Mars (Martianware) clay, finally fired

Mars clay bulbs with small impressions (left) and flower stamp impressions (right)

I finally got around to firing some of the pieces I made last month with the new Martianware clay. In fact, I fired them a while ago and only just got around to taking pictures this weekend after my most recent glaze firing was completed.

Salty Mars covids and bulbs before firing

Since I wasn't sure about the clay, I didn't make a lot of items with it. Then, before firing I got concerned about the salts damagining my kiln walls or elements. The soluble salts show up on the oustside of the forms as the clay dries, and they also act like glaze mixed into the clay, creating the unusually texture surface. Firing a salt kiln can be hard on the walls and the elements. Though this was clearly a lot less salt than a salt kiln, I decided to play it safe and make some saggars in which to fire the work.

Saggars after firing

I threw and slab-built four saggars which I can reuse in future. Being extra cautious, I also fired the pieces on stilts which was probably unecessary, as it turned out. Based on how the saggars look inside after firing, I'm guessing these were unecessary, too. The floors of the saggars have a bit of spitting, little freckles of color, but the tops look just like the outsides, no damage.

 

Interior of a thrown saggar with salt speckling from the Mars clay

I fired the pieces in a bisque firing with a bunch of other greenware. This Martianware clay isn't supposed to get too hot. This bisque was cone 06 and fairly full. The Martianware ceramic surfaces have varied colors ranging from brown to red and a rough, crumbly texture. I can't tell how much their location during firing or drying or their building techniques impacted the colors, so I'll have to pay closer attention next time.

Mars clay Covid Balls

The surfaces feel crumbly, as is evident in some of the pictures where there are little dustings of crumbs that I didn't brush away. The bits that do flake off don't stain my photo paper and removing them from the surface doesn't seem to impact the colors of the original form. I haven't tried scrubbing these pieces yet, but they feel like raku work that needs to have the ash washed off.

Mars clay bulb (other side)

 

For a few of the pieces, I mixed the Martianware clay with my regular pugged reclaim and the result was underwhelming. Theese pieces just look like a bit of terracott has gotten into or onto the regular clay which looks white after bisque.

Mars and reclaimed clay Covid balls after bisque

In one case, as a test, I glazed the rest of the form (the part made of reclaimed clay) and left the inset Martainware clay circles unglazed. I then fired the piece to cone 6. As expected, the clay fluxed and bubbled a bit. I knew the clay wasn't designed for this temperature, but I was just curious what would happen. 

The black dots are actually the Mars clay fired to cone 6. The lines and yellow surface are glazed

I made COVID balls and Ericano bulbs out of the the Martinaware clay. On the COVID balls, I didn't do much to the surface, relying on the clay itself to create texture. For the bulbs I tried a few different things: sprigs, impressed stamps and a texture roller/stamp. The impressions look pretty similar after firing, as the clay sort of takes over and obscures the texture. The sprig additions are easier to see on one side than the other, based on the clay color and how it shows up differently in the higher and lower areas.

The front and back sides of the sprigged bulb made with Mars clay

The clay is fun, but working with something like this requires a really different planning process, especially for someone who is used to focusing on texture and color. I could see this clay working well for the darker, moodier work I did for my politics bulbs series, but I'd have to think about what can and cannot show up as far as texture. This clay could lend a gritty feel, but it could also obscured what I want to show. And, honestly, I've felt a bit exhausted in thinking about this work lately. 

Mars Covid ball

This past week I was a bit disappointed in my kiln results, which tends to be opposite of a motivator. But while I was photographing the work I realized that I had quite a bit of work. Some of it disappointing, but at least I've been making. Some loads are like that.

New Political Bulbs Installation at Boxx Gallery in Tieton

I have work in a show at Boxx Gallery this month. The sculpture show opens today, Saturday, April 6 with a reception Saturday from 11-4. The gallery is free and open to the public. And there will be snacks.

Installation view of Political Bulbs

The gallery is located at 616 Maple Street in Tieton. I have installed my political bulbs for this show. I decided (at the last minute) to install them in a different arrangement than the grid I have done before. While I was installing, I realized I should install them in the shape of the United States, which is kind of how they ended up, but since I didn't decide this until partway through the process, it isn't really clear.

