Lots of Work...

Moving forward in ceramics... last I wrote was that I unloaded a couple of kilns with my hand building class. Since that, I finished making my "flying hat" and we had critique this morning. Also, yesterday I started on a project where I will make slab plates and paint on them/transfer slip on them in the form of faces, plants, animals, or whatever else may come to mind. First of all I want to see how well I can create a portrait on a plate-- I am waiting for some test tiles and plates to be glaze fired so I can see how my new white shino turns out on top of black slip on top of the clay body, and also so I can see how the honey celadon turns out. The slab plates will be good practice for slip transfer... but I didn't work on them at the studio tonight.
I went to go to the studio, and on the way I noticed that the gallery door was still open so I went inside to take a look at everyone's latest work. When I turned the corner all of the MFAs were standing there and apparently it was a critique of their latest work. I wanted to turn around and just walk back out, but my hand building teacher saw me and beckoned for me to "come on in"... so I did. I shouldn't have. She thought that I was looking for her to ask her a question, but I whispered that I just came to look at the show. I quietly took a few steps around to look at the displayed work, then walked out. It was a super awkward moment. I should have realized that since the gallery was still open that it was out of the ordinary.
I mixed some more white shino glaze because it was too thin the first time around because the soda and spodomene dissolved and the glaze was more of a solution than a mixture-- and it is supposed to be as thick or thicker than a regular glaze. I ended up mixing 20 times the recipe more to add to the glaze (10 times is one portion, so I ended up using 3 times the amount of dry material that I started out with). After that, I glazed a test tile and used my honey celadon to glaze some plates. I was avoiding the hand building room because the critique was still going on and migrated from the gallery to there. Anyway, I didn't work on the slab plates, but I decided to throw some pots on the wheel. I made a bottle vase that I want to make into a jug, and then I started in on a teapot. I attempted the teapot body a few times because I was being a perfectionist. I tried a gallery seating the first time-- the traditional way of making the gallery while the wall is strong-- and then tried to make an imitation gallery seating (that was a bad failed idea). After that I finally settled for a flanced seating because I really just wanted to make the teapot. I made the lid and the spout, then made a small bottle-- I was thinking about making a flask bottle but it got too fat so I just played with the bottle neck for a while until I screwed it up completely... then decided to call it a night. I guess it wasn't an unproductive night, but I didn't get everything on my list done.
As far as other things go... I finished my abstract head sculpture for class tomorrow and sculpted a parrot mushroom for work today. I don't think I will go to California this week. That's ridiculous and I have way too much to do... mostly ceramic stuff. I guess I could visit my mom if I get bored on Friday. I will get photos of the flying hat, more soda cups, the parrot mushroom, and head sculpture later... :P

The Big Weekend

As far as ceramics go, I am taking the weekend off. I haven't been at the studio since yesterday. I did a lot yesterday though, and I am done with my project so I really have nothing to do unless I wanted to throw a few pots. I made two glazes and unloaded two kilns yesterday. I call that a productive day. I guess I could show off some of the drawings I have been doing in the meantime... I finally got around to drawing the smoking picture of Mel Gibson. It was such a dramatic photo that I had to draw it:

I drew this with ink and used a black colored pencil for depth. I don't like smudging and I don't like erasing. This is my favorite way to draw portraits-- just black and white with dramatic contrast and shading. I want to do more of these... and maybe along side with some mushroom sculptures, I will do it this weekend :) I drew a funny expressive portrait of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the face is so disturbing that it doesn't really resemble him. It looks just like the photo, but the photo doesn't even really look like him. I should draw a different photo of him.

     This is the moment. The legitimate moment when the guy told me to lay down so he could thrust a giant needle through my ear. I just thought that this photo was perfect-- notice how I am already smiling. I was so excited. I think I even smiled while he pierced it...

     And this is right after he put the stud in the new hole and cleaned off the blood...

