Handbuilding

Handbuilding, 2002 ceramic and clear glaze 7" x 7" x 4"

Handbuilding refers to what I do as a ceramic artist. Generally speaking, ceramics is divided into two separate processes: Handbuilding, and wheel throwing. I prefer handbuilding for a couple of reasons. The first, and most important to me (at least initially) is that handbuilding allows me to spend time with my work. Using a combination of methods: pinch, coiling, slab work, carving, etc., I form the piece into the vision that occupies my mind. The idea that every nuance; every bulge, dent, line, crease, smooth and/or rough area are put there intentionally really appeals to me. I love the imperfection of it all. It implies that the work has resulted from a member of the human race--and not a machine. Handbuilding also makes each piece special, unique.

Another reason why handbuilding so appeals to me has to do with the role of women in ceramics, from an historical perspective. Historically, pottery made by women was done by hand and foot. We would gather the clay, clean and process it, and often mix it with our feet. Then, when it was "just right," it would be transformed--by hand--into something that was almost always functional, but often very sculptural and beautiful, as well. Men have, historically, also made ceramics; but their method of choice was the potter's wheel. Yes, this allowed for faster work--which, in turn, led to production pottery--but my aim, first and foremost, has been to create art. If I can make a functional ware beautiful and sculptural, so much the better. But I do not desire to create mass quantities of identical (or near identical) wares. Everything thing I make is an extension of myself; a piece of me.

In many parts of the world--Africa and Native America come to mind immediately--pottery made by women is considered sacred and mysterious. And it is hand built. When I work with clay, I feel that I'm part of a large, universal Sisterhood--a group that I'm both humbled, and honored, to be a part of.

Forging Ahead: Portraits

Atchison Gothic, Acrylic on canvas

Doing portraits is a great exercise, good practice--an excellent way to stay artistically nimble. And copying a famous artist's work (or their style) is a great way to get inside the mind of that artist. Each brush stroke, each color choice, reveals something intimate and wonderful about the artist.

Buddha Babe, Watercolor and acrylic on paper

My personal opinion on copying another's work, though, is this: If I'm going to copy something, I want it to be an "obvious forgery." I don't want to want to pass the work off as completely my own. That wouldn't be fair or ethical.

Shannon With a Pearl Earring, Acrylic on paper

Hence, one of my favorite things to do--to stay in good practice and to learn about an artist I'm fond of--is to copy a painting (or heavily borrow from a particular style) and put someone I know into it as its main subject.

Multiple Self Portrait, Oil on board

These final three paintings are inspired by the work of Gustav Klimt. The thing that most appeals to me about his work is the way that he hides his subjects, surrounds them, in a blanket of strongly linear and colorful patterns. Often, only their faces and hands are obvious, and he makes the viewer work a little bit to find the outline of the subject's body.

Erica, Watercolor on paper

Art that requires some work--whether a bit of introspection, inquiry, or figuring out an optical illusion or hidden picture--really appeals to my senses. It engages the viewer; forces them to stay a little bit longer, and to become an extension of the art through their personal interaction.

Shannon, Watercolor on paper

Homage to Frida Kahlo

The Kahlo Tree, 2001 Monoprint & Linocut (limited edition) 12" x 12"

Like many artists, I will often revisit an idea. The Kahlo Tree (linocut) is a re-interpretation of a painting that I had done about 5 years prior, and is a tribute to one of my favorite artists, Frida Kahlo. By depicting Kahlo as a tree, I was illustrating my feelings of connection to her (she's the only person, other than myself, that I've depicted as a tree or flower).

Her life was filled with pain and heartache, and yet she was a highly prolific artist.

603 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!

Moroccan Passion Flower: The Sculpture

Self Portrait (Moroccan Passion Flower)

I've been doing self portraits for as long as I can remember, and most of them are representations of myself as a flower or tree. I don't really know where this came from, because I started these when I was very young. It may have something to do with my profound love of, and connection to, the natural world around me. I've always felt that every living thing, no matter how inanimate in appearance, has feelings.

This self portrait is about my passion for art. The more I do and learn, the more I grow.

The seed packet contains lots of tiny seeds. On each one is the name of someone who has given me inspiration, or taught me something about myself that is so profound that it's affected my art. It's sealed up completely, and I'm the only one who knows the names on the seeds inside. The image on the packet is another self portrait.

