Drawing -- 9/11

I completed an extra drawing for my own practice.  I used charcoal and tried a number of different techniques, including blending.  The drawing is 42 inches by 36 inches. I completed it on the last day before they shut up the studio for the summer.

Drawing -- Film

Our fourth assignment was to combine the theme of falling and jumping with movement.  We were encouraged to do a film using stop-action photography and the medium was open -- collage, silhouette, drawing, painting, etc.  We had studied the work of William Kentridge and were enthusiastic about giving it a try.  I completed a film (280 still photographs) and I hope you'll be amused.  It was based on the silhouettes of the previous exercise.  There are three narrative lines you may have trouble reading: 

1. Mr. Smith, the intended victim of... 

2. The darker side of nature

3. Fluffy, the kestrel.

The film is called “The Unexpected Encounter” and is on Vimeo.  Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/41797404

Drawing -- Silhouettes

Our third project was to create location-specific silhouettes and install them in our art building.  Our theme was "falling and jumping".  I created four silhouettes that were about 3 1/2 feet tall and installed them above the door to our class room, just as students enter the building.  There is a kind of narrative that goes along with them and I think you can see what it is.

Drawing -- Room with a ...

Our second exercise was slightly more traditional.  It was titled "Room with a ..." and was executed in charcoal.  For a room I chose a very modern looking mall space and for objects occupying the mall, I chose valves (vacuum tubes) and speakers from inside an old console radio.  Almost no other student in the class had any idea what I was drawing.  Many of them only had a vague idea of what a console radio was.  The drawing is 42 inches by 56 inches and was executed almost entirely in vine (light) charcoal.  I finally turned to compressed charcoal for the darkest blacks.  I enjoyed working with charcoal in a large format and will do some more this summer.

Drawing -- '53 Plymouth

This was the first exercise in our drawing class and the most interesting drawing exercise I have ever had.  We did the following over two class periods.  We taped our 36 x 48 inch paper to the wall and pasted random chunks of textured paper to it, "to activate the corners and sides".  (You can see a piece going across the shoulder and tie.)  We then pasted on various pages from the telephone directory.  (Notice the left side.)  We used our brayer (little roller) to keep everything flat.  We then rotated our paper 90 degrees and added a colored (blue) wash over one third of the paper.  We rotated 180 degrees and sketched in a figure from a randomly-selected 1953 newspaper clipping (Plymouth).  We rotated the paper 180 degrees again and sketched in another figure from a different clipping (man with tie).  We rotated again and wherever there were lines forming closed shapes, we painted them in with acrylic washes.  We then chose different colors to highlight the shapes of the figures.  We did not have to stick to the lines.  I enjoyed the process and like the result.  It eliminated all of our presuppositions about what you could or could not do with a drawing.  I'll do this kind of work again.

Ceramics -- Ikebana Vase

I think this is my best ceramic work for the semester.  It is an Ikebana vase for flower arrangement.  It was made by selecting a random ball of clay and slapping it against the table until it made an asymmetrical slab.  This formed the bottom and the basic shape of the vase.  The sides were built up using the coil and pinch method and then the rim was pulled in to accentuate the asymmetrical shape.  The glaze is Utah Red over Zeller White.  This worked especially well as it came out very, very glossy and highlighted each pinch and the lines between each coil.  On the interior the lines have a rusty cast.  The vase is 8 inches wide, 6 inches deep and 3 inches high.

Ceramics -- Pharaoh's Vase

This vase (or bowl) was built using slab construction.  The clay was Little John which tends to crack on the edges.  This gives the work a lot of interest and excitement.  The glaze is Utah Red over Zeller White.  The white glaze causes the red to shift to a greenish color and have rust-colored highlights wherever there are edges, cracks or indentations.  I especially love the random splotches of red that come through.  The vase is 6 inches high and 6 1/2 inches in diameter.

