This church was restored by the local community of Toyahvale, Texas. We took a photo of the exterior, expecting the church to be locked. But we were wrong; the door had a magnet to keep it from opening in the wind. We were happy to be trusted to go in the church and see the simple interior.
I have 25 pounds of this sculpture clay which has large hunks of beige grog in it. Working with this clay is a real challenge. What can I do with clay that's so rough and has so much grog in it? Why did I even get this clay. If I had known in advance what it was like I never would have purchased it.
Since I have the clay, I'll have to use it. So, I decided to pinch some forms, leave them rough in texture, then alter them. Since the clay texture is rough, there's no way I can change that. It isn't easy to make rough and altered pieces pleasing to my eye.
I find it much easier to make a smooth form than to make rough and altered forms. Boy what a challenge I have for myself with this 25 pounds of clay.
Working with clay I find I just need to have simple trust. Trusting I can achieve what I want if I keep trying, keep practicing.
There wasn't much decoration in the church except this painting on the wall. I'm not sure what material was used; the texture is rough and rustic, and yet there's a lot of detail. That's something I'd like to achieve with this sculpture clay. Perhaps I need to make sculptures instead of functional forms, those would look much better with this clay. I'd really like to make some buildings like this church and some mountain cabins, not sure they'd make it traveling in the motorhome. So for now I'll make pieces that won't tip over in the motorhome. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