With exception to the pail and bucket, the sculpture was created from found wire and screen. When the flower was complete, I put some paint into the pail, and poured it over the flower.

Art is the fuel that keeps me going.

Art from Rescued Materials

Head, 1994 Wood and Acrylic

Head was created from scrap pieces of found wood--most of them from a construction project near my former home. I was driving along, passed by a home that was being remodeled, and noticed a large pile of wood overflowing in a trash can. I immediately stopped and asked if the wood was going to be thrown away. It was. The workers helped me to load quite a lot of scrap wood into my car, and I took it home--rescuing it from a terrible fate.

Let me say that it disturbs me to see so much stuff taken to landfills. Much of what ends up there is still useful; still has some life in it. To know that a large, majestic tree has given its life to become "lumber," and that a good portion of that lumber will end up in the waste bin almost brings tears to my eyes. So I took these beautiful bits of a former tree home and examined them. Soon, the shapes implied a presence. I combined them with other bits of "waste" wood that I'd gathered, and created this sculpture. I used each piece that I selected just as it was--not removing anything (not making waste), and not trying to make it too "perfect." It's not perfect. Some pieces are cracked, some are overly rough, and some lack symmetry. Not too different from many humans I know. There's something very wonderful and approachable about imperfection. It's a sign of humanity.

Much of my work with found and rescued objects is figurative. I like to draw parallels between people and objects. Turning objects into people, or figures, is a good way to achieve that goal. We are so caught up in buying, using, and tossing "things." We often feel defined by our possessions. We are also defined by what we abandon. Waste not, want not.

604 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!

Crime on the Mesa

So often we believe that bad things only happen to other people, in other places. Living out in the country, we feel insulated from crime. But recently something very disturbing happened just down the road from us, at our good friends' (Sue and Darwin's) home.

They were gnomed. That's right. It happened right here in our little community.

Sue and Darwin came home to find this gnome sitting atop their horno; and the lack of surface dust, combined with fresh prints in the dirt indicated that the crime had recently occurred. Neighbors, when questioned, scratched their heads and all agreed that no "strange" visitors had been seen in the area. But, as is so often seen in the news lately, the "Deranged Gnomer," as the culprit has come to be known, had the unmitigated gall to document their handiwork.

Imagine our shock, dismay, and shame when we learned that it was our own little Frida. Where did we go wrong?

Sue and Darwin have always treated her like a daughter, so they were understandably hurt and upset when they learned of the Deranged Gnomer's identity.


We didn't see this coming. She's always been the perfect little dog. Why she would want to gnome such good and decent people is beyond us. We're looking into family counseling, and we're keeping her on a tight leash.

We'd like to use this public forum to offer our most sincere apologies to Darwin and Sue. I know that we can't take the gnome incident back, but I hope that we'll be able to find closure, and then move on.

606 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!

Daydream

Daydream, 2002 Acrylic on Canvas

We all daydream. The person in the lower right hand corner is the daydreamer--looking to the future, reminiscing about the past, so focused on these things that they are blinded to the present. Dreams and memories are so intertwined that they run together--barely decipherable as separate entities. The shape of one memory defines the context of the next. What that a memory, or a dream?

Meanwhile, the wheels of life keep turning.

607 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!
WOO-HOO!!!

Spring

Spring, 1996, Acrylic on canvas

Spring was painted in the Springtime, and it's a celebration of the change in seasons. The leaves are beginning to bloom, and birds are returning en masse. The days of winter, with their dark moods, are underneath. The warmth of the sun, with it's glowing yellow, makes the memory of winter seem somehow different; as if it were more colorful and textured than the truth would reveal. Spring is an explosion of color. Bright, hopeful flowers break through the ground, and burst from the trees.

Memories of Winter linger like a band of dark, mottled color. Life emerges up through it, flies above it, and Springtime slowly, methodically, lays down new layers of life. Without the Winter, Spring wouldn't be as bright. They cannot exist without each other.

Sometimes feelings are best expressed with color.

609 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!
WOO-HOO!!!

The Hand of Fate

The Hand of Fate, 2003, Oil on Board

The Hand of Fate is an all-seeing, all-knowing entity. It's always on the periphery--waiting to swing into action. It might safely lift you away from danger, or reach out and slap you. It's part of life, part of living, and part of learning. The round surface for this painting is symbolic of the cyclical nature of life.

