Archive for the ‘Artist’s Thoughts’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Comments Off on Inspiration Happens

Inspiration Happens


2012
10.07

Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Ceramic Musical Instruments | Comments Off on Inspiration Happens

McAfee Concert Hall - Belmont UniversityTwo events of the last day or so  inspired me. One of those events was viewing the YouTube video that you see at the bottom this post. The video clip displays an udu-lamellophone performance.  It is an unusual combination for ceramic musical instruments and it isn’t completely unique, but it is interesting that my sketches of a more complex instrument of the same combination never came to reality because I couldn’t imagine anyone being particularly interested in such an oddity. Certainly, the market is a narrow niche, but it does re-affirm that there are people who seek out unusual instruments to play and enjoy.  This inspiration is one of the kick-in-the pants variety.

The second event happened last night. Deb and I attended the grand opening of  Belmont University’s McAfee Concert Hall.  There are hardly adequate words to describe the amazing acoustical qualities of the space and the performances.  Belmont’s music faculty and students deliver excellence consistently and last night was no exception. The chill bumps kept popping up on my arms all evening long.  If my musician-dad had been there, it would have taken a seat belt to restrain his elation .

There was one thing said at the grand opening that hit very close to home…and I wish I could remember who made the remarks. In describing the architectural treatments and the intentionality of how music would be affected by the space, the speaker said something about the architect-musician becoming one.  Both the architect and the musician build, if you think about it.  And the fruits of the musician and architect have an impact on the people touched by their work.  I needed to be reminded of that.  The architect and musician parts of me, even if shelved as part of my past, resonated a bit when those words were spoken.  As I wrote at the first if this post, I  was inspired…and caught off guard when it happened.

Comments Off on A Place to Build Ceramic Musical Instruments

A Place to Build Ceramic Musical Instruments


2012
06.04

Posted in Artist's Thoughts | Comments Off on A Place to Build Ceramic Musical Instruments

Studio ExpansionConstruction can be a fickle friend. Maintaining a focus on the final product and hanging on to one’s wallet seem to be conflicting concepts.

Progress at the house and studio are actually moving along well. The studio expansion is part of what we are calling our last remodel.  That remodel includes a serious facelift of siding, all new windows, a larger HVAC system, and an upgrade to the electrical service. All of that work also means an extended period of construction.  It also means that clay production work on new ceramic musical instruments will have to wait a little longer.

June is here and I am anxious to get my hands back in the mud.  My sketch pad will soon switch from studio accessory designs back to more fluid clay concepts.  I check out the flow diagram often just to make sure I don’t skip something basic.  After all of this work and waiting, I’ll not be a happy camper if I find myself needing adjust plans after the dust settles and the paint dries.

Stay tuned (no pun intended). Studio images will be coming soon.

Comments Off on More CityScapes Coming Soon

More CityScapes Coming Soon


2012
03.21

Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Wheel-Throwing | Comments Off on More CityScapes Coming Soon

Stoneware CityScape Bottles by Paul ChenowethThe initial CityScape project  that consumed much of my free time in December was well received at York & Friends Gallery…so much so, that I am scrambling to get a few more pieces ready to show.  Having a bad case of hail-storm-damage-life-interruption hasn’t helped much but there may be a silver lining.  It is one of those, “while you are at it” doing repairs, replacing roof and windows,  how about let’s get this studio conversion completed as part of the process.  So it goes. One more iron in the fire and much to get accomplished in a short period of time.

These bottles are fun to build. The taller ones are wheel-thrown in two sections and then carefully joined.  Once joined, the finished spout is collared-in and pulled to its finished form back on the wheel.  The result is a fairly light weight, thin-walled bottle.  I have been asked a couple of times to show that exercise on video but keep forgetting to take a camera into the studio. Yes, that’s what I need…yet another project.

What you see here is the impatient stage. The bottles are tightly covered for a week or two and allowed to get leather hard.  From the leather-hard stage, there is a considerable amount of carving, sculpting and texture work to accomplish before the first, bisque firing. Those images will have to wait for another day.  More CityScapes are coming, even if coming slowly.

