Spotted Shino and my education's future

Lets make a note on glaze...
WOW, just WOW, no photos yet, but the spotted shino is an amazing glaze, it looks like oxidized metal in places, glass in others, dark brown in some spots, and a creamy coffee in others, just astoundingly beautiful, I shall use it again!  Photos in a week or so, sorry.

Also lets talk school...
Greenwich house is great, I gotta get some high fire (cone 10) works out before my return to lowfire clay bodies.  We are currently in the Spring term which lasts from April 1 - June 25, that means Im doing well, but really must be focused and not toss any more pots out, I simply must not continue with any if I am not 100% sure that I want to keep it, I would be happy with three nice large sized pots completely glazed and finished by June 25th.  After Greeenwich I plan on returning to City for a spell.

City College Summer session lasts from June 4th to July 24th so there will be some greenwich overlap. I have submitted the application but am not processed yet, hopefully soon because there are only a few seats left in the class I want to take.  I will take the Archetectual Ceramics class and also have access to the facilities and therefore create some awesome pots this summer out of white (grog-free) lowfire earthenware.  The pots will be likely very different visually than these rustic high fired bodies with dark glazes, they will be mostly white or iron-washed clear glazed works. 

After The summer session I hope to have AT MINIMUM Six really top notch works of art, three from Greenwich and three from City which I want to include in my portfolio.  I also want to take an independent ceramics class at City for the Fall semester.

 The Fall semester is somewhat long-lasting its from August 27th until December 12th.  Most Graduate degree programs have an early January application deadline so I must be all prepared and have all my eggs lined up before the end of the semester The pots will be made of lowfire white clay AND the highly grogged terra cotta that is primarily used at City for handbuilding.  It will be an exciting time and I know I will likely have a slew of beautiful works created during this time, probablly actually more than ten and I will have to select the best of the best.  This may be the best semester, I will have time and energy and money for it and will update here as often as I can.

The Hispanic Society of America

http://www.hispanicsociety.org/

Today (per sylvias prompting) went to The Hispanic Society of America, its right on the north west corner of 155th and broadway so I walked there from City College.  I was pleased to discover that they have the largest ceramic luster ware collection in the United States.  Lusterware is ceramic work that has been glazed with a metallic finish, the plates and bowls in the collection were amazing when viewed from below where the shine seemed brightest.  Go visit, its free, though give a donation if you can.

Wheel Thrown, encrusted, sculpted, pottery

So this is the "pushed in pot" from before, I have built up on it.  Using some of the design elements that were on an earlier pot that I had recycled, I have sprouts and what looks like a garden around the top of the vase, this gives way to flowers and sculpted trimming elements which are textured like rock or lichen.  The central figure is pregnant, full of life, and her arms are abstracted to encircle the opening of the vase, she emerges from the opening and offers the abundance of the natural world.

The pot and its concentric throwing rings remains.  The other pots were totally covered over with sculpted elements, but I feel it is important to show the heritage of the creative process, plus it is important for the pot to be recognized as a wheel thrown work, not to be mistaken as a coil pot.  There has to be balance I have learned, some sculpting mixed with bare "land".  Something I may keep doing is working with symmetry.  This work due to its inherit symmetry in the original thrown form has continued through to the actual composition, it is asymmetrical but symmetrically divided and executed. 

Glaze Time

So the first two works made at Greenwich have come out of the bisque, totally intact and beautiful, I have glazed them with a couple of glazes which I found to be attractive (on the test tiles at least)  I will post again when they come out of the glaze fire, Im very excited to have them shiny and ready to go home.

The Pushed In Pot

Years ago I used to push in the ceramic pots at times, sometimes they would crack and I would still have them fired, now the practice is back, it is a great way to help solve the dilemma of the encrusted forms and figures relating to the wheel-thrown pottery.  The altering of the shape by pushing and even collapsing part of the pottery actually creates areas for growth.  The creative process while sculpting is part planning, composition, part intuition and also just growth, where would things actually grow if this thing were left outside for a few years?
The pushing in of the pot also creates a great negative space that does not exist when the opening is at the top, it is somewhat vaginal, and alludes to the pot being a "vessel of life".

Destruction is as easy as 1, 2, 3

1

2

3

1

2

3

and 1

2

3

Yes, I lied in the last posts, I really did LOVE the works but after today I decided to take what I really liked about them and actually create a composition on a NEW pot, I also want to push the pots in like I used to do in the past, because then it appears as if they figures and elements are growing out of the pot, or seated within.  There are even allusions to the female reproductive area and it being a vessel of life, mirrored by the female figure herself.  So yeah, these three were destroyed today, but its OKAY, there will be others, better and more beautiful.  I always say if its not good enough to keep, dont make it a part of physical permanence by firing the clay when green clay can be recycled indefinitely until you create the vision of your dreams.

Rachel Kneebone exhibit today at the Brooklyn Museum

So today I went to see the Rachel Kneebone exhibit.  The sculptures were juxtaposed with the Brooklyn Museums own collection of works by Rodin.  I thought the show could have stood very well on its own merit but I digress.  The show was amazing and encouraging.  A ceramic artist who allows mistakes to happen... broken toes on feet, missing figures on some of the works, and a good example for me to follow.  The subject matter is a bit on the dark side and very disturbing, sexual contrasts between the phallic male and the floral female.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show and was inspired to create some different forms.  Enjoy the photos and please check it out at the Brooklyn Museum before its gone in August.