Whew! Time flies when you are busy creating art!  Especially when you love it so. J I apologize for the delay in posting.

Let’s see, where did I leave off last time? Oh, yes! I had begun two pieces and had started to regroup after all the delays.  I am happy to report that I have finished sculpting two pieces and have begun sculpting two more pieces!  I would have had one of the pieces done a lot sooner (the Prostate Cancer piece) but I have decided to go a different direction with it.  No worries though! I did not scrap all that work again-I revamped it and it is now the Testicular Cancer piece!  I do like how it finally came out. 

That is the trick with ceramics, (any type of art really) as an artist you must constantly “communicate” with the media you are working with and come to an agreement between what you would like and what the art wants. Yes, I said what the art wants.  This is because art is not just a result of manipulated media or a product of what an artist makes, but it is a creation, like no other, and has a life and personality of its own!  Think of it this way: you ask a 3 year old to do something and she is not in the mood, will she cooperate? Nope. What do you do then? How about asking her how she would like to do the task? If you give her the choice-she’ll give you the result you wanted-albeit, maybe not in the manner you had planned, but the desired result just the same.

Anyhow, enough wisdom for now. J Back to the nitty-gritty.  In the next couple of weeks, I am planning to make another batch of clay, continue on a few glaze experiments and hopefully create some new glaze recipes. 

Another note: I have decided that I will not put sculpted ribbons on the pieces because I feel it cheapens the piece. Instead, I will be engraving the ribbon symbol in its respective place for each piece. (See Testicular Cancer photo)  This decision has also created a new endeavor that I will be embarking on for this project-an accompaniment of sorts.  More details to come later-much later. J  

Please enjoy the photos! J (Included in photos: Autism, Testicular Cancer, Breast Cancer)

DISCLAIMER:  

Some of the content is not suitable for children. Parental discretion is advised.

 

 

 

Picking Up Progress

This past week has been a little more productive in the KG Creativity studio J Things seem to be settling down in the campus ceramics area-as of last check, both mixers are functional again!  Can’t same the same about some of the kilns, but that is neither here nor there.  Mainly because I am fortunate enough to have my own kiln and I am not quite ready to begin the firing processes of my pieces.

There is a remote possibility, that due to the month long delays I have encountered, I may have to lower the number of pieces in my show from 10 to 8.  I am going to work as hard as I possibly can to prevent this from happening.  So, wish me luck on that!  The delays I speak of are as follows, but are not limited to: campus ceramics facility shutdown, clay mixer failure, missing clay body ingredients, studio moisture content, clay room scheduling and some personal life delays.

It is no easy task being an artist! With the use of community facilities an artist must concede to delays that are out of their control.  No worries, though! I WILL prevail!  On a personal note: I will be quite happy once I can get my home studio complete (I only lack the clay mixer).  Once my studio is complete, I will no longer have to worry too much on whether or not the required equipment is in working order and whether or not my tasks would be impeding on another’s schedule. J

Anyhow, I am scheduling to make more of my own recipe clay body within the next two weeks.  The initial 360 pounds I made a few weeks ago is quickly running out. I designed this new clay body specifically for the purposes of this project and I am anxious to see the results after the firing processes begin!  Additionally, to aid in the goal of being able to keep my goal of 10 pieces, I have begun working on two pieces at a time. 

I am currently working on the prostate piece and the autism piece.  The photos of the autism piece are included in this post. The photos show the initial build stages and the beginning of the carving-out stage.  Which, I might add, that this is the first time I have made a sculptural piece using the carve-out method.  I must say-it is a very heavy method!! I typically use the coil-building method (see previous post’s photos). Nevertheless, I am very excited to try new methods-Art is always an experiment of sorts!

Speaking of experiment-see the experimental slab mold of my face in the photos below!!

 As for the prostate piece, I actually scrapped and restarted that piece because it was becoming too large and I had an overwhelming feeling that the piece was not shaping in the way I am striving for.  Both pieces are currently going through what I call a “set” stage.  This is where the clay is stiffening to help reinforce strength and allow for more working of the surface and structure.

 

Well, back to playing in the studio…

Oh! The Chaos.

I apologize for missing last week’s blog AND for this week’s being a tad late. Busy, busy, busy.  So, for what has been happening in the land of KG Creativity…

I have finally gotten to begin production on the clay for my Honors Project!  YAY! It only took almost four weeks out of my schedule L No worries though.  I have made 360 pounds of my sculptural porcelain and have finally got to start building my pieces J  A BIG thanks goes out to my husband for helping make all that clay-he really enjoyed being a “dirty” mess in the clay room!  Unfortunately, he got a little too liberal with the water and the batch came out too wet-haha! (I do love him-he had one job besides helping me unload it-water and he had fun with it!) No need to worry-I have since made many plaster bats and have dried about 100 pounds of it out already J Will be making more bats to dry more out at a time (had to make a shop stop for more plaster).

As I said before, I have finally gotten to start my pieces-yes, it is MUCH later than I had planned, but I will get it done!  Although, I am hoping that I do not have to lower my number of pieces from 10 to 8.  If I have to I will-just to make sure the quality of the show remains intact. I have included photos of the first piece’s beginning for your viewing pleasure J

Now, I need to get back to the studio and keep working hard at it!  I foresee a few (if not more) all-nighters in my future ;)  Until next week…wish me luck!!