Ceramics -- Sculpture

This untitled sculpture was formed using the coil and pinch method.  When leather hard, the surface was painted with white slip and black iron oxide slip and allowed to dry.  The glaze was Strawberry, which is a kind of Celadon glaze that highlights the surface of the clay.  Some of the most interesting parts are where the glaze pooled into a darker green.  It is 7 inches high and 7 inches in diameter.  My professor liked this work so much that he traded me for one of his teapots.  That felt good.

Ceramics -- Enigmatic Landscape

This wall relief sculpture is titled "Landscape".  It is an enigmatic environmental statement.  It was formed with layers of reclaimed clay that were smeared and shaped by hand.  White and black slip were painted onto the surface in the shape of the Chinese character for "mountain".  After becoming leather hard, a bamboo tool was used to cut away and incise designs into the clay surface, exposing the layers below.  A simple ash glaze was painted over the entire surface and then glaze combinations were poured into the design cutouts to highlight the damage that can be caused by open-pit mining.  The entire relief is 12 inches high and 13 inches wide.

Ceramics -- Wall Relief

This wall relief sculpture has the title, "The Earth, the Wind and Water Tell the Tale..."  It is an environmental statement as the water spills out of its banks, the Earth is broken in places and the wind is dark and turbulent.  I used three different kinds of clay: Rod's Bod, Little John and Black Mountain (for the wafers).  The glazes were Tenmoku for the Earth, Matte Light Blue for the water and Bauer's Clear over the entire work.  It is 17 inches high and 6 inches wide.

Ceramics -- Buddha Figure

This Buddha figurative sculpture was constructed with a slab bottom and coil and pinch figure.  It is glazed with two coats of Salt Lake Blue.  The blue/green line down the front is intended to represent the folds of the Buddha's robe.  The figure is 10 inches high.

Ceramics -- Raku Incense Burner

This incense burner was constructed using the coil and pinch method.  The glazes are Copper Penny in the front and Hawaiian Blue in the back.  It was fired in a Raku kiln.  The temperature was brought up to 1750 degrees, each piece was removed from the kiln using very long tongs and immediately placed in a large steel can full of paper.  The paper burst into flames and we put the lid on tight.  The can fills with black smoke and it creates a "high reduction" environment.  This produces the dazzling colors on the work.  Because of the toxins in the smoke, Raku pieces cannot be used for food or drink but are beautiful to look at.  At this year's ceramic sale, the Raku pieces were very popular and were snapped up during the first hour.  I kept this one out of the sale to use at home.

Ceramics -- Birdhouse

This birdhouse was thrown on the wheel and then the surface was incised with a bamboo tool and paddled.  The glaze was Rod's Green when tends to be quite transparent and to show off any design.  I finished it by gluing in a little branch that birds can land on, along with four strands of string to keep it from falling out of the tree.  It is 5 inches high.

Ceramics -- Rose Petal Vase

This "rose petal" vase was constructed using individually-formed wafers of clay that were pressed together into the desired shape.  We sometimes called this "potato chip construction".  The glaze is the ancient Japanese Tenmoku glaze.  It is known for having highlights wherever there are ridges in the clay.  I thought this vase turned out well so I will use this technique again.

Ceramics -- Covered Jar

This covered jar was thrown on the wheel.  It is 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  The glaze is Million Dollar Yellow brushed over Utah Red.  I especially like the randomness of the drips and pools of glaze.

Ceramics -- Pinch Top Vase

This vase was thrown on the wheel, a coiled top was pinched and added, the surface was scored and incised using a bamboo tool and then the whole surface was paddled.  The glaze is Million Dollar Yellow brushed over Utah Red.  It is 4 inches x 4 inches.

Ceramics -- Teacup

This teacup is wheel thrown using "Rod's Bod" clay.  The speckles in glaze are from the specks of iron oxide in the clay.  The glaze was Utah Red over Zeller White.  It is 3 inches high and 3 1/2 inches wide.  I especially like the accidental smudges and pools of glaze.  I wouldn't want it to look completely uniform.

Ceramics -- Ancient Vessel

This vessel is supposed to resemble an ancient treasure box.  It is 11 inches x 6 inches x 5 inches and is glazed with Million Dollar Yellow brushed over Utah Red.  It is slab construction.