Hi friends! This week in the studio I’ve been working on the very early stages of a sculptural series. An idea came to me a few weeks ago. It’s one of those projects that doesn’t immediately reveal the message… I feel as though I need to lean into it and just make it, and as I go, to write about it periodically and explore where it’s taking me. Sometimes I love working this way - more letting the art reveal through the process than trying me to tell some specific story from the get go.
The idea is to make these 3-4 ceramic vessels, something like a large seed pod, with a small cavity in the center. The cavity will hold a small encaustic piece, which I’m thinking will have an element of nature inside it. A tree first came to mind, or perhaps a series of trees or a single tree in different seasons.
I feel like there are stories of protection going on with this idea. I also feel something about age is going on here, as I am next year turning the age my mother was when she was diagnosed with the cancer that took her. I’m embarking on a time in my life I have felt nervous to reach my entire life. I’m certain this is a part of it. So as I continue to work on this, I’ll be thinking on these initial themes and what they bring up for me personally - and probably journaling on that to see what else I discover along the way. So often for me, sitting down to write about my visual work is where I discover more layers of meaning and more stories hidden within.
This week in particular, I’ve been working out the logistics in a smaller clay form, about a third to half the size of what I want the final ones to be. This way, I can work out construction, and think out how I will marry the ceramic with the encaustic piece. The images below share some of the initial process. I also created a few tiny tests to experiment with the texture for the seed form. I will do this on the medium sized test piece too, to practice more this faceted idea and also test out some other options of texture.
Alongside all of this, I’ve been thinking in the background about an alternate medium for making the seed pod. I have no kiln at home, so firing ceramic pieces is limited to the wonderful pottery class I take at the local art center where I live. So if I’m unable to get the first seed done and dry in ceramic in the next two weeks, I want a backup medium I can do at home. This project is part of an online residency I am doing for a few months, so I don’t want to wait too long. If I really want it in ceramic at a later time I can always do so… but for now, having options will keep the creative fires going!
My alternate plan is to use paper clay (like paper mache but with toilet paper so that it’s more of a clay consistency) or a homemade air dry clay. I’ve been curious to try out both of these as alternatives to ceramic clay in the past already, so this might be a good opportunity to give it a try!
So that’s where my week has been in the studio. A lot of logistics and thinking ahead so that I can keep on task in the coming weeks. With the holidays right around the corner, I know it will be easy to lose momentum in the studio. My best chance of keeping some momentum going is to be organized with myself so that when I step into the studio, I know exactly what needs to be done next. I hope you enjoyed a little look into some of my process. I’ll try to keep sharing some more of these as I continue to work on the project!
- With Love -
Sarah
