SO, I did not end up making the sheep sculpture but instead have made:
3 log-form mugs
3 odd shaped pitchers
3 Egyptian jars
and 1 dog/skeleton head
3 is my new favorite number second to 6. I have four projects done, one extra to make up for my family project that broke. :( I am very excited that I get to go to all of art tomorrow. Yahhhh! and we are having a party!

Thank you Lake Shore Pharmacy for donating money!!!

I kind of cheated on this but for a good reason. I put this up on my door at home because we are having a neighborhood party at my house this weekend so all of my neighbors will see the sign. I will also try and make an announcement too during the party.

I am working on a series of Egyptian style jars like the ones in this picture. The heads however will be strictly animals. This could somewhat tie into my concentration. I tried to hand build the jars but have realized that throwing them will be easier. I went to a little private art show that my volleyball coach put on this weekend. There was a ceramics artist there who worked with abstract human forms in black and white. I want to make my jars black and white in a similar fashion.

I decided to throw some pots for a change. I made a set of three organic pitchers. I'm not sure if they are worth keeping yet. However, it was fun to make them. I'm going to try and start on a concentration piece next class, specifically my sheep sculptures.

So I still can't upload images but right now I am making a series of log mugs. Two of them are birch trees. I want to be able to glaze them with a pasty white matte. I'll have to research a possible glaze. On the other hand, I migh just use some stain. So far, I have three done and am working on my fourth.

New concentration piece

So my body sculpture broke and I really have no desire right now to start over so I am going to start on a new concentration project. I want to use the idea of the "black sheep" -- every family has a black sheep. I wanted to create a series of white sheep that were encircling a black sheep in the same manner as wolves hunt their prey. I would put a picture up but blogger is not letting me right now.

Concentration

I have finally narrowed down my concentration. My concentration will be an exploration of familial relationships and their attendant tensions and emotions. I want to use animals to portray the human emotions ( such as Beth Cavener Stichter does). I was mainly inspired by Stichter's portfolio of ceramic pieces. I want all of my pieces to be fired and glazed in the same method. Sticther use of a matte house paint to coat all of her pieces makes for a really nice finished look without the imperfections of a glaze.

Concentration ideas

List of possible concentrations:

What I know for a fact: I want to work with clay and I want to make bigger sculptures.

1. Human Form
2. Distorted teapots
3. Human emotions expressed through form
4. Family
5. Disease/illness
6. masks
7. metamorphosis
8. apendages
9. futuristic forms/figures
10. found object sculptures
11. crazy mugs
12. animals
13. altered wheel thrown
14. Teeth
15. architecture
16. agony/pain
17. jewerly
18. outrageous clothing
19. paper sculptures
20. birth
21. isolation
22. the home
23. extinction
24. containers
25. inside out
26. extrememly magnified obje

So I have finished my Diane Lou inspired sculpture however, I have realized that I can not possible finish my family project by tomorrow solely on the fact that I have envisioned something a lot bigger than time has permitted me to make. Therefore, I have two bodies in progress and one more to start. I want to shy away from small pieces, so these sculptures will be relatively large, maybe somewhere between 2 and 3 feet tall depending on their positions.

On a side note, I think that our poster picture turned out well.

Bound Angel - Diane Lou

Thank you Diane Lou for a wonderful workshop on your art. I thoroughly enjoyed creating my found-object sculpture and can't wait to finish it. I am not one hundred percent sure what my piece signifies; however, maybe the beauty of this kind of artwork lies in the ambiquity, the uncertainty of the artist's intent.
And yes, Amy, I have visited Beth Stichter's website. I think the most interesting part is when she explains her process. She arranges these poles on which she piles on slabs of clay. Eventually, when she has the shape of the piece, she cuts the clay off, hollows out the form and reassembles it.

I am really interested in Beth Cavener Stichter's sculptures. I love the way that she exagerates her forms such as the rabbit with large feet. I also like the size of her pieces. I want to make some larger ceramic forms that are half animal half human. I also love the texture of her pieces and the emphasis on detail.

I am somewhat excited about the new family project. I'm interested in creating three human/animals forms, each representing a different aspect of family. My idea is still a little hazy right now.

Right now I am somewhat frustrated because I am at a standstill as to what I want to make. I am also struggling to figure out a concentration. I definitely want to work more with clay this year, which I failed to do last year (and somewhat regret) but at the same time, I am interested in making art out of simple household items that one tends to recycle or throw away (such as newspaper, plastic, styrofoam, etc). I was captivated by HA Schult's trash scultptures. What looks like just a pile of trash is really a piece of art.

Art Retreat Reflection

I really enjoyed our art retreat at Menucha. I missed the guest artist but I still got to partake in the Andy Goldsworthy project. I tore holes into these large green leaves and then outlined the hole in the leaf with white berries. My goal was to create a sense of endlessness -- the black hole contrasted the white berries (unfortunately I don't have a picture at the moment.) I was very impressed with everyone else's andy goldsworthy project.
Thank you Amy for another wonderful retreat. I am really excited for this year (despite the fact that I can't physically be in the class). I'm looking forward to creating a whole new portfolio with a new concentration!

