2 posts tagged “sculpture”

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Home Stretch to the opening

Loading two pieces into the kiln.
Loading two pieces into the kiln.

Loving this new work. It has been a grueling grind preparing for this show. Teaching way too much, sleeping not enough. My hands are sandpaper from clay and paint, but it is energizing to watch the pieces grow, take them out of the kiln and bring them to life with color.
Have been working with a new clay that has less grog. It fires a resonant red color.
These two pieces are called Diva of the Canyon and Duet.
Why am I so driven to make these things?


Post a comment Tags: diva, clay, sculpture, fine art, goddess, ceramic art, firing, kiln …

Mud

Mud
Mud
Life is real, life is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal
From dust thou art to dust returnest
Was not written of the soul.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For some reason I memorized that quote in middle school, and it remains implanted in my brain. It often emerges in the swirls of clay dust which surround me when I am in the process of recycling clay.
Always wear a mask when doing this!
The process consists of breaking down and re-wetting scraps of dried clay, slaking them in water until they are completely saturated
16 tons and whaddya get?
16 tons and whaddya get?
and soft throughout, then drying them on a plaster slab until they are ready to be transformed into sculpture. This hunk is a year's worth of saved clay scraps. On top is a recognizable reject from an old sculpture that didn't make it into the kiln... an arm or a thigh.
I let it all dry out into a giant jello mold the size of a 30 gallon garbage can.
Just kidding- it IS a 39 gallon garbage can... then break it down with the sledgehammer to re-wet it evenly. Otherwise it clumps and clots and is unworkable.
I need a new, long handled sledgehammer, but I don't do this often enough to make me run out and buy one.
Post a comment Tags: clay, sculpture, vermont artist