Small Plates

After another spell of distractions, I'm back in the studio. Haven't made these small plates in a while so they are a good way to ease back into the process.

After the move.

After what seems like forever, I'm finally pretty settled in my new place. I've moved many times before but this move was really the perfect storm of a move. The worst is behind me and I'm finally venturing back into my studio. It's always so hard to jump back into work after a long time away from the table. The image shown is the first work in progress post move!

Tiles of Fun

These are definitely bit of a departure but I'm having fun.

Finished Work

Here are the professional shots of the latest batch of work shot by Taylor Dabney.

vaModern

vaModern just posted a feature of my work so I thought I'd share the link to the article. http://virginiamodern.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/perfect-imperfection/

Finished Tiles

My original intent was for each of these to remain separate - mini works that I planned as prototypes for larger tiles. However during the entire process they just seemed to want to stay together. What was once separate units have merged into one piece.

If you missed it, there are earlier posts that show these at various stages.

Repetition

While building these latest pieces I am reminded of how much repetition goes into a creative process. I once heard an artist remark that they had essentially tried to perfect the same piece over and over throughout their entire career. I feel I am at that point too. Certain shapes, textures and images from the past keep reappearing as if trying to achieve a type of perfection. It's not so much an endless loop as it is an upward spiral, renewed in time with layers of new experiences.

Attached

Here's the finished sculpture married to its wooden outgrowth. Detail shot is from last week's firing showing the piece straight out of the firing. I never like adding titles to my work but these wood/clay pieces seem to want titles. This series is inspired by all the wonderful fungi you can find growing in woodlands.

From the Kiln

Here are these pieces straight from Thursday's firing. I haven't given them a good clean up yet so some of the carbon will scrub off when they are thoroughly washed.