Installation view of Political Bulbs in Tieton

This show features my most recent political work. I showed these pieces in a grid in Hood River this summer, but I never managed to get great installed images. Maybe I'll remember to take some this month. This installation features both references to the flag, the congress building, and the constitution, but also some more blatantly offensive works.

ice cream or the poo emoji?

The gallery is open every Saturday this month from 11-4, and there will be another reception and associated events on April 27 for International Sculpture day.

I also have work up at Artebella Gallery, at 1111 W. Spruce Street in Yakima. Artebella is open Thursdays - Saturdays 10-4. (and by appointment). The gallery is free and open to the public.

Mixed Media Additions to Political Bulbs

bound hands

Seven of my politics bulbs in this group have mixed media additions. I added these after the pieces had been glazed and fired, but I had planned for them from the beginning. The bound hands piece was one I started early in the summer. it was one of the first of the political bulbs from this batch. I always intended to use a zip tie to bind the hands and thus I built in space for the zip tie to go into the bulb. The hands attach to the bulb by the arms and the edge of both palms for stability.

separation of church and state

Another piece that I envisioned from the beginning was the rosary covering the capital building. I wanted to reference the power that Christianity has over so much that happens in politics in our country, despite the supposed separation of church and state. In execution I am pleased that that cross ends up in front of the capital.

birth control is basic healthcare

In some cases the mixed media additions aren't going to make the work more clear, but they do serve to make the work more interesting visually and textually. The IUD bulb has a braided string (like the real thing), which isn't strictly necessary to communicate that I'm talking about birth control and family planning, but it adds color and size to the bulb without fragility.

kids in cages

The jail cell or cage bars, made from painted toothpicks, are integral to the structure of the piece. It would be possible to fill the cell with ceramic objects and make the bars from clay attached to the walls of the bulb, but it would be difficult to paint the interior pieces. Plus, I simply hadn't finished the inside pieces when I made the rest of the bulb. Attaching bars later seems to work fairly well.

inside the cage are a bottle, teddy bear, and pacifier

The pieces I am least confident in are the gun themed bulbs. Part of my hesitation to talk about them, especially online, is that I have a gut feeling that some guns rights nuts are likely to invade my online world and tell me I'm a terrible person who doesn't understand guns and because I don't love the second amendment I should be shot.

guns are patriotic

I intended both of my mixed media gun bulbs to reference how integral guns and gun violence are to US society. The gun nuts, and I here I am referring to the unquestionable nuts who make other people's lives unpleasant both online and in person, equate total personal armament with patriotism and any types of restrictions on gun types, access to guns, quality or size of guns, guns in public, guns in schools, guns carried openly in a blatant attempt to confront and cause controversy are automatically suspect and met with loud, violent, and unceasing hostility.

guns are inescapable

In part because of the baggage that comes along with guns, gun restrictions, and questions about the second amendment, I am less confident in these pieces. I also wish my rope was darker.

Art-A-Day at Columbia Center for the Arts

Daily Conversations, Art a Day opens at Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon on July 31 and continues in the gallery through August 31. Come see my work during the opening reception on August 3 or during the regular gallery hours, daily, 11-5.

my favorite abstract bulb, a yellow and purple porcupine abstract bulb

In preparation for this exhibition, artists were asked to make a new artwork every day for 30 days and also write about their process.

Patterns, based on the ceiling at the Yakima Yoga Collective

I made two sets of 30 bulbs each. One set is "abstract" bulbs. They are, in fact, mostly abstract, though towards the end of the building process I started making faces and hands which aren't so much abstract as random.

The second amendment

The abstract or random bulbs are in contrast to the other set of bulbs which are a continuation of a series I began last year and which I have alternately called political, protest, or patriot bulbs. Each one addresses something controversial in our nation, usually something prompted by the current administration's policies or rhetoric, or by major news stories in this country.

If you live in WA, your primary ballot is due August 7!

Taken together the political bulbs illustrate my own political views, but hopefully also leave room for interpretation and thoughfulness on some of the issues where ambiguity is possible or even natural. 

