Going Big

This week in Studio:
Ceramics Studio: 3 hours

Over the break I worked mostly on the two larger sculptures. One has a base size of 54 inches and the other of 34 inches. They are about two feet tall at this point with a lot more growing to do. I hope for the largest sculpture to be the size of myself (around 5 feet) and the other one to be around 4 feet or so. They both could end up larger depending on how the form plays out. They have both been fun to make but at the same time very challenging. I go back and forth from feeling like I have complete control of the medium, to none at all. Working large is physically demanding which I enjoy, yet it can be difficult to perpetually push your mind and body at the same time.

I've looked into textures, sampling from nature (the veins of leaves and how they break up space, and the cracking of rock I saw in the Hagia Sophia, pics right and left) as well as from my own work I completed sophomore year. I think for one of the sculptures (since I will be using washes on them) I will use the texture, although not exactly the same, from my piece shown below and to the right. I will keep the piece matte and either simplify or make the lines more complex depending on how it looks. This texture makes me think of root vegetables or objects originating from beneath the ground.

I am drawn to these rock textures and patterns because of their spontaneity, but also by the fact that they have been altered or placed in their space by a human. In some ways that is what I am doing, taking these natural ideas/objects/forms, meddling with them and the placing them in a new context. On the other hand I do enjoy the textures from the leaves or the moss/rock growth because they have been untouched and formed because of of their environment.

At this point I really want to concentrate on building these sculptures and getting the general gesture established. I think because the clay at this scale is so difficult for me to control that these will not necessarily look how I've planned them to. I'm very excited to see what happens when i take my original form and enlarge it on a mass scale. I think the initial response will vary quite a bit from the first two pieces.

This weekend I would like to do more research (image finding, artist searching) on segmentation and rocks/fossils. I would also like to continue building these pieces up and see where they go. Also maybe do some planing on starting and other line of forms to evolve.

I will post in progress photos of the sculptures later today or tomorrow once I get images of them yay.