I've started a new piece with new clay. Last weekend i adjusted my clay body by increasing the redart, and adding Nephaline Syenite to lower the temperature of vitrification. i also added .5% barium carbonate to prevent scumming. Ive tested the clay at 08, 06, and 10 and it seems fine structurally.
So this is the first piece I've made with this clay. I made quite a bit of progress this weekend and have some ideas for the texture of the skin. i thought id get as much done as i can before heading to Philly for NCECA this week.

I bisqued this piece this weekend and it fired off fine, no cracks. I think im just gonna fire it in reduction raw body, and then wax it.

Just an updated look at this piece. ive put the hands on and am finished with the over all sculpting. just need to hollow out some areas and start the next piece.

Pale Pail

I Began a new piece this week an have been making good progress on it. I am really enjoying these figures and have lots of plans for their progression. Every time I get excited and start talking about my plans for new works I tend to move in a different direction before I get to it, but in this case I think I have found a good way to merge my ideas and address the issues that accompany them.
I plan to place these figures on clay pedestals so as to bring them into focus as a completed work and address the issue of their scale and its relation to clay mocketts. I see allot of potential in drawing on, and sculpting into the pedestals to absorb some of my more abstract ideas and use it to help identify the Figure that it is supporting. I have always been interested in the idea of supporting structures, and i am very interested in this idea of depicting the structure of ones personality on the base. I am interested in the contrast between the formal nature of the figure, and the abstraction of the base.
The figure being a focal point would be like a first impression, and the base could serve to narrate the development of a relationship with the figures personality. I think there are many possibilities and options to explore with this figure/base relationship and i think i could have allot of fun with it. This seems like a good tack in steady wind!

Ocean Breeze and Palm Trees

So I spent my spring break in Panama city, FL- just like the swarms of spring breakers; free from college for a week getting drunk on their parents tabs. My experience was slightly different though, as I was staying in town with Pavel Amromin to conduct an interview with the Artist. It was a refeshing experience to have the opportunity to stay with Pavel and experience a slice of his life rather than simply asking him a string of questions for an hour in his studio. I will elaborate more in the article but ultimately the experience gave me a welcome burst of energy!

Stuck on Brains

After struggling with the limitations of bah-relief wall pieces, and the toils of translating drawings into sculptures, i have decided to focus strictly on the 3 dimensional figure. This decision was a response to the realization that I have been forcing content and narrative on my work and that i was trying to tackle to many elements at once. By simplifying my efforts i have found a greater sense of freedom when working, and feel more confident about what i am making. I think i am getting closer to finding my niche here in grad school.