Hard to tell in the photo, but there are three colors in the bulb

The "abstract" bulbs, taken together, probably suggest that I was having fun with texture and color. In this post I've collected some of my favorites from both sets of bulbs.

Knit bulb (with ceramic bulb inside)

I enjoyed the abstract ones most when I tried something new, be it a new material incorporated into the bulb itself or a new sculpting or decorating technique.

front and back of the same abstract bulb from early on in the project

At one point I had intended to create contrasting textures on the front and back of each bulb in the abstract series, but some of my surfaces are too deep or complex to allow the bulbs to be easily hung in either direction.

second screaming bulb (abstract set)

As I mentioned, pure abstraction went out the window at some point in the process, and I prioritized having fun making the work over sticking closely to my original intent. Part of me wants to make faces and hands and maybe feet and other body parts for a whole series, but I'm not quite sure why.

just a random blue hand

Some of the bulbs also began to extend well past the boundaries of the bulb itself. The flower piece was fun to make and I'm pretty happy with the finished product, but difficult to photograph before it was installed.

flower bulb

I am unable to install this work during the assigned time, so I have delivered it to the gallery and they have installed it for me. I won't actually be able to get to the show to see the work until after the opening. If you are in the Hood River area, be sure to check it out (and tell me about it). The reception is July 2 from 6-8pm.

the bulb of nearly 1000 toothpicks

Art a Day Installation Grid and Mixed Media Bulbs

Mixed Media Bulbs

"Abstract" bulb with flower decoration, finished with underglaze colors, clear  gloss medium, and mixed media attachments.

I will be delivering both of my "abstract" and "politics" bulb sets of bulbs to Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River tomorrow for their Art a Day exhibition opening in August. I finished up the glazing for these pieces last weekend and this week I have been finishing up the non-ceramic attachments for some of the pieces. 

Bulb in the process of having bike parts attached with epoxy

Out of 60 total pieces, about 20 have some element added on afterwards. In most cases the mixed media attachments are epoxied on after firing, in some cases the additions are tied or wrapped, as in the knitted cover that I made for one of the "abstract" bulbs. 

knit bulb

I had three pieces that came out of the last firing with incomplete glaze coverage. Since the pieces are not meant to be used for food or drink, I decided to coat them with a clear gloss medium--basically acrylic paint with no color. 

"abstract" bulbs with glitter paint

When I reached into my stash of paint bottles, I found a glitter paint that I must have inherited, but never used. I decided to give two of the "abstract" bulbs a contrasting texture of glitter gloss medium. It feels fairly silly to use glitter paint, but also an interesting texture.

Installation Grid

initial plans for installation spacing

I will not be able to install the work myself, so I also spent some time this week making a new paper grid to be used by the gallery staff who will be installing for me. I already have a paper grid for an installation of 100 bulbs, but this time around I am installing two separate grids of 30 each in the same 8' wall space. Additionally, my existing paper grid is confusing, with extra marks, mistakes, and triangles that need to be fitted together when putting the three separate pages on the wall. The existing grid only needs to be read by me, but the new one needs to be clear to other installers.

most of the "abstract" bulbs in place, with one "political" bulb to the right

Yesterday, with the temperatures in the 90s and above, I wanted to finish the grid in the morning. I laid out an 8' roll of paper on the back patio, arranged the bulbs on the paper to get a sense of the size and placement, and got out several tape measures and L-square rulers to measure and draw out my grid straight and even. My goal was to make the paper as clean and clear as possible so that the gallery staff only need to level the paper, tape it to the wall, and mark the holes. I was able to keep the paper mostly clear of extraneous pencil and ink marks, but I wasn't able to keep the cats from walking across the paper with dusty paws.

"abstract" hand bulb (I strayed away from the original idea of abstraction in these bulbs, but "no specific political message or story" bulbs sounds awkward).

