Shape Shifters

Another part of my previously mentioned Cut and Paste studio was rethinking found ceramics.

It was a good exercise in creative thinking, but I can't say it is really inspiring me to run in new directions with it. As an object maker and object lover though, I do appreciate these little things for taking up space in intriguing ways.

This funny composition below is the result of a class kiln forming experiment, which involved a lot of kaolin, kiln wash, and glaze.

Lacing Up

My final for my Cut and Paste ceramics studio with David East came from an impulse to understand spiritual places like the Standing Stones of Machrie Moor in Scotland or the Plain of Jars in Laos. What makes a place spiritual?

I ended up concluding it is a combination of history, mystery, as well as the designation of whomever happens to be in the space. In the two mentioned places, there is also the recurrence of circles, which have an undeniable spiritual importance to people.

My impulse then led me to the idea of sanctuary and how we create places and barriers that provide the goals of sanctuary (often peace, rest, and isolation) for us. I've been experiencing a particularly difficult time this year, which has included having my places of peace invaded, making a safe sanctuary an idea of particular concern. Places are what we make them, and our ideas about them are applied.

The idea of sanctuary includes putting up certain barriers. That isolation can be good and bad, depending on the situation. This idea lends itself quite well to some of my infant explorations of self-mutilation or self-inflicted injury, as well as the figure and architecture/space. So here we have a figure, sewing herself into a tent of lace.

I got a well-deserved tough critique on this one. However, I'm definitely intrigued by the ideas within this peace, and I am teasing some of them out as potential bases for my thesis work this upcoming semester or even for my graduate thesis, which is looming in the near future.

omg SEX!

omg SEX! It's a dirty word, and that's part of the problem; silly taboos on widespread experiences.

These two figures are the most recent productions for my thesis. Here I am attempting to tackle the role of sexuality in gender construction. It has turned into a challenge to define sexuality and understand how it is constructed. Basically so far I've decided, sexuality is a created response to an object of attraction. Nature chooses the object of attraction; society teaches us our response. That response is an enormous part of how we navigate gender. It would make sense then that gender as we currently define it, being either a man or woman, is too narrow.

For me, sexuality is a very calculated projection, with both passive and aggressive qualities. Basically, sexuality is very much about power; who has power, who wants power what gives power, and how that power is acted out. Now it is also about concepts of desire, but if everyone wants to be desired, then there is power in who decides what(or who) is desirable.

These figures are particular demonstrations about my experience with sexuality and about women's sexuality in Western society. They also bring up issues about children's sexuality and how we educate them, which is another beast I have not yet begun to tackle.

These ideas are much more complicated than that, I know, and really I could go on about them for a while. However, I'm very clearly still working through them, so I won't. Dialogue is absolutely appreciated though.

Just a note- the female figure is half life-sized. The child is the same size, but of course that means a different scale.

I received a thought provoking critique from my thesis class, and I, of course, couldn't leave them alone afterwards, so each figure has been tweaked since the photos. I know most artists prefer critiques of finished work, but at this point in my career, green critiques seem much more helpful because I can change things or work out problems without having to rebuild the figure entirely. Now these ladies are tented for the winter break, ready to be fired upon our return for the spring semester.

On the technical side, I've had some problems with slumping, and I've decided I'm not entirely satisfied with the glaze I've been using. I'm going to be experimenting with bisquing high, glazing low, and some new glaze recipes with these figures.

New year, new adventures, hopefully better results and better luck.

The Merriest Part of Christmas

The merriest part of Christmas is usually the flood of reminders about the love and support I am so lucky to be surrounded by.

These works of art were made by the children I babysit, and are now two of the best cards I have ever received.

Take Two

I hate photographing my work. I'm still learning how to do it, and I imagine once I figure it out, it won't be such a chore. Any of you fellow artists know what I mean? In any case, I redid the photographs of Expectation, and I'd say with some success.

A little shout out to Andy Mangold, a tremendous artist and friend, for providing access to Photoshop and giving me some lessons on working with these raw images. You learn something new every day.

D.D.

As a birthday gift for my dad, I decided to preserve an artifact from some of the best memories with him. I took press molds off some Dunkin Donuts cups. I made these beauties out of stoneware, decorated with red iron oxide and celadon, and put them in the wood fire. I'm pretty thrilled with the results and I'm pretty sure my dad liked them too.

On Fire

This past November MICA Ceramics held our annual woodfire at Baltimore Clayworks, and I was able to buy a shelf and actually fill it. I don't do pottery very often, and most of what I do ends up being gifts or this year a lot ended up in MICA's Art Market (happening now, by the way). It's nice to switch it up in the studio sometimes, but I apparently can't resist making pottery sculptural. The mason jars and double bowls are fun to make.

You'll notice there's a mix of both wood and salt fired pieces. It's all quite new to me still, as I've only participated in 3 woodfires to date. I like both results, and I don't know that I could pick a favorite. The wood pieces have a rich color. The salt pieces come out with a really juicy surface. I glazed nearly exclusively with my blue-green celadon. I can't help myself sometimes; I love celadon, and I love it even more in the woodfire.

Our woodfire was an overall success. We had a good, even firing and a lot of fun in the process. Spending all night by a big hot kiln, throwing wood and salt in, builds a wonderful sense of community.

(The bottom two are planters. I recently started keeping plants, and I'm so excited I decided to go all out and make some beautiful pots for them. None have died in the three months I've been cultivating my "garden," and the fact they they are mostly types of cacti has absolutely everything to do with my success.)

Trial by Peers

It's been a busy time of year, but I'm happy to be posting once more because I've got another piece in a show. Remember my previous post "Expecting the Expecting"? I pushed it through the kilns and finished it in time to enter it in MICA's Juried Undergraduate Exhibition. She was selected and currently is on display through November 15th.

Here's hopin' the rest of my applications turn out so well...

Here are some slides of the same figure. They show the surface much better.

Pink Tank

Just wanted to show off the newest addition to my toolbox. All geared up and as protected from the ceramics studio as it can be, short of wrapping it in saran wrap of course. I'm just tickled pink with it.

Do Your Research

I'm currently taking a ceramics studio with the endlessly talented ceramist David East called Cut and Paste. One of our class assignments was to put together a show that responds to MICA's Mount Royal Station Building. We all did research and came up with sketches for the space. We ended up with a few collaborations and all unique pieces.

My piece titled Who's Here? Who's Not? deals with Baltimore's population history and "white flight." Mount Royal was a stop for B&O's luxury train line originally called Royal Blue. While the name changed several times throughout the years, the line still maintained a high class image. In the years the building functioned as a train station, the wealthy neighborhoods surrounding it that were originally white became integrated with immigrant and black residents. Many white families moved from the city in the the suburbs at rapid paces.

I overlaid a map of Baltimore from the time Mount Royal Station opened with a map of Baltimore land use at the time it stopped functioning as a train station. This is about as installation as I've gone with ceramics. I think I like it.

Or, as Patti might say, I've tidied up my point of view. I've got a new attitude!