I love these guys. What a bunch of grouches. Continuing figuration into abstraction.
Splattered and Battered
A lot happened to this figure, but in the end I was happy with the result. This is porcelain slip splattered onto a nearly dry figure. After the firing I lost a lot of the slip, unfortunately, so he never really reached his potential.
Strange Days
This series of somewhat convoluted forms continues my experiment with pushing the boundaries of realism.
Waiting for that Glow
A trio that seem to belong together. Made one right after another, they all embody the same spirit of patient waiting. With these, I began moving away from realistic figures into more abstract.
Still Wet, All Flat
Still in process, but has some potential. Those scored shapes that go from the top of the head, then jump to the neck and torso, hopping onto the lower leg are part of what I hope will give this piece some energy when it’s fired. That and the massed shapes bumping against each other. The back shows it best; i’ll try and get a photo of that.
New Surfaces Satisfy
I keep trying to get my surfaces right. This time I like what is going on. Partially it’s the clay — Laguna 50, a speckle that really add to the overall surface. Plus that porcelain slip is cool in moderation, and the black underglaze. The tall guy has got all that working nicely.
Combo Figuration & Abstract
I intended to go abstract but this face kept returning, no matter how often I tried to erase its specificity.
Out of the Ashes
One good thing about this dreadful Covid year is that I’ve spent a lot of productive time in the studio. I’m still turning work out steadily and am trying new things. These works often end up being battered (thrown on the floor), resurrected totally transformed, then sometimes flung again until they become themselves. I like the way the smashing condenses forms to their essence.
Art Hop Show Going Up!
The studio has been transformed into a gallery for Art Hop, Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11, 2021. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood!.
Convoluted
I experimented with some surface finishes, and did a fair amount of battering. I am pushing the human form into some uncomfortable shapes, but am interested in the results.
Moving Parts
Unfired, but promising. Red clay slip and some scratchings. I like the overall movement of the form.
Spa Day
I made this long lean guy first, then saw he needed a girlfriend. They are settled in for a nice long soak in the kiln to dry out completely before they are fired.
Drying out prior to firing.
All About the Bass
I was interested in the shape of haunches. I exaggerated the forms, making a series of arcs, a combination of flat planal arcs and round spheical arcs. It is pretty cool from a few angles. Wildly unanatomical, but I don’t care about that.
Fired v. Raw
After a piece is fired, it seems to lose the vital force that wet clay possesses.
Top left, original drawing. Bottom right, fired. Other two, wet clay.
A Drawing Inspires
I saw this drawing on Instagram (Early_Worm is the artist) and kept coming back to it. I just loved the supercilious expression and the exaggerated profile of the nose and forehead. And the lips! I wanted to know that person better, so I dug into clay to see how he developed in 3D.
Quick Study
Working with gritty raku clay, I am continuing to experiment with texture and color. A rough form like this one, with all its impurities and obvious marks of the finger, can have more life to it than a super finished one.
One Step Forward, Two Back
A glaze experiment led to a painting experiment led to . . . . a mess. The glaze was an unmitigated disaster — lumpy with hideous coloration. To even out the surface, I applied joint compound in multiple coats and sanded. To even out the color I applied gesso, then tried Tip Toland’s method of painting sculpture. Spritzing with a toothbrush, she applies round of colors, tiny dot by dot, until the piece achieves a uniform neutral tone. It worked, amazingly! But I went too far by differentiating the color of the hair, lips, eyes and brows. Now it looks like a painted doll. Ugh. I should have left it like #3, looking like stone. Might go back in.
A Beautiful Mess
Built fast and tall with raku clay, then basically attacked with various surface scratches and holes, plus topped with a burlap turban. After bisque, he endured a black underglaze and a red iron oxide wash. Phew. He actually pleases me a bit now. Wasn’t so keen on him before his ordeal.
Don't I Know You?
The last three pieces, even though I had no thought of this when I made them, do seem to be part of the same impulse. I like them together.
Pugnacious
This fellow used to have a pointy thing on top of his head. It provided a nice balance to the whole piece, but it always bothered me. I removed it to hollow him out , and thought why not try something different up there? Gave him an old man hat and it was exactly what he needed!