Comments Off on Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots


2012
03.18

Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Shows and Sales | Comments Off on Connecting the Dots

Paul Chenoweth - York & Friends AnniversaryThere is quite a space between the first time that I ever showed work publicly  in a Birmingham Art Show back in 1971 and the event pictured here.  Art and architecture have been part of me for just about as long as I can remember, but I don’t recall it  feeling this personal.  There is quite a difference between working for someone on a project with a clear expectation of a contractual payday and creating work that you really enjoy doing,  in the hope that someone will share that enthusiasm and seek out your work…and pay you for it.  I know that concept isn’t new.  It is, oddly enough, something that takes a bit of getting used to.  I know of other artists who work hard, create excellent work, and yet struggle to make the connection with clients who equally appreciates the creation.  One might think that this is a simple step in the artistic  process that begins with an inspiration and ultimately ends with a happy, paying customer.

Some artists are able to do it all: plan, create, produce, market, sell.  Others find folks in the middle who help with pieces of the puzzle that are distasteful/uncomfortable and then trust them to be a part of the process of connecting all of the dots.  I am grateful that there are people who can do the heavy lifting of marketing and sales so that I may focus my energies on  a body of work, a better studio space, and a healthier lifestyle.  There is a little letting go involved.  There are clear benefits to realizing that you don’t have to do everything yourself and that letting go is the right direction. It just takes some people a little longer to figure that out.

Comments Off on Facing 2012

Facing 2012


2012
01.09

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Artist's Thoughts | Comments Off on Facing 2012

Stoneware Mini-Mask If there is a pattern in my recent work, it is a fascination with portrait sculpture, particularly the capturing of human emotion via facial expressions. Students in Clay I constructed some really interesting, multimedia clay masks last semester while I was sequestered in a corner of the lab carving architectural pieces for this month’s show. As a testament to the influence of learning communities, I must confess that those masks were an influence in the mini-mask direction that you see here.

I still refer to Philippe and Charisse Faraut’s book, Mastering Portraiture- Advanced Analyses of the Face Sculpted in Clay, on a regular basis. There is so much great information on the art and anatomy of portrait sculpture illustrated in the book, I consider it a must-have companion when sculpting clay faces. I am still hopeful that this summer’s travel schedule will not conflict with an opportunity to study directly under Philippe at a weekend workshop somewhere close.

A full-scale portrait sculpture still takes me all day to complete, but these hand-sized studies can be pinched from a fist-sized ball of clay and completed in about three hours. It does get a little easier to do with practice…and a review of the first of these with the last of these seems to tell me that I am making progress. Ultimately, I envision 5-7 of these little guys displayed together in some sort of installation…that’s not a completely original concept, but it is new to me.

So, here I am facing 2012…and looking forward to the adventure!

Comments Off on Work in Progress

Work in Progress


2011
09.28

Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Wheel-Throwing | Comments Off on Work in Progress

When I proposed a thirteen bottle, sculptural piece as my initial clay project for this semester, I was thinking that a couple of hours on each bottle would get the job done. As it turns out, 5 to 6 hours of throwing, carving, and texturing to this point translates into the fact that not even the first, test bottle has been fired or glazed. All that to say, I need to get some images online for everyone to see the work in progress. It indeed has turned out to be a bunch of work!

Comments Off on Processing Italy

Processing Italy


2011
08.29

Posted in Artist's Thoughts | Comments Off on Processing Italy

Paul - Sienna, ItalyLess than a week ago, Deb and I were traveling across Italy with the Belmont University men’s basketball team. It was quite a trip. We hit Milan, Lake Como, Sienna, Florence, Lucca, and Rome in glancing blows that would make even the most seasoned traveler’s head spin. I would be remiss if I did not add what a pleasure it was to be around the team, the coaches, and family members…a terrific group of people!

I will claim Florence as my favorite place and the city that I would most like to re-visit just to spend a week or two exploring in greater detail. Our hotel was just a block or two away from the Duomo in Florence, so walking was the perfect means to see the sights. I will probably NOT climb the narrow steps to the top of the cathedral dome again, but the view from the top was well worth the sweaty clothes and sore calf muscles. I would definitely allow for more time in the evening to eat and people-watch from a sidewalk ristorante or two.

Among the 700-800 images that I captured on the trip are just a few of me. This particular shot was taken by Cheryl Byrd during our brief stop in Sienna. It may have been the only time I was off my feet all day. The smile does tell the story of the trip. Great fun. Great company…and much to process.

Oddly enough, I don’t recall seeing any ceramic musical instruments during the trip…but there will be more coming soon from a clay lab here in the USA, I promise!

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »