Lets get weird!

So my projector is teetering precariously on the edge of my table. But I think for anything to be successful there must be a healthy portion of risk potion. Hopefully this guy will have an arm tomorrow if my neodymium mags grip!

Progress

Do these legs look short to you? I think it's an illusion caused by the size of Phil's head on Josh's body.

No cracks!

There were some tricky tensions in this piece along with and experimental internal arch, but the fire was a success and the cone supports were snug when I removed them.

Enter tha 36 chambers

New work

The beginning stages of a hybrid figure. The research for this piece has lead me to a new understanding of my work as a whole, and the importance of the barrier within it. I've found myself full circle; searching for a copy of Jose' Ortega Y Gasset's 'Man and People' ( I left my copy in a storage shed in Binghamton!)

Packing/shipping

The repetitive nature show came down to open for the NCC holiday sale which opens this Sunday.
I spent the day packing the work and discovering the intricate science of packing and shipping things that could break in a light breeze!

Surface study

I've finally finished the modeling of the full figure and I decided to play around with some new surface techniques on the head study for this piece.

I Took a break from the studio a few weeks ago and spent my Saturday making inflatables for the barebonespuppets outdoor puppet performance. These are some shots of a test inflation of the buffalo, as well as the workshop area in action!

I just finished the modeling of this figure, which served as a refreshing break from the larger scale work from the previous post which I have been working on simultaneously. with both pieces i have been engeneering detachable limbs that will hopefully protect the pieces in transportation.

Northern Clay Center: Bringing great artist to the Twin Cities

These shows opened this past weekend and were accompanied by the Regis Master Slide Lecture at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. You can view Jun Kaneko's slide lecture at http://youtu.be/3GRxXSzn8ds I would recommend checking it out!

Work in progress

These are some shots of my new studio at the Northern Clay Center! It wasn't until I got set up that I realized how many necessary tools and equipment I left behind. I guess that's what happens when you move all of your belongings in 98' Pontiac Bonneville. These windows have a nice view of the park, and a great eastern exposure which will illuminate the morning magic in the Factory!

Sawdust and Dirt

I just saw a great lecture by Michael Kline at the American Pottery Festival at  NCC, where he spoke about the strength of using social media like blogging to promote/expose the ceramic arts. Here is a link to his blog which is definitely worth checking out periodically. 
http://www.sawdustanddirt.com/

Thesis Show

 

I thought it was about time to post some shots of my studio progress. It has been getting a little crowded in my studio working on two pieces at once but I have been making steady progress with my thesis show on the horizon.

Progress

I thought I'd post a shot of Travis before I cut him up.

Armature

Here are some shots of a new armature I built. I have decided due to my current schedule and upcoming deadlines that I need to being working on two pieces at a time. It's going to get pretty tight in my studio but I think it will come with its share of advantages. I also worked out some of the kinks in my last armature design.
I rotated the post 90 degrees to slim it's profile when working from behind it, which also helps to better support the insertion rods. I hamered flat the ends of the rods by forging them using one of the burner ports of an active fusion pot kiln around cone 1 as my heat source. I clamped a piece of angle iron to a cinder block to function as a marring surface, which worked out quite well. I need the ends to be flat so that I can clamp onto them for easy twisting removal.
I included a photo of a wooden handle I fabricated to serve this purpose.