Hmm. Big news-- I finally got my helix pierced. It took me long enough to make a time to get it done. The weird thing is that I wasn't necessarily afraid of the pain, but I am more afraid about the healing process and risk of infection. It didn't really hurt when he pierced my ear, but I could feel the needle going through. It was weird. I must be somehow messed up if I can handle the pain of piercing without wincing-- and I'm stupid enough to reach through a flame shooting out of a kiln to take out/put in a brick. If you think about it though, the flame is hottest at the source, not where the flame is visibly orange.
Well... I made a hat last Sunday in a couple of hours that is pretty cool. I call it my happy hat:

And that's all for now. I just really wanted to share it ;)

New Semester, New Loves :)

Oh yes. It has been quite a while since I have updated-- or even thought about-- my blog. So much has happened that there is simply no way of telling all. Basically, my summer plan to go crazy and build kilns and set up a full studio and go all out just tanked. I had the building, I had the wheel... but no kiln(s), glazes, power tools, etc. It didn't work out. I didn't have the time. I had a full time job, plus I was doing 20 hours of sculpture a week for a separate job besides. I spent maybe an hour or two every other day at the studio. I didn't have the money to invest in a kiln and the tools I needed, although I did get a wedging table made and made modifications to it and my wheel. I didn't want to invest too much into the space anyway because my dad told me that it was temporary. Just how temporary, I didn't know. I had one day of notice before the new tenants started moving everything in. I couldn't be there to move my stuff out that day because I was out of town, so it really sucked. My personal things got shoved around and they even started using a few of them.

Besides the fact that I got kicked out of it in mid August, I guess it wasn't all bad. I had a gallery up front where I displayed a few of my pieces-- ceramics and paintings. It was right on main street, so it felt good hearing about it from other people who were impressed or curious.

I just wish that it could have been a more permanent home for my creativity... I am back on campus in the glorious ceramic studio where I am spoiled with kilns and wheels and tools galore, but it's somehow different. I like having friends around to talk to, but I did enjoy the peaceful quiet feeling of having a huge space to myself. At least I have had a taste of it. I guess that's more than other artists my age. I'm only 20 1/2, after all.
Anyway, being back on campus is everything that I imagined it would be. I mixed glazes for the first time ever today... and after seeing the ugly results of the class glazes while unloading the gas kiln this morning, I am very excited to use my new glazes. I got the recipes from my teacher: a honey celadon and a white shino. Ok, ok, more pictures... let's see... I have been working on various projects, but since we just barely unloaded our kilns today I haven't brought much home in the way of finished ceramic work. In my hand building class I have been working on some big sculptural projects-- I sculpted a representation of my favorite hat on an 18" scale:

Oh, and this year I am a member of the Utah State University Ceramic Guild, so I participated in making a few chili bowls... we all went in on a Saturday and worked in the wheel room together and made it an all day event where we produced as many bowls as we could. I started at 10:00am and made and trimmed 23 bowls and was cleaned up and left before 7:00pm... I was rushing the trimming. Here is a photo of the greenware bowls on the shelf:

I love how the middle top bowl turned out... it didn't fire the same as I wanted it to, but it has a subtle beauty about it. Anyway, this year is so different. A few of the friends that I made last year graduated or moved-- and we got a few new people. I haven't quite warmed up to them yet, although I really am trying. We even got a new tech guy... who had a broken arm when he arrived :D I thought it was an interesting side note... but I have still been drawing. In fact, I have been drawing on mainly tea-stained paper (I started it during the summer right after quitting my job while I was really sick) with ink and sticking with black on paper with no added color. I have been starting to incorporate the drawings into my pots using a slip-transfer technique. I made some cups and transferred some faces and figures onto them and put them in the salt kiln this week-- eventually I will have photos to post. Anyway, today I mixed a honey celadon glaze to imitate the soft caramel color of the tea stained paper, so my pots will essentially echo my best sketchbook works. Here is a quick photo of a mug that I pulled out of the salt firing today:

I used a really iron-rich clay body and painted a petroglyph design on it with black stained slip and put it in the salt firing just to see what it would do. I originally intended to save it for a wood firing, but I like how it turned out. I have been experimenting with handles of this sort lately.