Finally an update!

Well, I finally got around to updating this thing again. I had quite a bit of stuff to put on here, so I thought now would be a good time. I briefly talked about my committee meeting in my last update, so I will talk about it a little more this time. It went alright, but it did get me thinking about why I am working with clay and if that really makes the most sense. I have been thinking a lot about doing printmaking instead of ceramics, because conceptually, I see some of my ideas making more sense in print. That doesn't necessarily mean I would not be doing ceramics, and as you will see with my images, I have been working to try and get those ideas in there. But, enough of that, I actually went to the Lithphane Museum for a few minutes when I was driving by Toledo. They were actually closed early when I got there, but she showed me around for a few minutes. They were way more amazing than I could have ever imagined from looking at the photos in my book. It was truly remarkable how they created space and light in the imagery. It was definitely a motivational experience but also intimidating at the same time! I put images of the lithophanes I had for midterm and the one I am working on now below. I learned that the lithohphanes are supposed to be viewed from the relief side, otherwise they are blurry. I didn't know that yet when I was making the ones below, so that is why they have strange eyes, dark patches, etc. I've also been having trouble deciding what to work on so I decided to go back to making teapots which is what I really love doing. I have been working very intuitively and paddling hollow forms to make what you will see below. It's been fun and I am pleased with the forms. I think working on all of these multiple projects at once keeps me more productive and focused. I'm looking forward to Monday, because we have Ron Meyers coming as a visiting artist. I have always enjoyed his work and it will be great to see and learn from him! Now onto these images


This is a typical image I have been using. It is an AIG executive that I snagged from a newspaper. This was the first one I made when I got here, but I think it is a huge progression from the last ones I made in undergrad. My professors thought that these looked a little underfired and not quite full vitrified, so they may need to go up to cone 7?

This may be another familiar image to some of you. I made a larger print with this image when I was working with transfers, and the face is supposed to be mine, but my skills have not gotten quite that good. I think the background and the sheep were fairly successful, and as I said before, the eyes are weird because this was intended to be viewed from the other side, but you lose all of the subtle value changes if you don't view it from the relief side.
This is an image of the plaster mold I use to make these in case anyone was wondering how I got to this point. I've just been slip casting with a cone 6 recipe, but am testing some cone 10s, and some other new mid range slips. I would really like to figure out the clay body that was used in some of the ones I saw at the lithophane museum, but those recipes have probably been kept a secret forever!
So this is my new conceptual direction. I really wanted to get more explicit with my disapproval of the financial industry, plus I think my ideas were getting so lost that it didn't even make sense that my art was about business. Anyway, this is supposed to be based on the idea of the "judas goat." That is what they call the goat or sheep that leads the others into the slaughter area. Since sheep blindly follow, I thought this was a good analogy to use. I think the white on that shirt is a little extreme, and for some reason these always look a million times better in the pictures!?
This is a bust of that same goat image that I am working on. It will be a decent sized piece.
So these are the teapots. I basically paddle a hollow form until I get what I want, then I figure out the spout and lid after that. These are pretty small as the picture below shows next to a blue kidney tool. The middle one is my favorite and I think it is the most developed, which makes sense since it is the last one I did. I don't really think this is that out of left field for me especially when looking at the old teapots I was making.
These are paper "models" that I have dipped a few times in my casting slip. I thought since my other things looked kind of like folds it would be interesting to use some paper and control the shapes. I have had interesting results so far, and I hope to either take advantage of the translucent qualities and introduce light, or figure out a way to make some of these into teapots as well. Thank you for looking at my work and please facebook or email me or leave comments if there is something you like or don't like!

Midterms

Well, I just finished midterms and my first committee meeting. It went alright, but I am not sure what I want to do right now. Here are some pictures of a couple of the raku pieces I had there. I will post pictures of my lithophanes soon. I took these pictures to submit to 500 Raku, so it would be cool if I was selected. As some of you might notice, I have learned how to shoot those dramatic pictures they use in the magazines, it is actually very simple. I sent in some others as well. These are just 2 pieces, 2 views of each. They didn't like these pieces at all, and they were what I enjoyed working on the most...

Work in Progress...

Just thought I would post some pictures of what I am working on. It is going to be an installation piece. There will be six of the carcass pieces and then there will be a sculpture of a goat at the end of them. They have holes on the side that the viewer will look into and there will be lithophanes inside that have business related stuff on them. The carcasses I've made so far will probably not end up being in the final piece, but it gives you an idea nonetheless.

Here's the second one that I made. I've burnished it to make it nice and shiny. The body is a little twisted though, and the lid where I made the hole doesn't look very nice so this will probably just be used for tests. 

This is the first one I made and I like the shape of this one better. This is how they will look when they are hanging.

This is the wax carving for the lithophane so far. I need to add some lighter areas to the suit and probably refine the face some, but overall I'm happy with how detailed I was able to get this one. If you were wondering, this guy is one of the AIG executives. Eventually this will be used to make a mold that I can cast the porcelain in. Then I am going to use some printing techniques and layering to add some more texture and information.

The Studio

Welcome to my blog! I never actually thought I would do one of these things. For anybody who doesn't know, I just started the Masters of Fine Arts program in ceramics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. I came into town the 28th and moved into my studio the next day. Everyone always makes comments on the small amount of stuff I have in my studio, but I guess I just don't really need that much stuff. I imagine I will fill the studio up soon enough. I know I need to put some pictures up on the wall! It's been working out well for me so far. My ceramics class is pretty straightforward and in my art history class we will be focusing on narrative in modern and contemporary artwork. It seems like a very interesting class so far, and I hope that it will help me better understand my work. I have some pictures of my half of the studio. My studio partner's name is Jason and he's from Adrian College. He's a potter and makes soda fired pottery. The sheep body in the picture looks much different now, and I will have to post some pictures once it is finished. That is all for now. I will post again when I have some more work!

Empty shelves...

A view of the drawers

And more shelves and some plaster slabs