nceca.

I'm off to Philly to schmooze and peruse. Expect an abundance of pictures when I return!

foot in the door 4.

I finally made it to Foot in the Door 4! The amount of work they had was insane. There were three rooms full, all with a large pedestal in the center of each. It was really exciting seeing how all of the work was installed, and was fun looking for my piece!

Just an idea of the amount of work.

I found my piece!

A little closer...

One of my favorite pieces there. I can't imagine where you would even start with this.

I had a meeting with two girls that I'm going to NCECA with at Hardtimes today. This was in the corner of our booth and gave me a giggle.

newer work.

A quick update of some of the things that have been happening at the studio...

One of the pieces that I'm working on for the second half of the semester came out of the kiln today. Its a highfire porcelain body, but unfortunately the slip dots couldn't hold up in the extreme heat, so I tried a lowfire Duncan clear and it worked perfectly! The bodies aren't as white as I would like, so I might try and experiment with a midrange glaze as well.

Another version of the chromosome bowls. I think I'm going to try and experiment with different forms to put the slip dots on, as well as larger sizes.

What they look like pre-firing. The glaze is a pretty mint green before it goes into the kiln, I almost want to see if I can replicate that for a few of these pieces.

I also got a few things out of the glaze kiln today. I've been trying to play around with handles, even though they are my least favorite part of functional pottery. I didn't think these to were that bad though.

A detail shot of the inside of the midnight blue mug.

Easter mug! The color is much prettier in person. A lovely pastel green, right in time for Easter.

And finally, I've been working on chalices for my old church. I'm pretty happy with the way thy look now. The foot still needs a bit more work. I think I might try and carve even deeper, making little holes throughout the stem. As long as its still functional for communion!

spring break.

It was our spring break this past week at the U of M and I accomplished... nothing. But that's alright, its supposed to be about relaxation, right?

A picture of what I was doing last year around this time:

Versus this year:

Hmmm in the studio. No surprises there.

Here are a few new things I'm working on to compliment the ring bowls.

Ooooo shadows!

I think I unknowingly was inspired by some corral I saw while snorkeling in Hawaii. They kind of look like chromosomes having a dance party to me, what do you think?

final piece.

It's done! It's finally done! The pictures aren't as quality as I was hoping, and I still need to figure out a better way to hang the plates, but overall I'm excited and glad that they're complete.

The project started with the idea of creating a 4x4 grid and filling it with some sort of imagery that created movement. It wasn't until I came across a documentary on the Large Hadron Collider before I decided what that imagery would be. The "scribbles" on the back of the plates are representative of a particle collision. I found a few pictures from a bubble chamber and tried to make a semi-accurate depiction of the events that occur. Then the issue became glazing - should I leave them white or add color? I decided to take some of the lines that were created by the particle collision and employ a "paint-by-numbers" sort of thing.

At that point, the plates could have been complete. They were fully functional and fit together like I had hoped. But something was missing for me. That's when I came across a manganese based overglaze decal that my professor could print out. All I needed to do was give him a pdf with the imagery I wanted. I found some really beautiful script in some of Einstein's old notebooks to have printed and then cut and pasted them to fit into some of the negative space created by the color blocks.

The completed set. Each plate is 10 inches across.

Detail of the notebook decals.

Another view.

Close up shot.

Overall I'm pleased. I feel that some plates stand stronger individually than looking at them as a whole. It's a completely different experience seeing one alone and then viewing them as a unit. I might try and tackle another set of plates with similar imagery, but maybe make the color blocks a little more solid. Or not including them at all? Or take more advantage of the negative space that's created with the lines? Lots of things to think about with little time to execute.

critique.

The day has finally come to install and critique my plate project. Pictures soon to follow...

studio happenings.

The past week has been a busy one. I've been making more tiny bowls, including a ring bowl for a friend's wedding, glazing plates, and learning how to raku.

One of the ring bowls in progress.

A finished bowl before its bisqued.

A friend from the studio stopped by today with a tupperware full of cake balls, which fit perfectly into one of my bowls. This one was a lemon poppyseed with a lemon frosting. Yum.

Almost all my plates in the glaze process.

Scott trying on the raku suit.

Raku in progress.

It's been a productive week!