hey guys,
this is the version of my artist statement that will be going to grad schools, so any help would be wonderful! here are a few of my latest pots, too. i've been thinking a lot about your comments last time, and have been working on trying to make the animals on different pots interact with one another. i made a bunch of tumblers (different heights) that have a scene across all of them (birds on a wire, pink mountains) but don't have a shot of them. they're moderately successful, a good first step i think. but i've been having trouble finding other ways of making the pots and animals interact without everything seeming contrived. i guess that if i want the animals to be interacting, which would be interesting, i don't want the relationships to be straightforward. maybe the animals could be sort of indifferent or something. also, i think some of the these animals work with their forms, and some could probably be on another pot just as easily. so any suggestions about how to make the animals seem like they really belong on the forms would be helpful. i don't think they look like they're just painted on there for no reason- i do think they somewhat relate to the form- but i'm working on strengthening that aspect. maybe the forms themselves need to change? i'm not interested in making sculptural, bernadette curran pots that directly reflect the shape of the animal, but just want a these pots seem like they were meant to be, to sing. i think they sort of hum now. :)
Artist Statement
Drawing on my faith in the innate intelligence of the motion of making, I allow momentum and intuition to guide my studio practice. My work is a balance between thoughtful intention, action and instinct, with room for daydreams. Confident and lively movements are juxtaposed with affectionate attention to surface pattern and detail. The imagery reflects an ongoing inner dialogue regarding the domestication of life, animals, and land. Characters are whimsical, but sometimes melancholy or forlorn. Animals might be caged or freed by the form, and the surface landscape speaks both of cultivated earth and open horizons. Throughout the entire pot, I seek to balance comfort with adventure, and structure with romance and possibility. Overall, my work is a search for a connection to new and shifting landscapes, as well as an investigation of my own evolving relationship with the natural world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Hi Mel,
Martina here...
First of all best wishes on your grad school quest. you seem well positioned by already having your statement in a solid place, as well as your work of course!
I'll start with comments on the statement. I think it does a wonderful articulate job of your approach to making and the surface environments you are creating. The only question it leaves me with is why you are motivated to make functional pots. Perhaps that is tuned into the domestication you speak of, and perhaps it would be too simplified to spell it out like that. Are pots the domestication of art i wonder?
A few comments on the other stuff you wrote:
for connected tumblers see Julia galloway and her bridge/cityscape series. I'm not saying this to point out that it has already been done, but she did an interesting front/back treatment with the series.
I agree that some animals may just as easily go on any pot, but then you showed alot of plates and plates are akin to a painter's canvases. I'm curious, which one do you think fit only on their pot and which are changeable?
Now to the work. i am really glad you included details and for the first time recognized the scrafitto and brush components. what a nice depth that must give to the surface. It was also nice to see the back of a plate. I'm assuming it's all terra sig. in there, but wonder why you chose not to glaze it and if even with the terra sig there may be absorption problems and delayed crazing...?
I liked the servers too. the rim of the pedestal one is great. I like all to components, but the handles seem a little like the odd men out in the treatment - crisper than the foot or scalloped edges. Also, being that so much of the outside of it is visable, especially if it's filled with something, i am keen to see a little more visual interest on the exterior.
That's it. Hope its helpful. and again, good luck...
martina
Hi Mel,
Juliane responding. It looks like you are exploring some more with your work!
I agree with Martina that your statement should address why you are drawn to making functional work, and also you could expound more on why animals are the main characters... Artist statements are tough (I'm still working on develping a current one from my last post - thanks for your comments). I'm happy to look at any future versions of your statement if you'd like feedback. Not sure if you need the word "overall" in your last sentence?
The question you pose with regards to what animals to place on certain forms, I'm not so sure that can be easily answered. For instance, formally a bowl form might suggest a turtle or round animal, but it doesn't mean that you couldn't easily place a snake or flamingo successfuly on that same form. Perhaps developming more on color on your forms to indicate the mood and tell the story of the animal in it's particular potted "habitat" could be just the extra juice that you need. You mention in your artist statement that the animal that can be be isolated or melancholy. How would the single bird sitting on barbed wire (inside the boat form) change if, for example, everything around him on the interior was glazed dark blue or grey (stormy).. He is now a rained out dude sitting on a fence alone. Thinking of weather in your landscape, what if some of your scenes are nightscapes? Snowscapes? Rainscapes? How does that affect the story of the animal you show? This could be venturing past what you are all about in your work, but it came to mind.