The two sets of bulbs will each be arranged in grids of 5 bulbs wide by 6 bulbs high. As my paper wasn't quite large enough, I had to add paper sections to the bottom of the roll to make a large enough space. I marked the grid in pencil and marked the holes in marker with each hole mark circled for clarity. In the past when I have used the paper grid to install, I just drilled the holes directly through the paper. The gallery staff can do the same or they can mark each spot through the paper, then take the paper down to put up the hooks.

I hope the kitten wiped her paws before walking on my photo backdrop

While I was making the grid, I also took some decent photographs of the 57 bulbs that were finished at that point (two are still being epoxied together right now). I used my old photo backdrop on the ground and my phone camera rather than setting up my table, vinyl backdrop and tripod, but the results are fine and the best I care to achieve on my timeline. Theses photos at least do not have epoxy and other detritus in the background.

I think there are nearly 100 toothpick pieces epoxied into this bulbs. What was I thinking?

Today I will finish up the packing and the epoxy on the last two pieces, then I will deliver the work tomorrow. I also need to write about my process. I have blog posts and notes that I've written throughout the process, but nothing ready to present in a gallery, yet. I'm hoping that motivation to write will show up soon, otherwise I'll just have to set a timer, tie myself to my desk chair and force myself to begin. 

Trayvon Martin bulb; Martin had purchased skittles and Arizona before he was chased and killed. 

Text & Symbols on Bulbs

second amendment

I've been using text on my bulbs since last year. This year I wanted to use text again, but I wanted to address how difficult it is to read a whole surface of text, especially since the surface that I wanted to cover with text curves. Last year I had used the first amendment and the declaration of independence on the surface of different bulbs, but I found that during the year, when I showed these bulbs, I couldn't quickly identify the source of the text. The text looked just like a pattern.

first amendment list

This year I was thinking of the first and second amendment in contrast to one another. I was thinking about how factions in the political world of today latch on to one or the other of these amendments as their favorite or their rallying cry. I decided to add a rifle over the text of the second amendment to provide a visual clue to the content of the text, and I broke up the themes of the first amendment into bullet points instead of writing out the whole text. I also considered highlighting these terms in the whole text with contrasting color to help viewers quickly see the topic.

protest signs

I've used some hand written text as well. The signs I did earlier this summer are lettered by hand instead of using stamps. I wanted the text to look like marker on a poster board sign, rather than the fancy serif font of my text stamps.

"please vote"

I am trying to complete 30 (ahem, or 60 or 90) pieces for this Art a Day project and using text, and especially text stamps, helps speed up the building process for those pieces that use text. I had been trying to think of how to think of how to capture the amorphous and by nature slightly invisible issue of women being left out of the room in the current administration. We keep seeing rooms full of old white men with nary a woman or a person of color in sight. The small size of the bulbs doesn't really leave room for detailed drawings where one can discern gender, so I decided to go with symbols of gender.

"gender inequity"

To do this, I decided to cover the surface with identical circles, but mark very few as women and most as men. I used stamp for the circles, but chose a fairly large one. I then used a carving tools to draw in the arrows and lines for the male and female symbols. My first attempt ended up with very crowded looking symbols. I obscured these and used a thin line coming off the larger circle for my second attempt. I am still considering replacing this one with a version that uses a narrower and smaller circle stamp.

The white marks are corn starch that was used to keep the stamp from sticking.

I also tried to create a contrast of the two sides. On one side, all men with one woman barely visible, on the other side, a nearly equal split of the genders. However, the shape of the bulb makes this difficult because the symbols on the bottom and sides can be seen from both side of the bulb and the curving surface means that down on one side might be up on the other. 

"mansplaining"

In a second attempt to visually capture the issue of silencing women's voices in our culture, I wanted to use text to stand in for mansplaining, though I'm not sure how familiar a general audience is with the "well, actually..." phrase. 

"hate speech"

And, the final sculpture this week that incorporates text is this one that also incorporates an open mouth, a motif I've been playing around with lately. I have been thinking about this image for months, but I lost the sketchbook in which I initially drew this. I had to think of it again before I made it. The items coming out of the mouth are meant to be reminiscent of flames, snakes, or vomit. The words, of course, are a tiny selection of the many, many nasty names and allegations that have come out of our president's mouth in the last year or two.

ready to fire