What I did:
Make Clay (hard work yay): 2 1/2 hours
Talk with Amanda or Erica: 30 mins
Work in Ceramics: 2 hours
Write proposal: 45 mins
Collected images: 30 mins

I feel much better about my project now than I did the other week. I have a direction, one that I am excited about. Over the weekend I stuck myself in the ceramics studio and created a sculpture that originated from me looking at kelp. Although the end product looks nothing like what I had directly been looking at, it nonetheless was successful in many ways and acts as a good basis for exploration. I see this piece as a train of thought acted on out loud and more of an experiment. I created the piece a little differently than I usually do by making each segment individually and then attaching them afterwards (usually it's just one whole big piece) which allowed me to play with the balance of the overall structure. There is no texture on this piece, but by suggestion of Erica I think I'm going to make a multiple mini sculptures and being to fool around with the surfaces and glazes. I have not explored glazing as much as I would have like to over the past couple of years so now is the time. The size of the piece is about 25 inches tall--- and I want to go BIGGER.

I've decided to put the rough draft of my proposal up because I think it reflects the current state in my project.

"I want to create multiple ceramic sculpture ‘families’ originating from biological forms. I would like the sculptures to manifest themselves as creatures in order to generate a peculiar environment. By looking at small biological organisms as inspiration, I would like to enlarge, distort, and combine these features to fabricate new visual objects. In some cases I would reference familiar forms, and in others I would cite obscure fragments of the environment. Various artists such as John Grade, Tara Donovan create visual landscapes with natural and synthetic materials that allow the viewer to experience a particular space; an aspect that I want to consider while presenting my work. Artist Sadashi Inuzuka involves his interpretation of invasive species by creating “sculptural elements that are metaphors for the natural world and our relationship to it” (Sadashi 2010). I want my project to generate questions and thoughts about the microscopic organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. Our natural environment fascinates me by what remains undiscovered or fathomable. By using multiple reference points I would hope to spark imagination and curiosity about what may or may not exist within our world limits."

Sadashi Inuzuka Statement. Dubhe Carreño Gallery, 2010. Web. Sept. 2010.
http://www.dubhecarrenogallery.com/sadashi_statement.htm

Organisms:
We cannot see
That don’t exist
That are unidentifiable
Look like something else
We cannot imagine
Microscopic- invisible to the naked eye
Have a character

I have a lot of different image I want to print out and hang around myself while I'm working in the ceramics studio (I might ask John on Monday if I can have the little studio space that's in there :) so I can have them surrounding me while I work.

This weekend and for next week I think it is important for me to be in the ceramics studio working, but also continuing to look up different artists, biological influences, and sketching out my ideas.