Archive for September, 2008

Untitled 2005, collage, rubbed texture, photo copies, vellum, marker

Last week, I was searching through some of my old sketch books for something to use as a screen print experiment and came across some collages that I made for a graphic studio that I took in Landscape Architecture grad school in 2005.  I go back to my stint in grad school a lot because I really pushed myself during that time period and made some interesting work.  In some ways it was $9,000 well spent even if I didn’t graduate from the program.

Untitled 2005, collage, photo copies, vellum, marker

The three collages I’ve included in this post caught my eye and as I sat there with them for a moment in silence, I realized that they represent how I want to approach surface decoration on my ceramic work.  After writing a few posts recently about screen printing and making ceramic decals from scratch here and here, I came to the conclusion that I would like to create a layered effect with imagery, texture, glaze and decals on clay.  So when I found these collages, a light went off in my head - just like a cartoon…

Can you see the brain synapses firing away?

Since you can’t really see the layering in the collage on a computer screen as well as you would in person, allow me to explain.  In these collages, I used a variety of graphic textures, text and imagery pulled from newspapers, texture rubs, magazines, and my own mark making.  In two of these, I colored some vellum with a translucent markers used by architecture professionals (brands like Prismacolor or Letraset) and collaged it on top of the black and white imagery which in my mind represents the glaze layer.  What I didn’t add to these collages is a third layer or the ceramic decal - but I could easily simulate this by transferring toner based photo copies with a colorless Chartpak Blender Marker on top of the vellum.

Untitled 2005, collage, photo copies, vellum, conte crayon

The collages are not meant to be great art works - they’re more like quick creative exercises to spark design ideas.  It was exciting to me when I rediscovered these, each measuring approximately 7″ x 9″.  They’re playful, not overly thought out, spontaneous and will be a good addition to my studio practices to push my work or at least the surface of my work to become more complex and all mine.  Since first discovering clay in 2002, I have enjoyed the process of  working with wet clay much more than the finishing aspect of ceramics.  Glazing has always been a sometimes painful after thought, and I confess a single dip in the glaze bucket was about as creative as I dared in regards to finishing my work - sometimes even going as far as to use a one color for the interior and another for the exterior.  Hold the phone, keep your pants on!

Minimal and quiet does have its place in ceramics, but it doesn’t really describe me or my personal preferences.  Consequently, it feels sort of hypocritical to cop out and apply a minimalistic look to my ceramic work.  If you were to visit my house, you would be greeted by a riot of color, mismatched heirloom/purchased/thrift store furniture, family photographs, art work - other’s, my daughter’s and mine, my grandmother’s glass and tea cup collection, mementos, along with piles of newspapers, magazines, and books covering the entire surface of the coffee table that reflect my family and a well lived in home.  And, if you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know I’m sometimes scattered, focused, colorful, loud, quiet, opinionated, empathetic, interested in many different ideas and philosophies and I think my work should reflect that as well, much like my home reflects my family.

I wonder if the past few months of mental wrangling, studio avoidance and general gnashing of teeth has been in response to this dialog that’s been going on inside my head.  When I think about it, all of this started when I returned home from my teaching stint at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in August.  I was so inspired by my stay there, that I made the decision then and there to push myself to make better work - I just didn’t know what the answer or path was when I came home.  That dialog has been playing in my head around the clock in the background ever since returning much like a computer security scan works behind the scenes allowing normal use of the computer yet slowing everything down at the same time.  Processing…processing…scan complete!

Whew.

I’m not ruling out a touch of ADD, left brain deficiency or general off kilterness either. 

Meanwhile, that’s me in the photo above holding a tiny porcelain faceted bottle I made for a miniature swap as part of the Etsy Mud Team this month and was taken by my daughter.  I haven’t been a very active participant in Etsy since early July because I haven’t made any new work in awhile - it’s a wonder I haven’t been kicked out.  If any fellow Etsy Mud Team members are reading this - I’m getting back into the swing of things, pinky promise.

Paul McCartney and Wings are currently serenading me as I write this and the upbeat music blast from the past sounds so apropos for this picture perfect movie moment in my life - cue zoom in for close up.  Smile of contentment on my face.  Fade to future - End on positive note.

C’est tout,

~Cynthia

I often joke that I have adult onset ADD - and I mean no harm or insult to anyone who has actually been diagnosed with ADD.  But, I have a couple of problems that make me think that it’s no joke or is something else entirely.  I am habitually late for almost everything, I have a hard time organizing myself and don’t make good use of time.  It could be that since leaving my full time job several years ago, I’ve assumed the task of running the house, making all the appointments, being the main care giver to my daughter, and am trying to run a small business - make that micro business all at the same time.  If I only had to be responsible for myself, I think I’d be fine because I could work when I’m most productive even if that’s 3:00am or dinner time.  Therein lies part of the problem - I have to work my schedule around my family’s schedule, both of whom keep normal hours.   At this point, I think realizing that there’s a problem is the first step in making everything more manageable and enjoyable for everyone.  While I won’t bore you with my day to day family/mom lists, I’ll share some techniques I’ve recently decided to implement in the studio.

Studio Log - I chose the lowly black and white composition notebook because it makes me feel a little nostalgic in a good way.

The other day, I listened to a NPR podcast while walking my dogs in the morning and the topic happened to be ADD and how to help children with ADD navigate through school more enjoyably and successfully.  My ears perked up and I decided that I could benefit from some of the strategies mentioned.

