Martina Round III

coverlet plates - front and back

"fun and games" - first plates post -NCECA

side plates - back of left below

dinner plate - front and back

pitchers - all about 10" to 12" tall

So here is my post – I have postponed posting since I’ve been trying to formulate a new artist statement. I am struggling to find a way to articulate what I do concisely and include the inspiration that is arising from my research in school. These pots indicate the focus I had through the last semester in school. The plates have allowed me a certain freedom in surface exploration. The challenge remains how to put what I enjoy about the flat surfaces into a more 3-d form. A resolution for the decoration of the pitchers continues to elude me. Right now in the studio, I am focuing on the plates and have begun to appropriate decoration from English medieval tiles and Persian ornament. I am altering mugs and working towards a bowl form that echoes some of the sensibilities of the pitchers in the altering and scallops.
I would appreciate feedback on both the form and decoration of all the pots and suggestions for the following statement.

Thanks, and I hope everyone is enjoying the summer,

Martina



The pots I make by hand are intended to be used daily. Thrown mugs and hand-built plates are my sketchbook. Not bound by a particular ceramic tradition, I am able to appropriate ornament and form from a multitude of sources. Referential of English Medieval Slipware and Italian Renaissance Majolica, I decorate combining historical ornament with ubiquitous text, and drawings of personal narrative. Inspiration comes through the act of making. As my work develops I begin to recognize the cross-pollination that occurs between surface and form.

A similar correlation may transpire between the objects I make and their domestic environments. As I work in the studio I imagine the pots I create in use. I remain aware that the intended utilitarian role of the object has the capacity to evolve. I aim to create objects that foster relationships with their owners that develop and deepen over time.

Ruth's 2nd Post

this bowl is about 12"x4" and is woodfired. the inside and lip have been glazed with a celadon

This tumbler is made of ice (the way too expensive translucent clay) so you can see light through it. I created the upper design with wax and fired it in salt kiln.

This tumbler is glazed and fired in salt.

Rainbow mug a freak woodfired surprise... bmix clay

Fancy ice clay, glazed and soda fired

helmer clay, waxed over stamping and
glazed the rest of the piece, fired in soda kiln.

same as the tumbler above

Hello Everyone,

This is what I have been working on, still working with my stamps but creating new form by pushing out the clay and using the form as part of the decoration. Still need to update my artist statement but I have realized with these newer pieces that organization of space is very important to me. I think you will all see how these have evolved from my last post. Let me know what you think, enjoy....

-Ruth

Juliane's Work

Plate 1Squiggly Plate (no title yet...)

Tie



Unequal


(Intended display of Unequal - plates side by side)

To Have or Have Not (Installation)


Exploring different arrangements....


Hello everyone! A lot of these images are works in progress. Nonetheless, it would be helpful to have your feedback.

I use the plate forms to "frame" their contents and tell a story. "Plate 1" (untitled) will have gold luster painted inside the ball that has been cut to reveal the interior. "Squiggly Plate" is particularly interesting to me as I am moving the forms off the plate. I imagine the creation of a whole army of forms wanting to get onto a plate (which excites me because I love making multiples)!

"Unequal" carries out my original intent in throwing plates that look alike. By setting two similar plates next to each other, I wanted the viewer to be aware of the difference in serving size (or to be able to look at a freshly presented plate in comparison with one that shows traces of a meal).

"To Have or Have Not": These photos show different arrangements of an installation piece. I am still trying to figure out the spacing. I have a thought about putting the bowl full of knot-like forms near the edge of the table and stringing together the pieces so that they look like they are spilling over the edge. What arrangements do you care for the most/least?

I am using food as a metaphor for the feelings of fullness or emptiness that one can experience in his/her relationships with other people.

candice's pots

Hi beautiful lovely ladies, well here I am in all my glory. Again it was so awesome to meet you all in Pittsburg, I felt like I had made a wonderful connection with you all! So lets see...... The first pots at the top are my newer wood fired series. The teapot and cups are a dry-thrown technique that I learned in Ayumi's workshop last summer at Haystack. I am incorporating a lot of the dry thrown into my work right now; trying to find the balance of organic and refined to go into the wood kiln. I am developing my color palette so eventually I will have a fair amount of color demonstrated.

The Platter is one of my favorites. I am incorporating a lot of birds into my work lately also. I love Bernard slip in the salt because it bleeds and gives a little softness to it all.

I LOVE to make jars. I love to make sets of things. These are a little rough around the edges and the lighting is horrible but a good example of what I am working on. I make a lot of these in cone 6 with runny glazes that come out pretty nice and sell pretty well.

These funny little gourd-shaped jars are my favorite jars to make right now. These are cone 6 with vintage decals. This is a stock shape I make right now and I find they are versatile when decorating.

