Fault

Here are some detail shots of another drawing series that I just finished entitled "Fault". 

 

 Each full drawing is 22"x30", pencil on paper.

Feeling kind of lost lately as I'm in this transitional stage in life.  I don't know.

Schism

Here is another assignment for Pamela's class.  This was for the mixed media assignment, in which we were challenged to create a piece that was 50% ceramic, 50% mixed media. 

I have had this idea in my head for a while.  I picked up a Home Economics handbook from Good Cents that was from the 1950's, and with Mad Men always on my Netflix queue, I have had the idea of women's roles and the schism between the public and private spheres stuck in my head.  While flipping through the handbook, I was really interested in the words that they used to describe household chores and what they mean when taken out of context- rules, separate, beat, method... I took these words, along with others, and wanted to put them inside an icon of female craft- the embroidery hoop- and recreate the idea of sewing.

Originally, I was going to have all ceramic circles within the hoops, but I found that incorporating fabrics with traditional, soft patterns would compliment the ceramic slabs, which were worked to have a very subtle lace texture through acrylic paint.  I took the idea of female identity to the next level by incorporating the hair of myself and loved ones, as well as synthetic hair in slabs which needed a hefty amount of hair.

A detail with the braided hair of my sister and myself.

Human hair, thread, fabric.

Synthetic hair and fabric.

Thread and synthetic hair.

The hoops are 4.25" in diameter and 12.5" in diameter.

White earthenware, fabric, embroidery hoops, thread, synthetic hair, human hair.

Folklore of the Teeth

Here is a project that I was working on for my final assignment for advanced ceramics.  Lately I have been finding myself exploring folklore and old stories that I have been finding in old books from my favorite place in the world, Good Cents.  

There was a simple concept behind this piece, and that was to illustrate the cultural beliefs that people hold about teeth, including the power behind them, the practices of curing toothaches, and how one's future can be determined through teeth.  I illustrated text that I pulled from a very interesting book (that has been probably sitting for years in remote storage in the library) entitled Folklore of the Teeth by Leo Kanner, written in 1928.  I was also inspired by a new idea that is trending- teeth tattoos.

L to R: Traveler, Urine/Mother's Milk/Christ's Blood, Tethered, Heimdal, Fish Vesu, 
Cradle Ornamentation, Evil Eye, and Milk Tooth Exchange

Detail of Traveler.

 Each tooth varies in size, from around 2.5" in diameter to 6" in diameter.  They are drawn on with pen and colored pencils, and coated in a thin layer of white wax. 

I am thinking of how to display these in the future... maybe tight little boxes that they can fit snugly in.  I am also researching different types of malleable wax and rubber.

I will probably make some more of these as I can't keep my nose out of this book! What the heck are some of these people thinking?!

Inside

Inside, 2012.

White earthenware fired to cone 04 and pine needles.  Installed in the forest around Silver Lake in Tallahassee, where the pine needles were collected from.

Going back to where you came from.

A strange happening in the woods.

What is growing?

Inside

Inside, 2012. Pine needles, twine, glazed white earthenware fired to cone 04.

Never going near a pine needle again. So many scratches.

Damaged Goods

Current project in its greenware state.

A Strange Attraction

The mouths have multiplied! And now my roommate probably thinks I am crazy.

I just love them so much.  I have been growing strangely attached to them through their creation.  They look like a little (creepy) choir in this picture!

They have gone through a cone 06 bisque firing and are all safe and sound.  I have also been shaping the nest and collecting pine needles and twigs like a little bird.

Wild

Wild, a public art installation near a pathway along Silver Lake in Tallahassee, Florida.  

Created for Linda Hall's Creative Inquiry class.

This drawing is an oldie but a goodie, first seen here.

First Project of the New Year

Here is the first project I have been working on in Pamela Theis's Advanced Ceramics class.

I am in the process of making 6-7 mouths that will hang in nests and be installed in trees.

A little fun in the BFA warehouse. Old projects meet new projects.

Anyone else hungry?

Spring Break

These are reasons I love Spring Break:

Playing with Emma's chickens.

Watching movies.

Hanging out with my best friends.

Beach.

Beach.

Beach.

I love farm photography, like the article on Christophe Agou from NPR that i saw on Cody's Tumblr.

Hanging onto the last thread of sweater season.

Today I looked like a big, puffy, teal marshmallow. It's warming up, finally!