Also, thinking of animals interacting with each other (wish I could see theose tumblers!) without being contrived and straightforward: it might be interesting to just deal with formal issues of scale and the placement of your animals (near the rim of a cup to take a sip, down by the bottom munching on grass, just inside the lip on the interior of the cup looking sneaky at getting inside?). Maybe these ideas seem contrived to you, but the placement and number of animals on each form could really be telling to how the animals start to interact in a series of pots as a whole. Are you aware that a lot of the animals you showed were pretty much centered on the pot?
I really (really) enjoy the bunny plate. The bunny is painted at a larger scale and really seems to inhabit the pot in a way that the smaller painted animals in their landscapes don't. The smaller animals feel to me more "viewed" (like one views a landscape) and the bunny plate seems more "active" in it's space. Perhaps it is because the bunny is looking at the viewer, but I really find it balanced in the way you delegate space for the bunny and break up the plate's roundness with your patches of color.
Mel, you are thinking about all the right things with regards to your work. I really wish you the best with the apps - good luck!!
Mel --
Megan here, with a few thoughts. I'm a bit strung out so this may come out more blunt than normal.
Your work is looking great -- the surface is more complicated and more interesting, without becoming overwhelming or confused. I like the quieter color palette and your brushwork is fantastic.
Your statement: I think your statement sounds a bit like you are hedging your bets, or are indecisive. Words like "might" "sometimes" and "or" are the triggers for that impression. Also, I feel like you describe your work, without describing the choices that shape the work. A viewer can see that an animal looks melancholy or trapped but they can't see why you have made that choice -- and I don't think your statement necessarily explains it. The sentences with the most insight are "The imagery reflects an ongoing inner dialogue regarding the domestication of life, animals, and land." and "my work is a search for a connection to new and shifting landscapes, as well as an investigation of my own evolving relationship with the natural world." I think I would expand and be as specific as possible about these ideas and how they are shaping your work. I think in general, the more it is apparent that you do what you do for a reason (even though I know intuition is a part of it), the stronger you look as an artist.
As far as the work:
The squirrel plate is the one that has stayed in my head the most. I think it is because it evokes squirrel both as a noun and a verb -- the squirrel looks like it is squirreling something away. It also makes me think about you as the pillow thief. ;) The motion in the piece -- from the trees too -- is all pointed down to where the squirrel is tucking something away for a later date. This piece creates an emotional reaction to me, more than the other ones. Also the squirrel seems like a generally underrepresented animal that lives as a part of our culture. Rocky would really like that plate (he loves squirrels).
The other thing I really notice is the black dot in the jay plate, and the puff ball in the bunny plate. The animals are having some sort of relationship to these objects but I can't quite figure out what it is. However I am interested by it. As I mentioned earlier, I really do like the direction your surface is going -- the patches of color and all the subtleties.
As far as relationship of animal to form: Maybe it would help to think about how you intend your pieces to be used and displayed. Are you making dinner sets? Serving pieces? Wall pieces? A dinner set could have a narrative spread out over the set. Maybe an animal could leap from one piece to the next. How are they going to look with food in them? From what angle are they viewed? What if the trees had more of a sculptural element, but the animals were flat? Do you want your pieces to have a quality of movement and narrative, or a still, fixed point? Maybe you could construct a whole story for the animal: where it lives, what its day is like, does it have children, what does it eat etc - and at what point in that animals life do we see it? My current theory is that being as specific as possible is good. Making decisions is good.
OK let me know if you have any questions. xxx
Hello it’s Ruth-
Your pieces have a lovely quality of playfulness which comes from your critters that seem to be caught in the act of going along with their everyday lives. As I was reading Megan’s comment about the idea of the critters jumping from one pot to another I began thinking it would be fun to maybe have the butt or hind legs be on one pot and then its front half on another. And you could put what startled the animal on another...
I enjoyed seeing the back of your plate because I could see how much you have thought about each part of the piece. It could be fun to have a hiding animal on the back once in a while.
Your brush work and color pallet are excellent.
The squirrel plate is my favorite as well, and not just because I like squirrels, but because I think out of the animals presented it has extra personality. I also like the red clay that is left around the edges of the plate.
As far as your artist statement goes, writing and reading are not my strong points. My favorite advice as far as writing is “brevity is the soul of wit” William Shakespeare. I don’t think you need to follow this saying I think Megan has some of the best advice which is to be sure of yourself and what you want to get the viewer thinking about.
Good luck with the grad stuff and hope I was helpful
Hi Mel – First off, thanks for swapping posts with me. I hope this will give you some good feedback before grad school apps are due, and give me a chance to get some decent pots out of the kiln!
