Full Circle Inspiration
Chandler Romeo's ceramic cityscape featured in "11.11.11" at Gallery Nord in San Antonio, TX. Photo Credit: Steve Bennett / SA
A funny thing happened late last fall during a field trip for a class I took called “Field Books”. For this class we kept a “field book“, or sketchbook as a tool to map, make notations, sketch, journal, and analyze a site over the period of a semester as a generative process to document and as a way to make an intelligent design leap that an aspiring landscape architect might utilize when beginning a new project. Artists, use a sketchbook regularly to keeps notes, and to test potential design ideas – and this is very much a similar creative process. Historically, a field book has been used by scientists, cartographers, and others to document notes and imagery of the flora, fauna, and physical landscape of areas visited which was used at a later time to further research.
I LOVED this class and imagine my surprise when the instructor took us to an artist’s – a ceramicist’s – studio no less, to check out her clay work. I was slightly nervous since I know quite a few people in the local clay community, and had actually been introduced to Chandler at Plinth Gallery by my friend and ceramic’s mentor, Mary Cay, last summer during their Colorado Clay show – which incidentally coincided with the Marvelous Mud show at the Denver Art Museum (you can read the review here). It was an incredibly exciting summer for clay enthusiasts last summer! But I digress….
Of course, she didn’t remember me – nor did I expect her to after a brief 10 second chat 6 months prior. At any rate, the purpose of the field trip was to look at Chandler’s ceramic landscape installations through an alternate lens and as a way to begin to “sketch” landscapes in 3D. I am enamored with her work and pine more than just a little for some clay to squish between my fingers. Luckily or perhaps wistfully, school leaves very little time to think about any extracurricular projects beyond school. The memory of the trip to her amazing studio, that she shares with her artist husband, has stayed with me through winter break and I am am beginning to start imagining when I can get back in my studio on a regular basis. With less than 4 months until graduation, I feel energized and ready craft a new creative career bridging art + landscape. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but I’m ready.
*As a side note, I believe that Chandler’s ceramicscapes are handbuilt using slabs of clay, rigorously laid out using a map that she creates so that when an installation goes to a gallery, it can be installed as she originally envisioned.
“Art” Mockumentary
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Over winter break, I’ve been taking care of quite a bit of business before I head back to school mid January, but I’ve also been enjoying my fair share of recreational reading and movie watching while time permits. One of my most recent watches is Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as a documentary about street artists including such luminaries Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Swoon and a “franken-artist” named Mr. Brainwash among others. Seemed like a good flick to watch and after perusing Netflix for what seemed to be 20 minutes, one both Ron and I could agree to watch together.
I was buying it up to the last 1/4 of the movie when I became somewhat ill at the notion that an artist can be made with the help of a bit of money, some famous endorsements, a few connections, and an army of workers. Hell, if it’s that easy, I think I’ll go mortgage my house right this very minute. Still thinking about the movie the next morning, a little internet sleuthing proved that I and probably a lot of others had been played in the most devious & brilliant fashion. I don’t want to give too much away since the movie is entertaining and if you are at all interested in street art, graffiti and even the main stream art machine – it’s worth seeing.
I actually like Banksy just a bit more now…and found it to be a good critique of modern society.
Affirmations for Artists in Today’s Economy
Art Biz Coach, Alyson Stanfield, just released a short, but powerful video of affirmations as a tool for artists and craftspeople to use to respond to today’s belt tightening economic climate. This is an uncertain time period financially and politically that has the potential to play with artist’s psyches in crazy ways and affect pocket books. The video includes a variety of art work in different media and I’m humbled that Alyson asked if she could include an image of a set of my nesting bowls in the video.
Nesting bowls
When times become difficult, it’s a natural instinct to batten down the hatches and abandon seemingly frivolous pursuits to get a “real job” that offers a steady predictable paycheck. In my opinion, that is counterintuitive to living a fulfilling life and I think that if what you do is your calling – whether it’s pottery, painting, metal smithing, printmaking, photography – or even accounting, car mechanics, cooking, teaching - now is the time to make a deeper commitment to yourself and your art (and I write that with respect to all professions – there’s an art to everything). I am not discounting being able to pay your bills, visit a doctor, being able to put food on the table and a roof over your head either; but letting the squirrels run amok in your brain is not the answer.
Rather, now is the time to get inventive to satisfy all needs and wants! I know it’s worth it because I spent 15 years too long in a 17 year career with an airline that strip mined my soul and made me miserable – all for a steady paycheck and benefits. The more senior members at the airline called it “the job with the golden handcuffs.” Ouch. I have committed myself to my chosen path and I’m so much happier – just ask my family. My solution to the economic times is to evaluate my market, find ways to save money on supplies, tools and equipment, economize kiln firings, making smaller less expensive work in addition to more experimental work, looking at advertising & marketing message, and even trying to make my work better while not compromising my path or values.
It can be tricky to accomplish, but not impossible. In some ways, my husband, daughter and I have already accomplished the tough work to weather leaner economic times years ago when I left my job after the events of 9-11. We’re now planning for the moment when he will voluntarily leave his job to do something else. It’s exciting and full of endless possibilities.
Another one of my favorite blogs is written by musician and public motivational speaker, Christine Kane – check out this post on whether it’s time to shrink or expand for a bit of inspiration and whose message goes hand in hand with Alyson’s affirmations.
Visit Alyson Stanfield’s website for information on workshops and subscribe to her blog for great tips and information about the business of art, a topic about which artists often learn the hard way.
Meanwhile, I’ll be spending the day glazing work for the Colorado Potters Guild Fall Sale and Show that opens on Thursday evening. I fired my last bisque load yesterday and think that I’m going to glaze everything just in time.
~Cynthia
P.S. It’s come to my attention that a few emails sent to my address sometimes bounce and is returned to the sender as undeliverable. I think I’ve taken care of the problem now, but if you receive a similar message, I can be reached at cynthiaguajardo at gmail.com (substitute @ for at)
Collage Inspiration for Clay Surfaces – the Fog Has Lifted
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
