I’ve been slowly plugging away at these pieces, trouble shooting and learning as I go. This batch was the best yet and honestly they look so much better in person than photographed but hope you can get a sense of their potential.
There’s of course still some kinks to work out with the resin, the frames, and the lighting but I’m really excited about them and I know that when I dial it in, they are going to be amazing. If you missed the last post, read here first, but otherwise enjoy this quick video of creating these pieces one layer at a time.
Just a quick update on the Lichen Series: Spore Pattern installation that’s going to be installed in the Price Sculpture Forest this summer. I’ve been steadily building pieces in the studio and decided that I had enough to start laying them out on the floor of the studio. These are all in various stages of drying, firing and glazing but laying them out gives me a good idea of how many more I need to make and what the final piece will look like.
The large circle in the center photo above is about 10 feet across with a 1 foot center opening and there are almost 200 pieces placed down. I’d like the final piece to be about 2 feet wider, and there are still some holes to fill with parts, so I’m estimating that I’ll need to double the amount of parts but I’m getting closer to the finish line. Can’t wait to see it all together and installed!
I’m finally ready to reveal a fun collaboration with sculptors Lucia Bruer and Franco Di Majo entitled Bling!
It all started with the pile of Rock Candy pieces in the studio. Lucia was visiting the studio one day and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if they were gigantic jewelry?’. We both looked at each other and knew we had to see this idea through.
We decided to make two rings, that would appear to be stuck into the ground at the bottom and have their big gems crowning above.
Lucia enlisted the help of Franco and they started planning out the logistics of making the structure for band of the ring. Then we designed the layout of the band so that it mimicked the shapes of the ceramic rock candy. We also designed the bezel it would sit in with similar angles. Next up, there’s a lot of welding to do but it was really exciting to get a vision of what it would look like assembled.
We’re hoping these rings will be installed at Sierra Azul Sculpture Garden early summer, details to follow.
Last week, I announced my opportunity to create a large scale public art installation for the Price Sculpture Forest in Washington State. My studio is filling up with parts for this project, so I wanted to share my progress. (if you missed last weeks post, here’s the link!)
These pieces are in various stages of being built. I cut out all the shapes intuitively so that each piece is unique and there are a variety of sizes. The far left image shows the shapes but all the edges have yet to be attached. It’s important to let the panels of each piece set up a little before they are attached so that they hold their shape as they are handled and moved around. Once they are attached, they are left to dry a bit more and then they get a final wipe down before they are left to dry completely.
Once all of the pieces are bisque fired, they are ready for glazing. Each piece is glazed on all sides with a white matte glaze that is reminiscent of the shelf fungus color they are inspired by. Then each top edge gets a stripe of dark glaze that when fired is metallic colored where it is thicker and fades to a mossy green where it blends with the white glaze underneath. Now these guys are all ready to go for a ride in the kiln!
This batch of pieces totals to somewhere around 50 or 60 parts, but I’m estimating that I will need about 8 times that for this project- maybe more! Eventually every surface in the studio will probably be covered by these pieces, exciting times!
Just a quick behind the scenes video showing just how strong these very thin pieces of porcelain actually are. When I put them in the kiln, I just pile them up, but because of the vitreousness of the clay, they stick together just a little, kinda like porcelain nachos. Then they need to be popped apart so I can use these pieces in other projects. Enjoy!
These pieces have literally been years in the making, but I think I’m finally rounding a corner with them and wanted to share my progress. I had some success with my initial resin pours but still had a few things to tweak. You’ll notice that there’s a lot of micro bubbles in the resin, I found out that’s due to it curing too cold and possibly some air escaping from the pores of the ceramic parts. The edges of the molds aren’t as even as I’d hoped since the silicone molds had squished a bit in shipping, so I need to come up with a better frame solution. I also knew that my first experiments with led lights were really exciting and I needed to pursue that further even if it meant putting on my novice electricians hat. Some steps forward and some steps sideways, more problems to solve, and way more parts to make.
I decided to create stainless steel frames and pour directly into them so that I didn’t need to pop them out of a mold later. I wanted these frames to be versatile for both wall hanging and as suspended pieces, so I added a fender washer as the hanger to create a modern, industrial look. A metal fabricator neighbor welded them together for me and then I started working on the lighting components.
I’ve learned way more than I ever wanted to about led lighting, but in the end, I found that getting some waterproof strip lighting, a few connectors and being creative, I could get the frames lit on the insides and eventually embedded in the resin. I had small holes drilled in the sides of the frames for the wires to exit from which will ultimately connect to a power source, which for now is 9v battery to make sure that my connections actually work.