I am really enjoying your color palate in contrast with the dark gestural drawings. The way you are layering the decorative elements gives this work a lot of richness. I find myself lingering on the barbed wire drawings. At first glance the birds seem to be sitting on a branch, but at closer inspection this menacing element comes through. I like the defiant look these birds have – barbed wire isn’t going to keep them out of anywhere.
In terms of questions your work brings up for me, the first thing I think of is why you primarily stick to one animal in each piece. When I think of domesticated animals, I typically think of lots of them. With the way that you decorate, utilizing many layers of slip and terra sig, I could see some layering of the animals as well. What about a few small bunnies, birds or squirrels off in the distance somewhere? Or you could have a bird on a branch looking down on the foraging squirrel. Along the lines of indifference between the animals, some of them could be unaware that they are being watched by an animal from above or below.
I could also see you playing a bit more with the placement – perhaps you could have a plate where animals spend most of their time on the rim. Moving some of the drawings to the backside could form another relationship. What about the same critter on the front and on the back in different situations? I guess this is staring to get at your question about relating the images to the forms. I actually feel like they are relating well: your quick pinching with your sweeping gestural drawings, the rich terra cotta with the warm terra sig tones. It does seem that you could make some slightly raised areas that relate to the bodies of animals (not quite as dramatic as Bernadette, but a small way to pull the surface into the drawings….).
I’m also curious about why you choose the animals you do. Why rabbits, squirrels and crows? How does your choice of animal impact the work and your ideas? I know how much you love dogs… have you ever done any dog pots? I think they would definitely fit with your thoughts on domestication.
In terms of your statement, I think it is headed in a really great direction. Your descriptions of your work and how you work are clear and concise. I definitely think you need to address why you are making functional pots though – this was brought up a few times, already! Another area I’m interested in knowing more about is “the domestication of life, animals and land.” I see the domestication of animals most strongly and I think the barbed wire connects to the domestication of land – but I think that both life and land could be further expanded upon to give me more of an understanding of how these ideas relate to the work you are making. Perhaps the domestication of life could be a connector to why you focus on functional ceramics. I’d also like to know more about the sentence, “Throughout the entire pot, I seek to balance comfort with adventure, and structure with romance and possibility.” This could maybe use another sentence of explanation? I feel like there are some complex ideas in here, worthy of a little more description. I think the words that are holding me up are adventure and possibility…
Thanks again for swapping, Mel – good luck with the grad school adventure!
--Kip
i looked at your work earlier before posting these comments and am curious,(not like a cat) do you sit and make pieces and then decorate all your work at once, or do you have a drawing in mind and create a piece to be decorated accordingly? I am wondering if you could hieghten the connection between the imagery and the clay--monIca
your line quality is just outstanding and the looseness in the line, and the confience it has is amazing. are you using tera sig? i am having concerns in my own work about leaving alot of bare clay and water absorption. after reading your statement, which overall i think is very strong, i still wonder why you choose to draw animals? i myself feel a stronger conection to beast then mankind. are your feelings similar? my comments my seem short but your work is so strong these really are my only comments-
Hey everyone,
You all gave me really wonderful feedback, and for now I would like to address what you said about the artist statement. I elaborated on why I work in clay, why I make pots, and why I paint animals. My deadlines are looming, so anything you can say about this would really, really help! Thank you!
mel
Drawing on my faith in the innate intelligence of the motion of making, I allow momentum and intuition to guide my studio practice. My work is a balance between thoughtful intention, action, and instinct, with room for daydreams. Clay is my medium of choice because I can treat it with a polite disrespect, responding to its’ potential energy and exploring its limits. Confident and lively movements are juxtaposed with affectionate attention to surface pattern and detail. The imagery reflects an ongoing inner dialogue regarding the domestication of life, animals, and land. Characters are whimsical, but sometimes melancholy or forlorn. Animals can be caged or freed by the form, and the surface landscape speaks both of cultivated earth and open horizons. These animals are a reflection of my current relationship with nature and of my search for meaning and a sense of wonder within more tame surroundings. While they are not domesticated, these common creatures have intense and complex relationships with humans, and for many people, they have come to represent nature as a whole. By capturing images of these characters on familiar, functional, and tactile objects, I bring them into our most intimate domestic places and activities. In so doing, I propose a dialogue about the archetypes of man and beast, cultured and wild, and the relationships therein. Throughout the entire pot, I seek to balance comfort with adventure, and structure with romance and possibility. Overall, my work is a search for a connection to new and shifting landscapes, as well as an investigation of my own evolving relationship with the natural world.
Post a Comment