Time, as it tends to do, has slipped away from me! Classes resumed at school, studio time was limited but focused and fruitful, and my ability to remember my camera to photograph my new work was . . . nonexistant. So, here is something both new and older. A deviation from the norm, and a total expirament.
I love the relationship between potter, piece, and owner. The notion of use completing a piece is such a different way of looking at artistic expression and appritiation. The feel of it in the hands, its weight, its textures, and all the other details (down to the way your lips might rest on the lip of the piece) are a new level of dialoge between artist and owner. I can't say it in any other way, I just love functional pottery. BUT, I grew up with a father who's work focused on taking an extreemly utilitarian form beyond function. My father chose the shape of a spoon (perhaps he would say the spoon chose him) to be his life's calling. His
work , and the work of the other artists he meets has a huge impact on my ideas of art and expression.
My first year in Japan I spent a lot of time working singularly on the wheel. I wanted (STILL WANT!) my basics to improve through continued practice with classic functional forms. It was satisfying, playful, frustrating, and empowering. In the beginning of my second year I found and reworked a large amount of incredibly course black clay. I tried throwing it on the wheel once, and it ripped my hands, the sponge, and a wooden rib to peices. So, for the first time I attempted a purly sculptural project. About a month later these were the results:
I have other sculptural projects in the works, and will always continue to produce with the wheel. Thursday will come, and, I promiss, this time I will return to the normal bloging.
Have a wonderful week folks.
