I know I HAVE to do all this, but....

I have felt like I'm just not in the studio enough....yes, I KNOW I have to do this electronic stuff -- website (long, tedious updating), writing on this blog (which I truly DO like doing), and becoming part of social networking.  I am working, working at the studio, preparing for two shows for 2013 (one which is all nudes, the other "non" nudes per the requirement of the Center.  So I have my days cut out for me.  I wonder so often how many artist battle this balancing act as much as I do:  basic living stuff/bills, health; exercise; relationships -- and then MY WORK.

I've completed two of the nudes in the series -- am going to let them dry endlessly (after the mishap with the dragonfly).  Meanwhile, working on other pieces which will be part of the other show.  Yesterday, I actually worked on creating a new piece from the remnants  of the dragonfly explosion ... and will entitle it "Resurrection" ... a circular piece with two wings connected...placed on a broken mirror.  After I photo it (before kiln as I always do), I will post it on the blog so you can see what's happening.   Because I'm having to reconstruct from bisque pieces, I'm using putty, epoxy etc. and thus cannot glaze.  I'm pondering now how to finish the coloration -- enamels, acrylics with clear finish, handmade paper application...  Will have to see how it unfolds before choosing final step. 

Haven't written for some time and I know I've missed the combination of writing, reflecting, and working.  This process of wordsmithing forces me to sort through the monkey-mind of ideas, and have a clearer focus on what next.

Now, finally, I'm headed to the studio!

And life steps in...

How I do want to write every day...but then life steps in...

A migraine (very rare for me) along with vertigo flattening me for days, and just tonite trying to regroup.  And then I'm going away tomorrow until Friday...concerned about piece that is there now.

But above, you will see the photo I took (thank heavens!) of the dragonfly piece that gave its life to the kiln.  You can see its intricacy...a good 25 hours put in on it.  Still a shock as I look at that picture that it is gone.  But always "patience and humility, Carolyn"...

The entry into my Artist as Muse show so wonderful, although will be challenging as again I'm entering into an area new to me.  I worked from paintings before...or sculpture photos.  But this photo of a live body seems more complicated.  The first one is completed, and the second one begun.  I am concerned about drying issues with this and will probably call Art Works and ask Jesse to go up to studio to spray it down til I get back. 

But surely, I can be reflecting and thinking about/writing about my life as artist while I am away.  This writing definitely focuses my attention on the task, and somehow opens creative channels.  Just wanted to share the dragonfly pic with others...  Namaste til I return at the end of the week.



Even If I've Experienced It Before...

Yes...happened this week.  A "fractured" piece of work.  What you see with this post is actually a piece I made _from_ pieces left.  But this time, only a few unrecognizable pieces and lots of dust at the bottom of the kiln.  And yes, my wonderful dragonfly piece.  Now, I absolutely must learn to use my digital...the only camera I had before it went into bisque was a "throwaway" deal, and haven't gone to Walgreen's yet...  If I can share the original later, I will.

Wishing always that I knew the magic key that keeps a piece from cracking, or blowing up.  Dry time, clay used, air bubbles ... so many things.  When I opened the kiln top and saw a piece of a wing, I knew.  And of course, my heart sank.  Yet, as I've said above -- even if I've seen the shards before, there will always be that little gasp.  But not the expletives I surely used a decade ago when I first began my journey with clay.

I've started my new series -- "Artist as Muse."  A long time coming and now I'm excited about the process.  I will definitely do some "pin pricks" throughout re Glenda to hopefully avoid bubbles...  So much to learn about this translation of a photograph into bas relief.  Because I never took courses in the drawing aspects ...ie, foreshortening etc... I have to constantly look, readjust, and redo.  Now, out comes the mirror.  That means, holding the piece up to the mirror to see if the form rings true.  Jonnie taught me this tip so many years ago and I shall surely need it now.

Interesting to be creating pieces of me ... yet that's the magic of this endeavor.  I created all the poses, had photographs taken, and after enlargement, utilize the photo as a kind of template to start.  I realized this week what an eerie feeling to be staring at myself in the photo day after day ... and trying to create the image in clay.  I made a major decision not to have any faces ... because the emphasis is on the pose, on the line, the truth to the photo...  More on all of this as the piecees unfold.

And the other decision that came with this first of the series -- to wax out the background, dip the piece if possible, and attach to a canvas frame -- not framing this set as in earlier works.

Did have one piece ... a tree .. that did make it through the bisque.  I shall glaze it tomorrow ... it is VERY thin and fragile, but am hoping it will truly make it to the finished product.  Writing critical for me, and I've too long been away from this blog.

