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!!!