I make these nesting flowers bowls that I really enjoy. As a potter I really enjoy making my objects fit together well. I feel that I lean towards the vintage style but with a contemporary flair. I am not going to post an artist statement right now because I still pulled in too many directions, part of the reason I thought a formal education was a great idea. I can say for sure that I love pottery with all my heart!

monica's pre-nceca post

the first two images of beakers are an idea in process. the three teapots are in various stages: the first finished, i was looking for degrees of white. the second teapot is hand built from thrown parts. the third train-style teapot is hardly functional but again looking at new shapes and idea. we obviously are all very busy, am sure i will get plenty of feedback at the show so no pressure to comment.

Kip III: Lowfire Adventures

Hi ladies… Here is what I’ve been up to for the past while. I think I’m ready to say I’ve embraced the low fire direction. Most of the developments you see here feel like movement toward a more coherent body of pots, and it would be great to get any advice as these ideas coalesce in my work and into an artist statement (hopefully by NCECA!!).

Below you will find a list of things I am pursuing and why they are feeling important to me. It’s not an artist statement yet but some of the elements are there.

-Drawing on functional pots is currently a large component of how I’m approaching clay. As I sketch, there is ample time think about what I am illustrating, how I am grouping imagery and what those image combinations come together to express. Because this work is utilitarian I hope the user will continue to contemplate the ideas and the way their meanings change over time. I feel like this fits well into the “constant conversation” framework.

-I like how the drawings essentially become etched in stone once they are fired: little moments of history in a permanent, physical form.

-I’m intrigued by the sides pots have and the impact one side can have on another. The potential to pull a person in with cheerful color (someday soon!) and innocuous ideas, only to show a darker, sarcastic side of the (seemingly) innocent has me thinking a lot. The way that mixing and matching the same group of images can evoke vastly different ideas and feelings is something I’m pursuing as well.

-I’ve been looking at and thinking about graphic novels and zines. I like the method of progressing a storyline with visual frames, and how only through use and handling of these pots is the full story revealed. I’m thinking about working in a series of cups, where it takes multiple pieces to complete an idea or thought.

-Finally, there is the glazing – my great nemesis! But, I have a goal in mind now, which makes things feel more manageable. I know some of you are familiar with Ursula Hargins work – I am really interested in her glaze palate and that of Bernadette Curran as well. I particularly like the way Ursula lays down bright colors that drip and run outside the lines of her drawings. I’m starting to go in that direction, but am still struggling to get the finish I want. I started with following clear glaze:

Frit 3195 - 90%
OM 4 - 10%

But, I’ve had some shivering in areas, and a lot of bubbling over the areas with mason stains. I did some line blends, but I think I need to increase the expansion even more than I did in the blends (I never hit a point of crazing…). I’ve also used a water blue glaze from Julia Galloway and all Frit 3110 with mason stains and all 3195 with MS, too (see Test Cup). I’ve had a little luck with the latter three, but none are really running as much as I’d hoped… any ideas (I’m thinking I should introduce some 3134 for starters)??

Thanks for looking ladies…

What's for Dinner? (view 1)

What's for Dinner (view 2)

What's for Dinner (view 3)

What's for Dinner? (detail)

Gas Cup

Gas Cup (view 2)

Oil Cup

Oil Cup (view 2)

Turbine Tumbler

Pipeline Cup

Wall Tile (6 x 6)

Test Cup

Test Tiles 1

Test Tiles 2

Test Tiles 3

Megan: February 2008

These first three are slip cast and salt fired.

Untitled, press molded, reduction fired

Table Press molded and handbuilt, wood/soda fired

Seabirds Press molded and handbuilt, wood fired
Rocker, Same as above
World Below, Press molded, soda fired
Cushion, wood/soda fired

Artist Statement

Drawing inspiration from natural, created, and imaginary landscapes, my artwork investigates the physical and emotional interactions between inner and outer spaces.

My work embodies my contradictory desires for freedom and structure. Thus far, adulthood has proved to be a balancing act between my need for autonomy, adventure and possibility, and my longings for community, comfort and nurturance. The result has been an uneasy truce in which home is a fluid concept, and I find comfort equally in the arms of a friend and in the wide expanse of the sky.

The instability and transience of my life have created an appreciation of structure and order, which I impose on my work through geometric form and patterns. The confluence of domestic and natural imagery reflects my uneasy relationship with feminine domesticity, as well as my reverence for the natural world. Windows and fences are dominant images in my work; they serve as boundary and opening, simultaneously inviting and gated. A window references insight and a yearning for new vistas; a fence provides both security and limitation. By creating interior spaces that are inaccessible, I explore the elusiveness of intimacy while also invoking feelings of curiosity and wonder.

I aim to define a personal vision of home through my artwork, and to create spaces that provide challenge, intrigue and solace. I aspire to a better understanding of the inner workings of my consciousness and my surroundings.

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Hi everyone,

Here's what I've been up to for the past few months. The majority of my time has been spent on the sculptural work, but I also have been enjoying playing with the slipcast pieces.

I just moved to Sacramento, and am embarking on a semester as a special student at Sac State. I would love your comments on these pieces, and also your thoughts on directions for the months to come. As well, I welcome your ideas about which pieces to bring to NCECA. Thanks for your time; see you in PA!!!