Staying on task

For days now I've been taking off the double-layered plastic bags and putting them back on, inserting the dampened towel...all to keep it dry as I do the work.  I look at the dragonfly piece...each time thinking "ok, I'll finish up today."  Yet, always some new glitch, such as how to prop upthe wings for a more dimentional effect.  Or, looking at my original texturing created ay a metal belt (actually belonged to my mother -- the motto:  SAVE FIRST, USE LATER).  Or, realizing the background..a complex spider-web grid still not cleaned up to show an even, yet soft pattern.  So...another day to tending to detail.

Part of producing this piece demanded I had to call upon the encyclopedia of the Internet -- looking for close-ups of dragonfly wings, for some possibilities of how I could translate the fantastic patterns in nature to a strip of clay.

Even now, I wish I could have incorporated some multi-media presentation with transparency and exactness of the designs in thenatural world.  But I'll leave this pondering for another piece.

The terrors of the kiln await.  I'm testing the limits of clay in this work -- of course, worrying about air bubbles, too thick, too thin, totality of dryness of clay.  I will have 2 pieces to bisque soon:  the fluid movement of a tree; and the dragonfly on a a bed of dandelions.

As I complete these pieces, I'm already thinking about the next step -- decorating, glazing, considering this time to utilize waxing so some areas just the color of the clay body.  And then experimenting with glazing multiple colors.  Oh...and think I will call Gail to see how to use melted glass in part of the flowers?

Upon completion of these two pieces, I shall begin the work on the next show "Artist as Muse."  For this show, I must hunker in and get to the task at hand -- creating a series of nude bas relief pieces based on photographs of me ... photos already taken.  At 65, I want to remain true to every bit of flab, sag, and cellulite ... though always the temptation to fix just this and that...

Bit by bit

Sunday nite...and I've been putting in several hours a day this week on my dragonfly piece..   Bit by bit, I think I'm beginning to see the full picture.  And also, as the design unfolds, I find new ideas as to how I want to "dimensionalize" this work.  I have used the word "dimensionalize" for my work in bas relief for some time...not sure it's an official dictionary term, but surely works for my purpose.  I know I want to have the dragonfly wings lift off the backdrop in some say, and probably one half of wing differently than the other.  I am still looking for the right lacing patteren (i.e., rolling the clay with a piece of actual lace) as I move toward the final steps.

I have signed on for two shows in 2013 -- one at Art Works and one at Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center.  Interesting here that the location will determine the content.  Glen Allen, as a "family art center" does not allow nudes.  And my first plan was to have "Artist as Muse" be at both locations.  Now, however, I am aware that I will have to have a separate body of work for Glen Allen (..."finding a way in clay...) and "Artist as Muse" nudes for the show at Art Works.  Perhaps a good thing as I will be able to alternate my involvement, perhaps sparking my imagination in both areas. 

Grateful to have been given two new "tools" this week -- two very small screwdrivers ... tiny, tiny.   Finding the right tool for the specific task always the challenge.  And tools come from anywhere between the ceramic catalogues to a kitchen supply store.  And now, these two from a hardware store.  

As well, the "decorative elements  creating a work always open to susggestion.  For the last tree design which is now waiting bisque, I actually am wavering between using moss-like bits probably used on miniature train layouts ... and the tiny confetti that pops out of the small pop toys found in a party shop.   In the challenges, the choices, and the commitment come the excitement and the joy.

For me, everything comes from something...

After these many years of being in the world, I have come to believe that everything does seem to come from something -- be it language, story, surely the arts.  I have had the joy of coming to know Ken Elliot, an amazing (never the [right adjective...] incredibly gifted painter.  I have three prints of his work in my home...the one you see here titled "Grove and Garden" ... it sits above my bureau and I can walk into its elegance as I lie in my bed at night.  I urge you to viisit his website http://www.kenelliott.com/index.html .. as some would say, "run, don't walk, to see the wonders of this man's gifts.  

All of the prints Ii have are of his trees -- although  his images are diverse.  Just for me, the trees caught me by the heart.   I am most grateful to him for so much support in my own work, and his encouragement to step out into the electronic world to share my own work.

All of this to say that the last piece I finished was a skeleton of a tree (raised image of tree in clay).  I will  was out the background, then glaze the actual tree.  After which I will  use some medium  (as of now, undetermined) to create soft blossoms of color...probably connected in some way with the glaze.   I have another tree piece in mind, taken from a pattern I found in some linens catalogue years ago, of an Indonesian tree of life.  I may do this one in panels due to the size.

