Posts Tagged ‘clay class’

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!

2 comments

Sculpture in Music?


2011
02.28

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Ceramic Musical Instruments | 2 Comments »

Ocarina - Clay Musical InstrumentDeb and I have both laughed at the influence that “Davey Jones” from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest may have had on this particular piece.  I had mentioned something about the remarkable make-up job and the animation of Davey’s tentacles while watching the movie just recently.  I can accept that there may have been a seed planted, but I’d really like to think that this particular clay musical instrument, an ocarina, is an exploration of sculpture.

So many traditional brass instruments are remarkable works of functional, sculptural art and for the most part are admired only as a delivery system for music, and not as works of art that stand on their own merit.  Flutes and tone sculptures from numerous ancient civilizations are highly decorated, well formed works of art that are celebrated in museums across the globe.  Somewhere along the industrial revolution time line, we lost the celebration of the artist-craftsman-instrument-maker and the products of their hands. This Oca-regal is simply an effort to add attention to the sculptural qualities of a simple, ceramic flute.  This is a variation on a theme from my previous projects, but I am thinking this direction may have some merit for instruments that are intentionally made to be displayed rather than locked up in an instrument case.

Comments Off on Quick Bisque Anxiety

Quick Bisque Anxiety


2010
11.25

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Glazing and Firing | Comments Off on Quick Bisque Anxiety

Tea is for TrumpetWrapping up a semester in the clay lab is much like any other college course.  There is a rush to get projects and papers completed and preparation to do for final exams.  Clay, however, tends to have a mind of its own and doesn’t lend itself well to last minute crunches to dry, bisque fire, glaze, and glaze fire.  For relatively simple shapes and pieces that do not include a lot of assembled pieces, a faster drying cycle isn’t a huge risk.  Generally, a very slow ramp up of the bisque firing takes care of any moisture that would otherwise be disastrous in a faster firing cycle.  Complicated pieces like the one shown here include many slip-slurried connections and numerous variations in clay thickness.  Out of an abundance of caution, I often wrap complex pieces up and allow them to dry slowly over several week’s time.  This one was finished just a few days ago and is headed for the kiln in less than a week…needless to say, I am a bit anxious.  Should disaster strike and the kiln gods frown upon my rush, at least I will have a few images for the memorial. *sigh*

Comments Off on New Ocarinas and a MugPhlute

New Ocarinas and a MugPhlute


2010
11.21

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Ceramic Musical Instruments, Glazing and Firing | Comments Off on New Ocarinas and a MugPhlute

Ocarinas & MugPhluteThe last batch of glaze tests included a few pinch pot ocarinas and a MugPhlute.  The natural look of the reduction fired stoneware with minimal glaze accents seems to work well. The pieces in this image are all high-fired stoneware with red iron oxide  brushed into the textured and stamped features.  The glaze is St. John’s Black, applied with a brush.  The Bailey gas kiln, loaded with these clay instruments as well as student projects from this semester, was fired to cone 10.

This semester’s wheel-throwing course pulled me away from making the usual quantity of ceramic musical instruments, but it has also opened new avenues to explore.  Having a respectable palette of stamping, texturing, and glazing combinations will make future project planning easier and, hopefully, more predictable.

Comments Off on Kiln Opening

Kiln Opening


2010
11.18

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Glazing and Firing | Comments Off on Kiln Opening

Wall Hung Ceramic Musical Instrument SculptureI have read numerous articles in the ceramic magazines floating around about celebrations and sales associated with the opening of a freshly fired (and cooled-down) kiln.  Personally, I know the excitement and anticipation as a kiln cart is slowly and carefully pulled free, and shelves full of shiny pots suddenly appear to emerge from their firebrick womb. That experience is amazing.  It is rarely what the artist envisioned completely, but there are generally surprises that elevate the spirit even when everything isn’t just perfect.

This past week’s firing was a success. There are a number of keepers and a bunch of glaze testing tiles that show promise for the next round.  The kiln opening was rather bland, however…just a couple of people tugging at a heavy cart without fanfare, but at least with a few instruments for future fanfares.

Comments Off on From Mud to Music

From Mud to Music


2010
11.04

Tags: ,
Posted in Artist's Thoughts, Ceramic Musical Instruments | Comments Off on From Mud to Music

From Mud to Music by Barry HallBarry Hall’s book, From Mud to Music, was given to me as a birthday present just about three years ago. After three years, I still refer to the book for information and inspiration. Last year I reviewed the book for Amazon.com and stand by my recommendation and commentary.  I am also thinking that there is something more that is worthy of exploration…

I would like to believe that there are many others who can describe their personal musical journeys as something that began in elementary school and progressed in some manner as an instrumentalist in high school or college and/or beyond.  Living in a home with a musical genius father, I was fortunate to be exposed to all sorts of instruments and the constant repairs and constructions that go into keeping a band/orchestra functioning.  I have my doubts that many students appreciate the history of their instruments, much less the skills involved in transforming raw materials into something that allows musicians to play together collectively/harmoniously.

Enter the book, from Mud to Music. Even if it is on a primitive scale, exposing a student to the complete process of taking a lump of clay and transforming it into a playable instrument is something that I believe would be fascinating and self-gratifying.  After reading of historical instrument constructions that are thousands of years old, I found it humbling to think that less technical/advanced/pre-industrial revolution artists worked with very similar raw materials to those available today and successfully constructed playable devices…artistic works  that actually play, beautifully. Amazing.  I have asked myself several times, “What would a semester-long course look like that engages students in a cross-curricula study of  ancient ceramic instrument history, clay instrument construction, musical composition, and perhaps musical performance?”   With complete respect for Mr. Hall’s book, the working title for my concept/course is From Clay to Concert…part historical research, part clay construction/experimentation, part musical composition, and part performance.  I may just be spit valve full, but with the right students this could be an awesome class.  If  this is ever going to materialize, it is time for Mud to Music inspiration to move from paper to proposal.

Comments Off on Wheel-Thrown Bottles

Wheel-Thrown Bottles


2010
11.03

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Construction Techniques, Wheel-Throwing | Comments Off on Wheel-Thrown Bottles

Tall Porcelain BottleGiven the choice between making vases or making bottles, I chose the latter. The decision probably has something to do with a home that is full of great examples created by the real ceramic artist of the family…and something to do with the cool factor of making tall bottles with unusual stoppers. I have no idea what I will do with any survivors from the bisque and gas firings, but I suspect that empty Etsy account may finally have entries just in time for Christmas.

The Pricing Dilemma

Each bottle takes about an hour to throw and join…excluding some drying time between throwing and joining the sections. Add another hour for trimming, decorating, and clean-up and I have a greenware piece ready that must dry slowly. Stoppers generally take another hour to throw, carve, clean-up, and fit. By the time bisque firing and glaze firing are complete, each tall bottle has nearly 5 hours of my time committed to the project in a process that takes about two weeks from start to finish. A quick Google of handmade ceramic bottles returns pricing results that range from $55 to $200, so, somewhere in the $60 to $75 range seems to be a reasonable target. Your thoughts are appreciated.

The Details

Any bottle that I make that is over 12″ tall is thrown on the wheel in two pieces (usually about 8″-10″ each), then joined and completed while still attached to the wheel head. Stoneware clay is my preference, but porcelain makes highly polished bottles possible although they are a bit more challenging to produce. I have not ventured into the world of really tall bottles, made of three joined pieces, but the possibilities for horn shaped pieces constructed using that technique are certainly a possibility (with kiln height limits taken into consideration). I am including the MugPhlute stamp on all of these pieces since they do include a unique stopper with an instrumental musical theme.

Glaze images coming soon (I hope).