New Concentration

It's been a long time since I've posted something but in that time I have decided on a new concentration for next year. I want to take the form of a teapot to the extreme. I want all of my teapots to be functional. They will all have some form of spout and handle. I'm hoping to come up with a lot of ideas on my road trip across the country this summer!

The teapot above was created by Ray Bub who throws and then assembles his teapots.

Yay! Barbeque! My goal from now on is to: 1. Finish my octopus. 2. start throwing again. 3. work only with clay...for now anyway. I am done with wire and found objects forever.

I am very glad that all of our portfolio stuff is complete. Over the past weekend, I was googling some artists when I cam across the work of Martin Waugh. He photographs water droplets in motion, allowing nature to depict the form of his piece. He only alters the color of the liquids. There is a precise method to his work. He uses various liquids along with water such as oil and glycerin. This is such an interesting form of art that I would have never thought to pursue. It's baffling.

AP Art Show

The AP Art show was great! Everyone's art looked amazing on display. Great job everyone!

So I'm trying to write my artist statement and I realized that any way that I word my concentration it sounds choppy and incoherent. How the hell do you write down these figments of ideas in your head to create an understandable, well-written artist statement? It sounds like I just cut a passage out of a biology book about DNA and animalistic behavior and am trying to incorporate art into all of it. I'm starting over.

By the way, if you haven't looked at sculptures by Ron Mueck, you should look at them now. They are extremely realistic beyond belief.

I really don't know what to write about because nothing much has changed from last week except for the fact that I am completely fed up with my octopus project, especially the tentacles. I just want to be done with it! Anyway, I'm really excited for the AP show but at the same time, I still have a lot to do. I'm really excited to see everyone's work displayed.

So I need two more concentration pieces. I've been making an octopus teapot in class; however, I am unsure whether I want to include it in this year's portfolio.

Next project: wire cobra

I'm currently working an octopus teapot; however, as Jayla pointed out, its kind of too big to be a teapot. Therefore, its a watering can.

I finished by giraffe piece, finally. It looks nothing like how I imagined it. I realized that I spend longer developing an idea than I do actually making the piece; I should be spending more time on my pieces. I wish that my pieces were as strong as the ideas that I have in my head.

I was looking online at art made out of books and these really caught my eye. They are all very unique and are absolutely amazing. It inspires me to want to pick up a book and start cutting. This is not exactly related to my concentration; however, these pieces are of precise craftsmanship and have remarkable detail. Both of these traits are things that I strive for in my artwork.

In class the other day I made a clay giraffe head. Ryland said that I could use the head as part of my projects and make the body out of wire, etc. I have been thinking, and I really like the idea. It will allow me to branch out a little more. Thank you Ryland. I definitely miss working with clay.

I want to make a sculpture with a giraffe bending down, as in the picture above, to drink.

Here is one of my newest pieces. I feel like it is lacking something, but I am unsure of what. Since all movement leads to the left, I need to put something there that captures one's attention and keeps it there. My other piece, which includes a cougar, has a stronger message but is more simplistic in form.

Here is my latest sculpture titled "Instinct". When making this piece I was trying to satirically represent animal behavior by replacing what could be a cougar or racoon with a bicycle (which dogs are known to chase). I used color sparingly and contrastingly, the moss higlighting the red streamers on the bike handles. Sorry about the weird angle of the picture.

So I'm still working on my bicycle project. I want to add a bizarre touch to the piece either by adding an unusual material such as hair or by confusing the situation (such as having a bicycle chasing a dog or human). Talking about hair, I think that incorporating hair into a project would be very interesting. This 2D artist, Fink, who I happened to come across on the web, makes his portraits entirely out of hair clippings. It's absolutely amazing.

For one of my next projects I'm making a bicycle out of wire and then I'm going to incorporate other found objects. I want to knit wire for my second project.
I also looked into takng a class at OCAC. Unfortunately there is no metals class in the Spring. There are two during the summer though.

This is my most recent work. I really like the idea of the tooth; however, I dont' have the tools or the knowledge to make a really decent ring. Amy recommended that I take a jewerly making class at OCAC. I want to redo the ring when I learn how to work with metal better. By the way, the ring is actually a quarter and that's my tooth.

Me, my Dad, and my art poster.

Thanks Dad for sponsoring the poster!

I'm a little stressed about getting my projects done. I have ideas though, so I'm not hopeless yet.

I'm really interested in trying wire knitting. I first saw this done when I took a metals class at OCAC a few years ago. The instructor was knitting a mask out of wire that looked amazing. I know how to knit and crochet yarn so why not try wire.

My most recent concentration piece was a wire sculpture of a crocodile. I probably have to revise the project because I did not incorporate found objects into the sculpture according to my concentration. However, at the same time, I really like wire by itself and I'm afraid that anything added to it would take away from the form.

Here is a picture of my log-form teapot that I submitted to the Scholastic Art Awards. Its one of my better portfolio pieces.