Saturday, July 26, 2008
Blogroll is Rolling...
For those of you hang on my every blogged word (what?! -Nobody?!) and are disappointed that I've slowed down for the summer you can tune in to more pottery blogging fun. I've added a pottery blogroll -just look to your right ---> and down...
If you have a clay related blog that I haven't included, just let me know and I'll get it in there.
I'll be back soon with some more results from the great experiment week...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Change of Pace
So my once per week (almost) blog has slid to once per month -I didn't plan it that way but that may the fact of summer life. Of course that doesn't mean that nothing has been going on at StudioElan -au contraire! The large order of Apple bowls is finished and on it's way to final destinations. A few smaller custom orders from my Etsy shop are well under way and my shelves are starting to fill in anticipation of a busy fall season.
I also had something very special happen this past week -I was relieved of my parental duties from 8:30 to 5:30 each day for 5 days in a row. This is a very rare experience that has happened only twice in the last 10 years. I used this time to experiment -free from concerns about efficiency, saleability and practicality. This is a great way to move forward in one's artistic practice.
I focused on creating decorative elements in the wet and leatherhard stages of making. I tried to incorporate elements of my sculptural work into functional pieces. For many years I relied on painted decoration to play up my rather severe thrown forms. Having promised myself that I won't paint hundreds of anything ever again, I now need to develop ways of decorating in the clay stage. I can't show you everything that I was working on because lots ended up in the slop bucket and even more really only happened in my head. I did however, take a few photos along the way while developing some knob and handle variation for jars.
I started with a row of plain thrown jars and lids (sorry-no picture!)
Then I sat down with clay and a bunch of tools and made all kinds of things that could be attached to a jar to function as lids or handles...
I used these three leaf shapes to complement a roundly elegant jar...
I thought the holes added some excitement to a previously static form but I didn't like the mechanical appearence of the hole -or the ragged edge that pushing the hole through too soft clay created on the reverse side of the leaf...
So I worked on the holes to create a form that might be more likely found in nature...
And this is the completed jar -well except for the firing and glazing -where another whole series of questions must be posed about what will work....
And so it goes in the quest to develop new forms -no wonder potters often make the same pieces over and over again!
If you have any questions/suggestions about these experiments I'd love to hear them!