Eye Portraits

Eye Portraits, 2002, Mixed Media on Canvas

Eye Portraits is exactly what the titles infers: portraits of eyes. There's a popular saying about how the eye is the window to a person's soul. If we take that literally, then that would imply that it is only necessary to capture a person's eye in order to capture the essence of the person. Why do a portrait of the entire person, when just an eye will do?

This painting is a large scale semi-reproduction of very small original studies--actual eye portraits. It is multi-layered, and appears to be strongly divided and organized. While it is organized, and sectioned, looking closely will reveal that each eye is somehow connected to the others around it. The grid gives each eye equal space. And while each eye has its own personality and is unique, it is also clearly part of a larger whole--very much like us humans, in general. We occupy the same space, we each have our own unique point of view, and we are all connected in ways that aren't completely obvious at the outset. Sometimes it takes a bit of exploration (or inner contemplation) to find the similarities between us--to find our connections to one another.

612 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!

Pots: An explanation

Every once in a while, I'll get an email from someone, inquiring about one of my works. Often, they'll want to use one of my images, or will ask for more information about the inspiration for a specific work.

With Summer ramping up--visitors coming soon, and prepartation for the Abiquiu Studio Tour well under way, I've decided to use this time to answer questions and/or reflect on the processes (both intellectual and physical) that have inspired some of my pieces.

As always, your comments and questions are warmly welcomed!

Pots, 2003, Oil on canvas

Pots is a still life--a collection of my handbuilt pots from the "Mouth of the Pot" series. Doing this painting was another means for me to explore my ideas about the mouth of a pot, and to take something traditional (a still life) and breathe new life into it. It almost becomes an "inside joke" for me, because one needs to know something about my art in order to understand this painting. At the same time, I'm inviting the viewer to seek more information: Why is the painting called Pots? Is it a painting of actual pots, or is it just something made up from the artists' imagination? I could have titled it The Mouths of Pots, and perhaps that would have been more appropriate, but it also would have been too easy. That would had led the viewer to say to him/herself, "Oh, okay. I get it," and then move on. For me, personally, this is what pots should look like--complete with mouths. Hence, the simpler (if more cryptic!) title.

When I first heard the phrase, "the mouth of the pot," this is the image that instantly popped into my mind. This happens me a lot, in fact. A phrase that is quite common and easily understood by many is metamorphosed in my mind into a very visual, graphic image. Often, the only way I can lose this image from my mind is to turn the image into a 2-D or 3-D representation.

Doing Pots, using only black & white, allowed me to explore the shapes with more intensity. Removing the color, and paring the painting down to its most basic, brought the sculptural qualities of the pots back to me. This method also put each of the pots on the same plane--none was more important than the other. They're merely a collection of pots, like the many faces in a crowd--each is unique in its own right, but also one of many. Each has its own expression--different, but equal.

Finally, to address Pots from the still life point of view: Every artist does, or has done still life paintings. With some artists, that's all they do, and they're very good at it. Though I wouldn't say this to those particular artists, I'll tell you that the typical still life usually puts me to sleep. I'd almost rather roll over and die than do a still life. But it also represents a very important aspect of art in general, and is prominent throughout Art History. And so this is my version of a still life--my contribution to that very important role of art in the history of humankind.

East Meets Southwest, Part II

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we've applied the principles of feng shui to the front yard. Because this is the north side, and the water sector, we painted the entrance black. According to feng shui expert, Katheryn Weber, this is "most auspicious." One final thing that we need to do is to move the bamboo chimes to the south side of the house.

Miss Frida is enjoying her new front yard.

The single turtle at the northernmost point is very lucky, as is the removal of most of the greenery.

We found an inexpensive reed fence at the local home center, which I cut and wrapped around the water catchments. Because reed grows in water, this turned out to be the perfect solution. Blue is a secondary color for the north sector, so it works out that the trim here is blue. Actually, the trim everywhere is blue, thanks to Erica who painted it for us last year. Local folklore dictates that windows and doors should be painted blue to keep away bad witches and/or other evil spirits. Thanks, Erica, for keeping us safe!

Following is the view from the guest bedroom patio.


Here, along the east wall of the front courtyard, the color should be brown or green, and is ruled by the number 3. This would be another good destination for those bamboo chimes.

And a view looking toward the southwest corner of the yard . . .

