art. His artist statement is this: The one constant with my raku pottery work throughout the years has been transformation. As a raku artist, I find it fun and challenging to try new things, and I especially enjoy developing new glaze recipes. I started firing using the raku process in 1981 and found the element of serendipity and surprise to be invigorating. Consequently, all of my firings since then have been raku.
Kate Malone is a glaze master, creating larger-than-life sculptures of real life objects. Her artist statement is this: Hand skills are at the core of the way that I work, conveying a sense of pleasure in materials and transmitting symbolic optimism is my objective.
Christina Bothwell creates etharial sculptures with glass and ceramics. Her artist statement is this: Since I was very young, I have been fascinated with the concept of the Soul… the idea that the physical body represents only a small part of our beingness. I am always interested in trying to express the that we are more than just our bodies, and my ongoing spiritual interests and pursuits have run parallel to the narrative in my pieces.
Carol Milne is a fused glass artist who creates lost wax castings of sculptures that look like knitted yarn. Her artist statement is this: I see my knitted work as metaphor for social structure. Individual strands are weak and brittle on their own, but deceptively strong when bound together. You can crack or break single threads without the whole structure falling apart. And even when the structure is broken, pieces remain bound together. The connections are what bring strength and integrity to the whole and what keep it intact.
It is truly inspiring to hear how others speak about their work.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the faculty’s biennial show on campus with a couple of my ceramics colleagues.
It was neat to see what work our teachers are producing. Take a look and tell me what you think. Anything stand out to you?
Who doesn’t make sculptures in their bathrooms in the middle of the night?
Really… nobody. Well, sleeplessness can breed some awesome work. I’ve been inspired by Dylan Beck’s ceramic sculptures that are just dripping with glaze and awesomeness.
Check out one here:https://www.ceramicsnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Ventricle_Gunge-back-Medium.jpg
I’m torn between doing a heavy glaze application or melting glass to pool and catch along the surface. I’m leaning towards the latter.
Stay tuned. Bisque fire today.
As a journalist, AP style dictated that a comma before “and” was not included. This hailed to a time when the paper was laid out by hand, each letter and grammatical piece an block of lead. Was it to save time? Money? or Both?
Nonetheless, I constantly find myself fighting with my AP style and including a comma before “and” lest the grammar police chastise me for misuse.
Anyways… I’ve been working on some sculptural pieces and I’ve already peeked in the kiln to see yet another fail. I like to make mistakes on a grand scale. It helps me learn.
So here’s a peek and what existed before it was fired and I will share pics of its broken self, later.
I embedded pre-fired raku glazed pieces into a heavy grog B-Mix clay and formed it over a bowl. I peeked this morning and the back portion of the “cave” has blown off. I will investigate today and see what the problem was. May have still not been dry enough. I did a 10-hour soak but you never know.
On the plus side, I did some raku this week and it was lovely but also kinda ugly. What do you think.
The flat 3d piece, I will be adding glass to as a way to experiment.
This semester has started with a bang. I feel like the race horse jumping off the line at Churchill Downs. We are finishing up our third week and I don’t even know if I’m coming or going.
I’m having a wonderful time TA’ing the undergrad ceramics classes but it doesn’t mean I can’t make work. I’ve been working on some experimental pieces, coil structures, and slipcasting. At the moment, my most exciting piece is going to be a slip-cast hand with needles inserted that represent anti-covid vaccine alternatives. The hand will be decaying from the back end and it will be reaching for a covid vaccine.
Up until Covid, I wouldn't have considered myself an artist that influenced by the time/era in which I live. If anything, I'm an old soul who cares more about the crafted art of the 1940s-1960s. By this I mean, the craftsman furniture, pottery, and home design through the time when mid-century modern was prevalent. Their bold uses of color of shapes while wildly different than the craftsman style all included work that was well designed and handcrafted.
(But that's really a discussion for art v. craft.)
As I work on this current covid piece, I find it's a way to express myself and my views on the covid vaccine without having to yell and argue with someone who feels differently than I do. I'm lucky to be able to be expressive in a way that isn't just arguing on the internet.
I hope that my piece can make people uncomfortable and while I don't think it will change anybody's mind, it would be cool if it did.
I usually shy away from "political" pieces but living in a family with 6 other siblings and seeing my own family divided and people that I know are dying who were unvaccinated, I thought it was a great way to express my feelings and take a dig at the other side if it.
I know as soon as I post completed pictures of this, I will surely lose friends but that's part of the business of making art.
I can’t believe it, but Summer 1 has come and gone. We had some great visiting artists who shared some unique perspectives in the lives of real world artists.
It is exciting to see their passions.
The book we read this summer “On Beauty and Being Just” helped me really think about how we perceive beauty and especially how different cultures see beauty. This also made me think about how often people have differing opinions about works of art. Some people love, hate, and are indifferent towards the same piece of art based on their backgrounds and life experiences.
Of course, I had to keep raku-ing because I love it, so check out some more pics.
