The Beats

Hello friends. This week was not very productive for me. Between studying for midterms and getting some weird food poisoning I didn't get very much done. I did have a very good conversation with Erica on Tuesday though which is creating a good context for me to really determine what my subject matter is really about. She posed the question of -what kind of environments would my organisms live in, and would they blend in? This is a simple question, but that could really hep me determine what I'm going for.

I went to the library and looked through a ton of ceramic magazines for inspiration and to really just get an idea for what the possibilities are for my surfaces. I am mostly attracted to the rock-like surface texture seen a little here with artist Liang Jia Huar... I will find a better example and post it.
I'm in the process of making a ton of surface samples since my texture has been decided, and I plan on testing them over break. Speaking of break, I'm really excited because I'm staying in Ann Arbor for the week.

DPS

Today (Thursday night) I encountered my first DPS officer in the art building, specifically the ceramics room. I didn't expect him and was very awkward. He was kind of good looking hah.

Anyways, This week in IP I made mucho progress. I finished the wet work on two of my pieces (shown throughout). One of the piece is medium sized and is intended to help create a transition throughout all of my work. (Pieces from skinny to fat). I wanted the singular orifice to look as if it were whimpering, or sucking. I also created a muscle texture that protrudes from the top and side of the neck.. hopefully giving it a little more individual character.

The other piece shown here buds three separate times. First it buds into two segments, then I split one of the sections a second time. I think this creature is hilarious. From far away it is such an awkward, lumpy, transforming organism. Janie siad she thought that two of the tentacle like structures looked like someones legs spread open. I LOVE that. This guy seems to be evoking many different emotions, gestures, and organisms.


This week I've also begun to do some wax surface experiments... here are the images for that. I'm not loving the blond color (when it's thick) so I'm thinking about adding some brown/orchre oxides to the wax and seeing what happens. As of right now the wax is over washes that I've previously laid down. I am liking the surface when there are more washes (darker) underneath. I also like the very THIN layer of wax over small amounts of washes. Hopefully by putting oxides in the wax I can make a bumpy texture that isn't obnoxiously blond (the original color of the beeswax). It smells great byt the way.








I also am showing the image that's on my postcard. (Black background)

This weekend I look to continue working on my creature that's going into the ground, in addition to working more of the wax surfaces. I guess my questions pertain to the surfaces. Are you liking what you're seeing? I think it's hard to tell from these images what they would look like on an entire piece... but lemme know. I think I'm going to also begin making some sculptures that are fragmented pieces (janie's idea)--- emulating fragmentation... or loss... idk

Hope everyone's enjoying this fabulous weather:)

Last week of teaching the little 2 year old buggers (thank god)

ps sorry the formatting is so wack- I cannot figure out how to make it look nice

Dilla Week

This week in IP studio... and every other waking moment I was in the ceramic studio working and listening to J Dilla. Dilla is my musical idol (who died in Feb 2006) and since February is the month of his birth and death it is essential that I listen to him at all times. I finally feel my momentum coming back..... I'm in the studio for around 8 hours a day and it feels great. I made 200 pounds of clay this week, finished two almost three pieces and started three more. I put my next largest piece (the budding one) in the kiln today along with my super little and fat one (see image) with no major issues. Now they will dry out for about a week to two and then I'll fire them!

I've moved on to doing some smaller and skinner pieces. I'm trying to help create a transition between my smaller and larger segment sizes. I want them to all make sense when they're together. As for my surfaces, I have a test piece (with washes) in the kiln currently and should be ready for me on Saturday morning. I've also been talking with John about using beeswax on my work. He's given me the number of a local guy who I'm going to call tomorrow and see if he has any in stock. If not I might be able to buy some from Johns stash. There are many wonderful qualities about the beeswax that could really add to my work. 1. It smells GREAT. I think having another sensory experience besides visual could add just the right touch to my 'living' organisms. 2. It can create a really great bumpy texture or just the opposite, smooth and shinny. 3. I can use the yellowish natural color or add oxides and change it to black, red, or whatever. Basically beeswax has a lot of avenues to explore. I'm think that I'll use it over the washes (it'll be transparent I think)... we'll see.

I'm having some fun with my new skinny-er pieces and the forms. With one I have it budding three times... I might even create a piece in the process of fragmentation (breaking off from the parent). I s I'm starting to see my pieces and they're sizes either as different generations... each having one, or many ways of functioning.. still trying to make sense of all of these guys.

I have one piece that I'm in the process of building into the ground. I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to handle the piece utilizing the ground... Amanda mentioned that it's a great opportunity for the viewer to discover something new about the organism (no ones else is going into the ground). I'm not sure how to approach it yet, I'm thinking about having some form jut out (as if a bone was dislocated) in order for it to bend over.

The third guy I'm working on is nice and simple, he is mid sized, sleek, and extending his head and neck to look backwards. I'm excited for this one because it is looking more akin to my first smaller pieces and helping the transition of size along.

Maybe a new texture for the middle guys? or maybe a variation of what I have so far? What do you think? I wan them to be apart of the same family, but variation is good for many reasons.

Ok, so that's what I got. I'm ready for the weekend to work and relax, can't believe it's almost break (aka my birthday hah). WAhhhhh


RIP Dilla

Snow time

This week in IP studio (and other times) I was in the ceramic studio working away. Right now I'm feeling good about the pieces I have, I'm in the process of finished the wet work with three of them. I am also in the midst of making a more middle sized creature to create a transition between the smaller and bigger works. I've done a surface experiment with washes and am trying to get it first asap, but it's hard because I want to cone 6 it and need other people to fire it with. I was going to with Saree but we can't anymore because we're firing two different clay bodies or something...

Anyways I had an idea of possibly using beeswax on some sections of my work. John has done that before on one of his pieces and it's create a great textured surface. I also think that if if was a clear wax, and used over some slips that I could create an ambiguous enough surface (kind of skin/human like) that it could incite more though within the viewer. I'm talking with John possibly tomorrow, maybe on Monday about how one goes about doing this.

This weekend I plan on starting two more medium sized pieces that have a more gestural form than the larger pieces. I'm referencing the sketches that I made last semester for some ideas on what to do. I'm pretty excited to have the pieces utilize the floor where they disappear under the ground and appear a little ways away. Tricks like these will make the forms appear to be bigger than they actually are.

I'm nervous about time, it's dwindling faster than I would like, especially since I'm going to need to have my wet work done a lot earlier than I thought...