And We Begin Again!!

Well, it is time to begin a new semester!  I just want to take this time to let you know what I am planning on for this semester. This semester officially begins my Honors project endeavor! I am super excited!  This project will take approximately two semesters to complete-I am hoping J  I actually began the preliminaries last spring. This project will consist of ten sculptural pieces and research findings. (Project developing pictures soon) My project will also culminate in a gallery showing. SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! April 12, 2013 at the IUS Library Gallery.  The opening time will be announced later J

As for what else has happened with this artist since I last blogged-it has been crazy busy!!!  I MOVED!! We found a beautiful property in the remote country.  It has a very large three-car garage that I made into my studio!! I am loving all the space!  I no longer have to worry about having enough room to make many pieces at the same time for fear of ruining one (or two) because the studio is too small :D  I am also loving being surrounded by nature-the perfect inspiration for this artist’s heART!!

I will also be continuing my experimentation with clay bodies and glazes this semester!! I have already created about 3 or four new clay body recipes to try-I cannot wait to see how they turn out!!  I will post photos as soon as I can with those results J

FINAL Preparations

How sad that it is almost the last week of this semester L  Never fear though!  I have big plans for my ceramic work this summer!  I plan on getting quite a few of the projects that have been back logging in my head completed.  From making a new set of dinnerware and beverage ware for my home, beginning my Honors Project endeavor, making long awaited gifts and plenty of experimentation are to be had. 

This past week was mandatory clean up in the school studio.  It went fairly well-however, I am not used to not cleaning up the whole area-guess Ian’s class gets to have fun with that partJ  I just hope they can do as good a job as we usually can.  No worries.  We did get to clean up our caged area, the annex and most of the kiln room. 

We also discussed the criteria for Finals and I must say it is going to be really sad to have to say goodbye to “Big Eddie.”  I did make a couple of homage sculptures to light up for the farewell ceremony (pictures below).  It would be nice if all the advanced students could get to keep a piece of “Big Eddie” for remembrance purposes in our own home studios J  Either way, it will be good to know that he will live on within other kilns in the college studio J

I also took the time to take some quick captures of my home studio so everyone could know where I spend a great deal of my time J  Be warned though-the pictures show that I really get into my artwork!  So messy!  However, the mess will be cleaned very soon to make way for my summer projects in there J

Until next week’s FINAL post-GET DIRTY and CREATE ART!!

Open House & Wood Fire

The past week was not as nice as I would have liked it to be.  However, the days roll by. 

The train kiln was unloaded on Tuesday and I must say that, at first, I was not too terribly impressed.  Then I looked again and seen some qualities that are appealing.  I am hoping that by learning from this first run-I will be able to better prep my pieces for full benefit firing.  That is-IF- we get to fire again.  I had heard that the first firing of a wood kiln are not as nice because the kiln needs to be seasoned.  I can see where this is true.  Either way, I am still loving the experience.

The Fine Arts Open House went as well as could be expected.  I know that the attendance was definitely down from previous years and I can only wonder if it is because it was held almost two weeks earlier or if the advertising of it was not sufficient enough?  Regardless, I think it went well overall and I heard many compliments for the Fine Arts department and the Dirt Bags J  Unfortunately, due to unexpected, nasty illness-I was not able to help with setup as much as I would have liked to and usually get to do L  No worries-they did an excellent job and I am very proud to be a part of the Dirt Bags!

PS: Only two weeks left of the semester-get dirty!

*Not sure why these didn't load the first time :( But here you go :)

WHEW!!! just WHEW!!!!

Boy, it sure has been a very busy and hectic couple of weeks with a not nearly long enough hiatus in the middle of it!!

First week (3/18-24) was fret with firing and glazing my show pieces.  Thankfully I got them all glazed and fired safely before my much needed hiatus in the mountains.  They patiently waited for my return for their final touches.

 I also had the privilege of attending an amazing workshop and lecture by visiting artist Mark Cole! He is such an amazing and funny artist.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had already discovered some his master techniques on my own within my work, but I was super excited to learn new techniques from him as well!

Second week (3/31-4/8) I dove right into the finishing touches for my show pieces as soon as I returned from the mountainsJ  Doing the finishing touches was just as much fun as making the pieces themselves!!  I really liked how they turned out and I am very proud that I was able to make them 90% or better ceramic!  Setting up for the show proved to take longer than I had expected.  Thank fully, I was able to begin setup a day earlier than planned thanks to Ian J 

As for the show and the critique, I think they both went VERY well!!  So many good suggestions and positive energy during critique followed by a super packed attendance at the show opening!  I think it may have been all the food ;) Which, by the way, there wasn’t any food left by time the opening was over-sweet!

We also got to load and fire the awesome train kiln this weekend J Unfortunately, due to family obligations-I wasn’t able to take as much part in the firing process as I would have liked.  I can only hope that when we do the next fire, I can partake in the process more J  I cannot wait to see how the pieces came out (maybe by Wednesday). Too bad two of my pieces didn’t make it into the fire because of flashing slip issues. No worries though, I will get them in the next fire and make doubly sure the slip is thinner than last time J

Please enjoy the photos and HOPPY EASTER!!!