I’m ~almost~ ready to start pouring my (fingers crossed) first batch of keepers. My next steps are to coat the ceramic parts in a thin layer of resin, to seal them from leaking any air bubbles. To waterproof the end connections of my led lights and adhere them in place to the inner edges of the frames. And then I need to set everything up in a warm, dust free area to start the pouring, layering and curing of the resin, one eighth of an inch at a time. Step by step… stay tuned!
I’m happy to (finally!) share with you all that I will be making a large scale site specific installation at the Price Sculpture Forest on Whidbey Island in Washington State this year. I’ve been going back and forth with the owners for awhile now, but we’ve settled on a concept and a location in the park that we both think will be perfect for a powerful piece. Installation is set for the summer but I’ll be sharing my progress on this project with you as I go.
Inspired by the fungus of the Pacific North West, I’ll be creating a 12′ wide circular installation that will comprise of hundreds of ceramic forms. The shapes are based on shelf fungus forms and will be arranged to create a radial pattern reminiscent of the gills and spore patterns of mushrooms. The pieces will be staked into the ground with steel rod so that they float off the ground cover giving them an ethereal quality. Here is a photoshopped mock-up of my plans:
Conceptually, mushrooms speak of the cycle of life and death, since mycelium begins breaking down the dead waste in nature and the fruits of the mycelium (the mushroom) are the new growth that comes from it. The spores that are dropped from the mushroom gills, spread the growth and the cycle continues. Mycelium are some of the largest living organisms on earth stretching underground over miles of terrain creating networks of communication throughout the soil. This network makes them a symbol of growth through connection and how we are all connected to each other and to the systems and structures of nature.
The Price Sculpture Forest is 16.3 acres of preserved land with two walking loops through the property and a series of nature inspired sculptures placed throughout the forest. Visitors can use an app for a self-guided tour that will share with them each of the artworks, the artists thoughts and process on each piece. The forest is open everyday and free to visit, although, donations are always welcome.
Going big with the Rock Candy Series was a challenge, there was a lot of frustration, a lot of broken pieces and a lot of learning. Sometimes as an artist, you just need to take on the challenge and ‘make the thing’ even if you don’t know where it’s going to lead. Eventually, over the course of this year, I was able to make a whole pile of successful extra large rocks. But now what?
I stared at this pile in my studio for a few weeks, and it kind of stared back at me. I thought that I would be inspired to make more, create different combinations of colors and play with compositions, but I wasn’t. Sometimes, ideas lead to the end of a road and that’s ok. I’m really glad that I challenged myself with going big, I really glad that I was successful, and I’m really glad that all of the final pieces I made have already found a happy home. And as anti-climatic as it feels, I’m really glad to be moving onto other things that inspire me more.
If you’ve followed along over the past year while I attempted to make some extra large Rock Candy pieces, you’ll know that it was a challenge, but eventually I succeeded. I was able to make a selection of pieces that had no cracks or flaws, but there was a whole pile of pieces that didn’t make the cut. They’ve hung around the studio for long enough now, so it was time to get rid of them. So what do I do with all the unsuccessful pieces?
I hate garbage, I am always looking for a way to reuse, upcycle, repurpose or recycle everything and fired clay is no exception. While it could just go into the general landfill, I discovered that many refuse sites will accept ceramics in a separate pile where you would also put toilets, sinks and tiles. They grind up all the ceramics material and use it as an aggregate for compacting roads around the site or elsewhere. So if you have a bunch of broken ceramics from your studio be sure to check out if your local refuse center will separate it for use and you’ll give your not-so-great experiments another life.
I am officially back in my studio full-time after a year mixed with travel, making art in the middle of nowhere, and dealing with insane fires, politics and pandemics. It’s been quite a ride, but it is good to be back feeling hopeful so I’m hitting the ground running!
I will admit that ‘the dirt’ has lagged along this year without very much intriguing content so thank you for sticking with me! Now that my hands are back in the clay on a daily basis and the kilns are firing up, I will have a lot more to share with you. I’m hoping to create more short videos of behind-the-scenes in the studio, step-by-steps and sharing where my inspiration comes from. I will also be featuring some artists that I’ve met in my travels over the past few years who inspire me and who are also inspired by nature to create their works. I hope that you enjoy meeting them in some upcoming posts!
All the details about new works, upcoming shows and opportunities to buy new art will be coming soon… ’cause I’m baaaack!