Finally, the guest bedroom patio is located in the southwest corner. This is the sector for "big earth; mountains; square shapes; beige, yellow, purple, red; stones, pairs, vases, crystals, gobes, urns; the number 2; and it is enhanced by fire: lamps, fire, candles, round stones or objects, clay pots, and ceramic vases."


The front yard has such a great vibe. I'm looking forward to the barn conversion (into a studio), so that I can use these same principles to create good chi, and hopefully great art!

615 Days Until George W. Bush Leaves Office!
616 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!
WOO-HOO!!!

East Meets Southwest, Part I

After several days working outside, we've finally finished the front yard. One happy resident has already moved in, and set up her new digs over top one of our water catchments. I take this as a good sign.


The pond is beginning to acquire its Summer dressing. The cattails have shot up to about 24" in the past week, and the lilies have surfaced. Very soon, the pond will be in full regalia.


The front yard didn't quite become the Zen Rock Garden that one expects, because we used gravel instead of sand. Hey, we have enough sand here. I wanted some gravel! But, in keeping with the original idea, we gave the Buddha his own personal Zen rock garden--complete with sparkling sand. He's very happy.


And so are the koi. They are swimming with a little more flourish these days.

Because this is the North sector, and wanting to create good Chi, we adopted this turtle. He's most auspicious, don't you think?


Finally, this is the pile of gravel that was delivered very early on Friday morning. It may not look like much from this distance, but that pile represents 10 tons of crushed and tumbled rock. By our own estimates, we moved half of that pile into the front yard.


These are just a few of the details of our recent project. For a look at the "big picture," come back tomorrow!

616 Days Until George W. Bush Leaves Office!!!
617 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!!
WOO-HOO!!!!

Work in Progress

Ever since we moved here, I've wanted to make the front yard ours. Yes, we own it (or at least we're renting it from Mother Nature while we're here on Earth), so I don't mean "ours" in that sense. I mean it in the sense that it refects our taste and philosophy. So, that's been the project for the past 2 weeks.


Having a yard with grass, in the middle of the desert, makes no sense to either of us. We love the landscape, and want to embrace what's here. We also don't wish to waste a valuable resource (water) on something that shouldn't be here (grass). So, step #1 was to remove the grass. Easier said than done. Even though we haven't watered it even one time, it's pretty darn invasive, and has thrived pretty well with existing rainfall.


So after many, many hours on my hands and knees, removing the dreaded grass, I finally got to the point where I could spend many, many more hours on my hands and knees, securing empty wood pellet bags to the ground, to prevent any stray grasses from coming back. Of course, I couldn't do this over the entire yard, because we have a few trees, which we want to keep, and their roots will need some air and water. So, I finished it off with landscape fabric.


And just to add one more bit of security, I stretched some more plastic over the pellet bags. The yard is now ready for gravel! Stay tuned!

619 Days Until George W. Bush Leaves Office!
620 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!!!
WOO-HOO!!!!

Nicho Complete-O! :)

A while back, I mentioned that I was working on the living room nicho. This is my round about way of dealing with the wall color--which I detest--but can't do anything about for the time being. Get me on a ladder, more than about 5 feet off the floor, and I start crying like a baby (on the inside, anyway). So, until I can get someone to paint the upper part of the living room walls, I'm stuck with this gawd-awful color, which I unaffectionately refer to as "pastey pink."


So I decided to exercise my powers of semi-control by decorating the nicho. It's been in this "before" state (above) for quite some time. The bright yellow was a way of defining it, if only temporarily, until I could get around to my real plan: creating a mosaic.


Above is the work in progress. I used mirrors, cut glass, and glass beads. These are (mostly) left-over materials from Madam Chair : http://www.robinhernandez.com/chair.html


I wanted to use a combination of precisely cut pieces, and random shapes. The entire project took longer than I anticipated. I figured, "small space, done in a short time." Actually, I learned that working in such a cramped space actually takes more time, because I had to piece things together, without having them stick out into space. The nicho measures 19" H x 10" W x 8" D.


Once I got the inside fully covered, I deciced to frame it with a combination of glass beads and small round mirrors. I think this last, finishing touch was the culmination of a couple of influences--a book on feng shui (mirrors reflect back the good luck), and a book called The Caliph's House, by Tahir Shah, where he talks about (among other things) the renovations of his home in Casablanca. That's a great book, by the way! Thanks, Mom, for sending it to me! :)

624 Days Until George W. Bush Leaves Office!
625 Days Until the BIG PARTY!!!!
Woo-hoo!!!!