On painting, and other media all mixed up

Sometimes I wonder why I’m so drawn to clay when my inspiration is so ethereal.

It’s more difficult to represent — either realistically or abstractly — such wispy notions with a substance that turns to rock after you’re done with it. Painting allows you to create transparencies on a surface that much more accurately mimic the kinds of light I’m so attracted to in the case of thunderstorms over the prairie.

However, I still want to create a way to beautifully and imaginative portray said supercells with sculptural materials. I believe it can be done, if I’m able to give more time to the idea. Recently I’ve been doing a little bit of painting anyway, as a way to think through the problem. And because the clay around the house (almost all of it reclaim) was either too wet or too dry to work. And I haven’t found a new supplier yet, though have one in mind.

Let your squares be squares

Julie Rozman, an architect-slash-ceramics blogger I’ve followed for a few years now, posted some images of her work for sale. She’s moving from Chicago to Urbana to study ceramics, and one of her sets of work reminded me of a post I’ve been thinking about for a while.

A long while, actually. Probably since I graduated from college almost ten years ago now.

Julie's sculpture does not forget it's roots.

In my architecture classes, in my graphic design classes and some of the time in my ceramics classes I watched aspiring artists and designers, myself included, forget the basics of design. We’d go after an assignment with passion, with dreams of being featured on the front cover of Architectural Digest, and forget that there are certain building blocks to every visual and spatial solution. They were overthinking the problem.

I suppose this is a symptom of the genius mentality, the drive for stardom usurping the desire to make useful and beautiful contributions to our surrounding environments.

Conceptive creativity vs designing spaces

My predisposition towards creating and refining interior spaces is getting the better of me again. Here we are in our new little home which we moved into — I avoid the word purchased since the bank still own’s 90% of it — in part because it was livable. Livable, yes, but not ideal.

First project underway, now complete.

The trick in part will be not putting too much time or money into the place, and working on projects that add the most value. The home isn’t in the best of neighborhoods and we won’t be able to add infinite value to the space with our projects. This, however, is a practical point of view. Merge this with a designer’s sensibility, which considers the practical as well as the aesthetic, and that’s where I’m headed.

The most expensive project will be replacing the kitchen cabinets. In our previous home we got away with painting and replacing the hardware, but the cabinets there were in better shape and more plentiful. We have a lot of saving to do before I tackle the kitchen. Before then will come removing the wall between the living room and kitchen (which is done), adding walls and flooring in the basement to create a family room and a bathroom (the bathroom is already partially plumbed) and painting inside and out.

Part of creating an organized studio space for myself to work in will be adding the walls in the basement. This is a relatively inexpensive project when you don’t include flooring, but it takes a fair amount of time. As in probably a month of weekends start to finish when you consider the wiring and pluming that will also be involved. And building in an entertainment center.

The struggle comes with another pervading inclination, that of creating works of art. Today I want to start a small series of paintings. My clay is either too wet or too dry at the moment (I’m still looking for a local supplier of a new clay body that I like since we moved) so I thought I’d do something in the way of conceptive creation, in this case painting (something I do on occasion). I quickly realized, however, the lighting over the new work surface I scrapped together is insufficient, so I’m back to thinking about spaces and projects around the house.

It’s a vicious cycle for me.

Self-imposed . . . whoosh

Last month, May of 2010, I heard that old familiar whooshing sound as a self-imposed deadline skittered by. I had hoped to have put together what I considered an MFA ready body of work finished by that time, even though at this point I don’t plan on applying to any programs. This was merely a way of setting a semi-quantifiable goal for myself.

Now, if it weren’t for more work finding me (a good thing) and moving (another good thing) I would have in all likelihood made this deadline. Now that I’m working more and have a home of my own — just begging for walls in the basement and new paint and new kitchen cabinets — I’m trying to figure out how to adjust that goal.

Some of my recent work in the studio, playing around with different finishes.

Architectural clay

Matt over at Slipcast pointed out these splendid clay houses fabricated by the musgum people of northern Cameroon.

Via Design Boom.

More art with clouds

Cloud related artwork I’ve come across in the past couple of months (it doesn’t come up very often from what I can tell).

This first painting is by Bruce Lowney. Via my friend Joel Armstrong.

And now for some of Joe Page‘s fluffy cloud inspired ceramic objects. Via The Mud Bucket.

Thomas Lauerman’s clay clouds

The MudBucket Blog featured Tom Lauerman’s ceramic clouds last week. From Lauerman’s website:

    During a residency at the Kohler Company Arts/Industry program in 2005 I began thinking about using a very durable material in a form adapted from something ephemeral. I worked through a series of cloud forms and formations, looking at representations of clouds in science, in art history, and in various cultures.

The storm form below looks a lot like an idea I’ve sketched but haven’t had the chance work on (story of my artistic life). The clouds here are well modeled, although many of the peaks (so-to-speak) seem a little more angular than what I’ve actually observed in the prairie skies. Not that an artist must replicate in exact terms what we observe in nature.

I’d like to own this piece.

Should artists learn a trade?

Been pretty quiet the past few weeks here on the blog eh?

Bloggy buddy and painter Jim Janknegt has suggested in the past that art students should be taught a trade while earning their degree. I like this idea. It makes use of artists’ natural ability to work with their hands while acknowledging how difficult it is to make a living as a painter or sculptor, especially right out of college. Even if the overly idealistic students don’t want to acknowledge the fact. Furthermore, trades generally pay more than other jobs aspiring artists often end up in. And we all like a little more in the paychecks.

The absence on the blog is thanks to a new full time job. I’m working in a trade again. I have a little bit of experience in quite a few different trades: Landscaping, offset printing, woodworking, a variety of building trades including framing, wiring and painting. My new gig is with a painter, someone I actually helped out for a couple of summers while in college.

I’m also still working for M-DAT. Between the two I have very little time left in a day. The plan at this point is to focus intently on my sculpture on the weekends. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how soon I can build myself a soda kiln, and if I can make it somewhat portable. I don’t need a large one, and I already have some salvaged brick that can help out.

A friend recently counted the friends he has who are currently without jobs, and they numbered ten. So, regardless, I’m grateful for the work.

White Show on the road

On the way back from lengthy holiday travels we drove up through Lawrence, Kansas to see the White Show. Jane Flander’s ceramic bones were some of my favorite pieces.

The show will be traveling to Hausmann Millworks in San Antonio for a February 19th opening. Below is Betsy Timmer‘s amazing Rag Rug.

Intentional Observation: I’m likin’ this lichen

I found this walking back from breakfast to the apartment I’m calling home this week in St. Louis. Wondering if I can make a mold of it and slipcast a few of them.