keeping your own work, and Miss Billy is on the table

In the midst of a framing/hanging and wall painting project I decided to find a place to hang a couple of my recent clay tiles with found wood pieces. This is something I rarely do.  I may keep a mug or bowl that has a small imperfection but not the best stuff.  A new experience!  It's nice to have something of my own that normally I would automatically price to sell.

I had eight prints that needed framing, some of which have been sitting in a closet for years. Others were framed but needed fresh mats, and there was that one frame I made in 1982 out of stock molding for one of my wood cut prints.  It needed to go. So I ordered the mats, ordered some of the frames and got to it.  Oh, and painted the fireplace wall charcoal gray. It ended up that I hung twenty pieces since I had to shuffle around most of the other artwork.

 

 The eagle scout badge on the lamp belonged to my dad.  The lamp was used at one time as a coffee grinder by my mother's family.  I find it somewhat humorous that my son now uses one of these for grinding his coffee.  I didn't know they were still being made.

On the left is one of the found wood/clay tile pieces and a print by George Longfellow.  The drawing, with credit given to Grant Wood, was made for the Cincinnati Enquirer to go, I believe, with an article on robotics. You might have to look close to see that the man and woman have robot-like heads. The right picture shows a serigraphy print I made way back when.

 The wonderful print above is by Debbie Dicks.  This picture, unfortunately, does not do it justice.  The photo to the left of it is of Ivin's grandparents, father and uncle on the boat which brought them to America.

Back to work.  I thought that framing/hanging/painting project would take three days but it ended up taking six, of course. 
Notice the chair- it can be adjusted for height, a Christmas present from Ivin.  I was sitting there to wax bisque ware bottoms.  So much more relaxing than standing!
The dark clay-mini butter churn shapes are prototypes for a local historical organization.  

And Miss Billy came to visit, hoping for an open container of water or glaze.  I think she has learned that the pot of iron oxide is not optimal for paw dipping.  I still have to make sure I cover the glazes when she's around.

details, process, failures

Most of the time I do not take pictures showing the step by step process.  I am so involved with the work that the thought of interrupting to take pictures does not occur to me. Often, there are many steps to get to the finished project.  In the wall pieces below I have incorporated some aged wood and other found objects with the ceramic tiles.  These may be part of the "Elements" exhibit at Riverside Artists Gallery along with works by visiting artists, Shila Wilson and Steve Combs.  We are setting up today and will have to see how it all fits together.  The pieces shown here are also part of the show.

"Isolation"

 I may be adding one more found object to this piece.  Have to decide when enough is enough.

 The bead board was helped along with the aging process. This piece was left over from a house project, so not so old as it now looks.  To age it I first painted the raw wood with some strong tea.  Then I soaked some steel wool in white vinegar for a few hours, or until the steel wool started to break down a little.  After the tea was dry, I painted some of the vinegar mixture over it.  During the next few hours the wood starts to turn a dark gray color.  Instant age.  I'm sure you can guess the rest- I had some house paint, painted a thin coat of light blue (darker color may have been better), let dry, scraped and sanded here and there down to the gray wood, then a thin coat of white paint, let dry, more scraping. 

 I used a jigsaw and utility knife to cut out the center.  And a file.  Lot's of filing because I was afraid of making the cuts too big. This was plan B.  I found I was completely inept at chiseling a recessed area in wood to receive a tile (that was plan A), but I can use a jigsaw. I did not think ahead, that when I cut the wood, the new exposed edges would not have the aged appearance so I had to do the tea/vinegar solution thing again.  This ended up being a plus because it helped the aging of the painted surface by making it look yellowed.

"Aerial of River" 

Melted bottle glass in the tile represents a river.  Wood piece is driftwood found along the Ohio River near Marietta.

 Picture below shows the bottom of the piece with a sinker, also found near the river.

 "The Grid"

Much of the hardware you see on these pieces came with the found wood.  Some, like the screws in the vertical piece of wood, are new but have been aged to get rid of the shiny silver look by soaking a few hours to overnight in white vinegar.

 "Fly"

Click on the pics if you want to see them bigger.

"Preparation"

Inspired by a poem by Becca J.R. Lachman submitted to Riverside Artists Gallery's Poetry in Art exhibit in 2014.  A couple of other artists used the poem as inspiration for artwork for that show.  I loved the poem and it stuck with me.  The gallery will be doing another one of these exhibits with new poems and artwork this Sept.

What you don't see-  Sometimes there are fails behind the pretty pictures.  This structure was going to be a garden piece.  The top slab was the last to be attached.  The sides and bottom had dried too much and the top slab cracked along the seam.  Usually I can avoid this by equalizing the moisture after I make attachments.  Covering with cotton cloth followed by plastic sheeting works great for that.  In my concern that the pressure of attaching that last piece could weaken the sides and bottom, apparently I allowed those parts to dry beyond the point of no return.  I really wanted this to work, and would like to try again. Being part of an exhibit seems to push me to try new things and sometimes the trial and error involved with that process gets a bit too lengthy with a deadline looming.  

vessels

Getting ready for a show at the gallery, coming up July 8, and preparing for this one has been more of a challenge than usual.  I had  many ideas, all going in different directions, and it took awhile just to pare down the possibilities. The one that stuck in my mind above all the others was to alter wheel thrown bowls with hand building techniques. I'm sure this is not new to many potters, but I have not tried it before. I find I am using hand building more often in the last few years.  The wheel work and hand building classes were separate when I was in school. It would have benefitted me to take a hand building class but I never did so I can only start a project with the attitude of O.K., let's see if this works.

This bowl is my favorite.  Lots of texture with layers of slip and engobes applied, then wiped or scraped off to reveal the lines.

I cut out crescent shapes from opposite sides of the bowl, then built the sides up with coils of clay.  The round bowl becomes oval and lots of variation is possible. 

 More texture obsession going on. I am also exposing my obsession with "interesting" pieces of wood.  There are many interesting sticks, planks, whatever in our garage.  Some were washed up from the Ohio River, and some found in the woods nearby.  Not saying where because it is not my property. If from the river, I have soaked them in a bleach solution.  I take the goose poop situation very seriously.

 I had not intended to veer from bowls to baskets but the idea of using some of that wood took hold of me.

A few vases, too- Although I wanted to continue with the bowls, I needed a little height to go with them.  Again, with the wood.

These are a bit of a departure.  I made a series of these flower bricks.  I'm not sure if that is the right description.  This is a jar with one hole in the lid for a flower.  Some of these have three holes and some have five.  I kept the surface pretty simple so as not to complete with the blossoms.

So, that's it for now.  There may be more pics later, as there are a few more things yet to be completed.  Back to work.