At the moment, I am still working on the piece with the dragonfly ... much more intricate and complex than I had imagined.  But there's the energy of discovering and learning and growing.   I am sure this current piece will be on my worktable for some weeks.  And then, the 'terror" of the kiln ...will it make it through the bisque?

On another note, but in this theme, I wanted to share an interesting moment this morning while in a meditation group which I attend on Sunday mornings -- in a beautiful park called Maymont.

A photograph I took some years ago...

After a delightful conversation with a young woman about sculpture, she asked if she could take a class with me.  And II had to say:  I come to clay from a love of the medium first, then from having some fine teachers in ceramics, and most of all -- simply reading, watching, asking questions, experimenting.  No MFA/BFA in my past (taught children's literature in higher ed).   I do believe in my work and can see the growth, as do others.  Yet, I can't bring myself to be a "teacher" here.  A concept on which I shall do some reflection. 

Now I just need to find ways for others to see this blog, and to interact with it.  So much to learn...but am glad I've started the process.

setting the stage...

Sometimes it seems all I've been doing of late is work on the website or the blog...  Yet I'm told daily how important this is as I try to "get the word out" that I'm here.  And interested in selling!  I've much to learn about this blog setup...thanks to those of you who have already commented...all critique is welcome.

Yesterday did manage to get some tiime in the studio to lay out and begin the markings for my dragonfly piece.  Again, a very tedious task but part of the process.  And it IS all about the process, no?

Still trying to learn the system

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

joys of June

The utilization off "social media" a new experience for me.  I vowed to write daily, yet here I am a month since my last post.  Oh, how the world of health, finances, relationships seem to block my way to the studio and my work as an artist.
After my last show "HANDS" I decided to take a break from a prescribed show requirement, and simply listen to some things in my inner heart. 
I have made several pieces since that time, including a bas relief form of a tree ... very hopeful it will lmake it through the bisque.  Plans to use specific glaze only on tree, with blackground waxed out to leave only the clay color.  After this, I will be adding some kind of medium to bring the tree into a blossoming stage.  I began yesterday to work on an intricate design which focuses on a dragonfly. Lots of symbolism for this elegant creature:  defeat of self-created illusions, foxus on being in the moment, opening one's eyes, maturitiy and depth of character.  All ofthese and more leading me to have a beautiful tattoo on my left forearm of a dragonfly.  I invite you to visit:  http://dragonflysymbolism.org/  for a peaceful moment.

As this piece develops, I will be uploading pictures of its progress. 

And then, my commitment to do a series of nudes in bas relief, based on photographs of me -- "ARTIST AS MUSE".   The show will provide a dual experience:  the clay creations on one side, and matching images of the pose in black/white photographs on the other.  A show which undoubtedly take me a year.

My website will be an ongoing process -- http://www.drgabb.com/
where I will be providing a range of information and photos sof my work.  But this blog taps into my world as an academic and lover of story.  I hope you will travel along with me.

BEGINNING...

Mattise

As I begin this journey of using language to process and share the creative concepts and creations, I want to share that ceramics has come to me much later in life ... after a plethora of jobs, but most recently (17 years) of college teaching -- children's literature/literacy etc.  I took classes during those years, but didn't fully commit myself as a ceramic artist until 2001 when I retired.  And now, not really "retired," as I consider myself a full time artist.

I've been encouraged/demanded by friends that
blogging can reach the largest audience (albeit the favoritism of Facebook).  So here I am, beginning.  The above piece one of my first bas relief pieces.  I worked for several years, through inspirations of paintings, photographs, drawings.  I am going to have a website devoted to my artwork in the next month and there I will be able to post pictures grouped by show.

I will be bumbling along, but determined to do as many entries in a week as I can.

Progressive Bas Relief




Lady at Rest

 April 25, 2012
Finally beginning to make entries...as I learn this system.   I am a ceramic artist, primarily, although I have worked in mixed media.  The piece at the left was made @2008 .. with a series of trial and error glazes.  The first try just too yellow so we redipped in an iron rust and came out with this amazing view.  For some time I've been working with the female nude figure as inspired by photographs, paintings, sculptures...even catalog clippings.

Yet I am now moving into a new series of nudes -- to be entitled "Artist as Muse."  In this group of pieces, I wil be working from nude photographs designed by me...and actually, of me.  These will be accompanied by soft black and white photographs of the same pose ... neither format will have face, in order to focus on line, shape, form.  I anticipate at least of work on these.  At 65, I will be concerned certainly with not editing out the "imperfections" of aging:  cellulite, sagging parts, a bit more poundage etc.

As I do my posts, I will when possible, include photographs of my work, and talk about them, both personally and professionally.