Stoneware House (still green), 10″ x 7″ x .75″
Side view – needs to be sanded once it’s bone dry
I have begun work on my shadow box for the Rainbow of Art Auction taking place in a few weeks. So, a few days ago, I crafted this clay house from rolled out slabs of stoneware clay after taking the shadow box apart and assessing measurements and the physical space that I’ll have available. The shadow box I was given is 12.5″ x 9.5″ x 2.25″. Although the interior space that I have to work with is about 12″ x 9″ x 1″ from the backing to the glass front. With that in mind and knowing that I was going to have a dimensional ceramic piece inside, I calculated the dimensions of the house that will fit inside the shadow box – 10″ x 7″ x .75″. Considering shrinkage during drying and firing, this should be the right size to allow a little breathing room between the ceramic piece and the glass.

I’ve also decided to replace the black felt backing with a soft painting background. It will be fairly simple, but it means I’ll have to pull my paints and sewing machine out. Actually, that won’t be too difficult, since my sewing machine is currently sitting in my living room (I’m proud to say, that I’ve reupholstered 2 chairs and am making a slip cover for an old Salvation Army wing back chair in preparation for the home tour).

I’ve been playing around with smaller wall boxes the past month to use as canvases for decals and other image transfer techninques and have been a little stumped at how to craft the hanging component. For my initial pieces, I used Gorilla Glue to attach wood blocks to which I added hanging wire – a solution that I’m not entirely happy with. There’s something I love about working with clay – the technical aspect. One has to think ahead and look at the piece as a whole, and sometimes, these issues become apparent only after the piece is out of the kiln. After the initial hanging experience with my wall tiles and boxes last month, I’ve decided to try another approach. This is an experiment at attaching the hanging component directly on the piece before being fired using nichrome wire which has a melting temperature of 1400 °C. I’m not sure if this will solve my technical and aesthetic conundrum, but it’s worth a shot. We’ll soon find out!

Earlier this week, I wrote about tackling mold making. I think I am going to start off with a simple press mold using a clay house as my model. I’ll need to make a master which will have deeper walls than this one. In fact, I should make a couple, so that I can have more than one going at a time.

Meanwhile, my mom sent me the coolest link – apparently, there’s a traveling Joseph Cornell retrospective taking place. It is at the Peabody Essex Museum in MA right now, but will soon be traveling to San Fransisco. Joseph Cornell was a pioneer assemblage artist in the US during the 20th C influenced by the Surrealists. If you do nothing else today, check out the link to be transported to an interactive Joseph Cornell Gallery! I wish it would come to Denver….

That’s all for today,

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