A gentle breeze drifts up from the gulf and blows in my window. A movement catches my eye outside my window and I see a brown rabbit come out of the forest and nibble on blades of grass. A whippoorwill is serenading me hidden in a tree where I can't see him. Then a bright red cardinal lands on the ground suddenly and frightens the shy rabbit who scurries back into the woods flicking sand in the air with his back feet. I'm appreciating my new home and studio more and more each day.
Later in the day I went to class only seven miles away and I found a textured rolling pin in the closet, so I tried it out on the vase above. I took the photo of the vase when I got home. The vase was sitting on my work table next to the light. I like how the light shines across the front of the vase on an angle. I didn't notice the little indent at the bottom till I got the vase home. I must have pressed into the clay releasing it from the ware board. Now it's too dry to press it back out. Oh well, that adds character to the piece. I might make more pieces with this texture; I like the rough surface.
This past Sunday evening I just had to make something in clay and I ran out of the frost clay I initially brought home. So I dipped into my precious black clay. I had a strong image in my mind of a black vase with white slip and a white element standing upright in the vase, perhaps a piece of bleached driftwood. I tried to form the vase when the clay was too wet and the vase wouldn't stay upright. To save the piece, I cut off the edges and made a wall sculpture. Perhaps I'll mount it on a piece of weathered wood. You may not be able to see in the photo, but where the white slipped portions are located I have punched them out to make undulations in the clay. I have more ideas for the black clay with white slip deco.
The first piece I just played around with and let the clay tell me what to do. For the second piece I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to create, but it ended up telling me what to do anyway; sometimes it happens like that. How about you? How do you proceed with your art, do you intentionally make pieces or do you let the medium tell you what to do? Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Love the lighting on your vase!
ReplyDeleteYes I love the lighting on the vase. It looks like it is going to be really nice. How are you going to glaze it? I heard something on the radio yesterday about planning it wet like this. "To make a plan is a plan for success" "Not to plan is to plan for failure" So in connection to my work; well I always plan if I let myself go into freefall than it usually goes wrong but more importantly it takes 7 times longer because I am problem solving as I go along rather than anticipating.
ReplyDeleteLinda, can you follow me on Twitter I have hardly any followers and I don’t tweet too much, well just important stuff.
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Yep, the clay always wins with me! Very nice vase, I like to dent my pieces on purpose, you just got an added bonus there.
ReplyDeleteLinda, Lana uses those big rolls of heavy cardboard to use as a support for handbuilt vessels. ; put newspaper over tube and put slab around. You probably already do this.. anyways.. love your descriptions of the area sounds all warm and yummy.Good for joints. JT
ReplyDeleteHi Paula, thanks, I think it looks kind of antique or sepia toned, purely by accident.
ReplyDeleteHi Kitty, thanks, I think I need a pale glaze for this one to see the texture, I never know in advance; I'll need to do some testing. I made a sculpture of a church last night and it took me forever probably because I didn't plan. I'll need to start doing that and perhaps I can get more done. I had a hard time finding you on twitter as I didn't realilze you'd be under studioslipware, but I am now following you. I hardly ever get on twitter though, but use facebook and my blog mostly.
Hi Tracey, thanks, I only seem to get the dents when I don't want them, oh well, I do like the texture a lot.
Hi Joan, thanks, I am going to invest in some foam rubber to hold up stuff with, for this one I used a paint roller; the roller is soft and works pretty well. On pvc I use WD-40; I spray it on and then wipe it off a little, it works great and burns off in the bisque and is much quicker than newspaper. I'm starting to like it here, not sure about the summer though, but I guess every place has it's bad weather.
hey linda, i like the dent, thought you did it on purpose. i don't usually plan too much, but as kitty says all too often i keep having to go find that one tool i need, or have to jury rig something for support till the clay drys enough. when i plan, even just a little, things go so much smoother.
ReplyDeletewhen i read about the cardinal i was instantly jealous! i grew up w/ them in TX, saw them daily in VA, but they don't live here in MT. i do see lots of antelope, deer, and eagles out my front window though so i suppose it's a good tradeoff.
I love the vase very much, it is interesting how it would look after glazing, if at all...
ReplyDeleteI am so glad for you, enjoying so much your new neighborhood. I am going to move to another place in 2months, but I fear it is not going to be as pleasant as I would like.
Hi Kim, thanks, I do as you say so often start making something and then think I need more clay, I need something to prop it up with, ugh when will I ever learn.
ReplyDeleteHi Varda, thanks, I thought the same as you should I glaze it? I am really liking this frost porcelain clay it is so creamy white, plastic, and smooth, we shall see how it dries and fires. Oh I didn't like this place at first, but it is growing on me, I hope you get more than you expect with your move.
hello... hapi blogging... have a nice day! just visiting here....
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