• Clean work area to minimize noise and distractions. Check - I’ve cleaned my studio and have also started cleaning my computer files and home, which is going to take considerably longer than a day.  Less clutter and dirt helps me find stuff quickly and is better Qi.
• Making Lists of what needs to be accomplished daily, weekly, monthly and yearly and keeping the list visible to help manage time efficiently. I used to be a list maker and have fallen out of the habit, so I decided to start fresh.  I’m keeping a list for day to day stuff as well as a studio log of things I need to do and how much time I work in the studio during the week.  It’s still fresh, so we’ll see whether this works or not.
• Prioritize tasks. It sounds sort of anal retentive, but in all honesty, seeing the list helps me to prioritize my tasks and obligations.  I enjoy the research of starting a new project and am a day dreamer by nature, but those have to be put on hold until I fulfill the tasks on my to do list.
• Take good notes and make observations. This became very apparent to me yesterday when I glazed a few test tiles with a cone 6 pink glaze recipe left over from July.  It took me a several minutes to orient myself and to make some educated guesses as to what I was thinking during that process.  I’m sure it made total sense at the time, but now that a few months has elapsed between dates, it’s a little foggy.  All my notes are a jumble of loose papers and aren’t dated.  I mixed up 3 batches of the same base glaze, but didn’t label the containers and had printed 4 recipes that I had placed on top of the containers - but didn’t indicate which of the 4 recipes I actually used.  I was able to deduct from my tick marks which one it was in the end - but how much time did I waste in the process?
• Date and mark the time spent in the studio. Seeing the cold hard data is very revealing.  I’ve already acknowledged that I work in the studio part time based on the hours available to me right now, so adding dates and hours worked will help with book keeping and also hold me accountable to work at least 20 hours a week in the studio.
• Consult list regularly.

My studio log is separate from my glaze notes and kiln log and I hope it will become valuable as I attempt to be more productive. Here are my most recent entries:

Studio log entries

I also realize that I need to be flexible, adjust the list as necessary and be nice to myself.  Yesterday, I had a full day planned in the studio but my daughter and I were both feeling under the weather.  I felt better by the afternoon and did get one task checked off my list, but everything else was added to today’s schedule.

On a related note, fiber artist, Lisa Call, began writing an ongoing series on “Scrum Training” and how it relates to making art in August.  I have been following her posts with anticipation and am very intrigued by the concept, which is really a framework for managing software development.  This seemed like the perfect post to add her insight about scrum and how it relates to the art world.  If only I had half as much discipline as Lisa does…she is a single mom of two, works full time as a software engineer, and manages to make a prolific amount of art work in her free time.  How does she do it?  I think she’s a good time manager or needs significantly less sleep than me.

Meanwhile, creative people are often thought to be more “right brain” oriented while technically minded people tend to rely on their “left brain” functions.  I think it takes a balance of both to be a successful artist like Lisa (although the term success is itself subjective).  Wikipedia has a good explanation of how the different lobes of the brain function.  My daughter gave me a few right brain vs. left brain quizzes last week - and it’s not really surprising that I scored more right brained points than left.  It’s no wonder why I need to make lists to stay on top of life!  Want to try a few simple tests to see if you’re more right or left brained? Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3.  Feel free to share your results.

So whether or not I have ADD or my left brain skills are deficient, I hope to be more productive, punctual and conscientious which requires me to unplug a little more frequently.  With that said, I’m signing off for the day.

~Cynthia

Jim and Nan McKinnell

Ceramic exhibitions don’t receive as much press as other art mediums here in Colorado and I suspect throughout the nation (if not the world).  Imagine my delight in seeing a full page feature story on ceramic icons Jim and Nan McKinnell in the entertainment section of the Friday edition of the Denver Post.   Even though they’re not originally from Colorado, Colorado claims them as their own after they settled in Ft. Collins, CO in 1970 after teaching and studying ceramics in many different locales.

A retrospective of the couple’s work is on view at the Beyers-Evans House Gallery courtesy of the Colorado Historical Society.  Included in the exhibition are 84 pieces of pottery from full scale work to miniatures just a few inches tall, as well as some of their pottery tools, correspondence, framed and loose photographs.  I’m intrigued by the artist couple - they both shared a love of ceramics and collaborated on nearly everything they made making it difficult to assign credit to a specific piece.

I’m looking forward to seeing the show and have been meaning to go to the Kirkland Museum, which also has a large collection of ceramics and pottery and is a few blocks away from the Beyers-Evans House Gallery.  The only downside of going to the Kirkland Museum is that no one under 13 is allowed entrance.  That puts the kibosh on going with my 10 year old daughter.

After looking for more information about the McKinnells, I stumbled upon the Smithsonian Archives of American Artists.  The Smithsonian has digitized many of their collections and the information is available online.  Isn’t that cool?  The site also has a written transcript of an interview of Nan McKinnell archived, but the audio is not available online.

Meanwhile, I decided not to read Thoreau again, because I’m going to listen to it instead while I work.  After cruisin’ the ‘net this  morning I found LibriVox, a group of volunteers whose goal it is to record all public domain books in the USA (basically anything published before 1925) and make the audio recordings available for free to anyone who wants to listen.  I found the full Walden audiobook on the site and am going to load it onto my iPod Nano.  A list of cataloged books in on their site, but can also be found under Podcasts in iTunes.

As to a Thoreauesque family experiment, I suggested the idea to my husband and daughter over dinner last night.  My husband is interested, but my daughter was sputtering like I just asked her to cut off her right foot or something.

Finally, my mom and a few others emailed me yesterday  to tell me that my blog wasn’t showing up correctly.  I checked it out in my browser (Firefox) and it looked fine, but then decided to open my site in IE after suspecting that there might be a compatibility issue since a similar thing has happened in the past.  Lo and behold, it looked like gremlins had eaten everything!  I checked the html code editor in Wordpress (I normally use the WYSIWYG editor) and some weird code was present.  It must have happened yesterday when I did a cut and paste of my post after I edited it in Word.  Luckily it was a quick fix and nothing serious.

Have a good week,

~Cynthia