Another Bike Wheel Base

My first throwing project of the summer was a couple of bases and a some bulbs for a second (and third, perhaps) spinning bike wheel piece. I wrote about the bulbs and the first base a while back. At the time I hadn't finished the second base. 

Th second new bike wheel base with sprigged top, attached bulbs, and stamped base texture.

I'm happier with the second base, mostly because of the sprigged decoration on the top section. I also added a couple bulbs to the sides of the base. The entire base is still perhaps a bit narrow, so I will probably have to weigh it down with some cement in the hollow base so the wide wheel doesn't topple the whole thing over.

The hole will be where the bike chain goes into the base. the smooth line around the base is the path for the chain after firing.

The chain path is also a bit more complex than on the previous bases. The chain comes out of the base from behind one of the added bulbs and snakes behind the other as it passes.

The sprigged texture took time, but I much prefer this texture to something simpler.

I also got around to learning how to remove the spokes from the wheel rim. I was happy to discover that the end of the spoke, where it gets thicker, is removable. This means I can make the holes in my bulbs fairly small and they will slide on and fit snugly.

The piece at the end of the spoke unscrews and inserts through the rim from the other side.

All the pieces are in the kiln now, but I'm waiting to fire them until after the weather cools off a bit. Today's high is supposed to be 105. I don't think I need to add to the heat in my studio.

Several bulbs drying. The small hole should be large enough to fit on the spoke after firing.

Fired Crazy Pots from Larson Workshop

I glazed and fired the work from my Jomon / Crazy Pots workshop in June. The work is boxed up and will be taken to Larson Gallery today for people to pick up their work. 

Most people chose to have me glaze their work after the workshop. All the students applied underglaze (which is basically colored slip) to their pieces during the workshop. The underglazes added color to the surface, but fired alone would leave the surface looking matte. Most people chose to have me spray on a layer of clear glaze to make the surface shiny. 

 

Neither of these pieces has underglaze color added to the interior, but each has glaze and underglaze on the exterior surface.

These three artists chose to use just one underglaze color.

Since it worked with some other stuff I needed to fire, I believe I ended up firing the matte, unglazed work to a slightly lower temperature than the glazed work. I bisqued all the work before applying the clear glaze to some pieces because I had room in the kiln I was firing anyway and because the pieces would be a little safer to glaze after they had been fired once.

This piece has underglaze on the exterior and raw clay visible inside.

 both of these works have underglaze but no glaze inside and out (mostly).

Most of the students applied their color evenly and it looks good after firing. Underglazes can be tricky, since three full coats are required to create even coverage. Fewer coats or thinner coats of underglaze can result in irregular, streaky color.

The underglaze coverage is a little bit thin, but it looks  good here since it is consistent. 

This piece has raw clay with glaze and well as a thick coat of blue and yellow underglaze.

 

 I've always thought red underglaze is one of the hardest colors to use well.

The piece on the right may have looked completely red before firing, but the irregular coverage shows up with glaze. 

I sprayed all the glazed work pretty evenly and at the same time. Surprisingly, two of the pieces turned out a little rough. I'm not sure why, since they were spread out in the kiln and were glazed at the same time as everything else. I suspect these two colors might not be as well formulated as the rest of the colors. Unfortunately there's not much I can do about it.

The glaze on this piece is a little rough, not sure why.

The glaze on the lid is rough, but the base seems even. Maybe this one was just the texture of the clay itself.

If you took the class and have any questions about how the work turned out, feel free to contact me through my blog or through my website, or by commenting below. I hope you like the work.

Tieton's 10x 10 x10 exhibiton

Last week I brought a piece to Tieton for the 10 x 10 x 10 exhibition. This is an international juried exhibition of small works. I've been in the exhibition several times. The show features works in all media, so long as they are each smaller than 10" in any dimension. 

"Aoi Cephalotini" 2013

The exhibition opens August 11 and runs through October 9 in the Mighty Tieton Warehouse gallery in Tieton, Washington.

"Aoi Cephalotini" on the wall at Esvelt Gallery

I also picked up a piece from the Membership Show at Larson Gallery which ended last week and I just received a package with a piece that was in a bike theshow in New Hampshire.

 

"Nepentha Prosthesia" 2014 (back from Larson Gallery) and "Oranji Gears" 2013 (back from New Hampshire)

Bike Wheel Modifications

At the start of June I participated in June Art Fest in Yakima. My sales that day weren't especially good, but I had some interesting conversations. Several of them centered around my spinning bike wheel piece. 

"Bespoke Piece" started in 2013, finished in 2014

The oddest comments just made me wonder about people. Several people tried to pull the colored "pod" shapes off of the wheel. (They are epoxied in place.) One person asked if the "pods" were soap. (Do you know you are at an art fair?) But one person talked to me for a while and asked why I hadn't  slid the pods onto the spokes of the wheel, instead of epoxying them on top of the spokes.

pods for bespoke piece with impressions for attachment onto spokes

The answer is obvious, of course, it didn't occur to me that the spokes came off. I suppose that's silly, or naive, but I ask all you non-mechanic, non-cyclers out there to really think how much you know about bike wheels--or pottery wheels or whatever specialized knowledge you don't have in your own career.

pods for new bike wheel piece with holes for spokes

Anyway, the upshot from this conversation is that last week I threw some bulbs and poked some holes through them so that I can attach them in a less obtrusive way onto the wheel spokes. Next I just have to figure out how to detach the spokes. I'm sure there's some tool or something. Pliers didn't work. (Stop laughing.)

lawn sticks from my MFA installation

Another useful conversation was with my mom, who pointed out how much she liked the complex textures on my lawn sticks (and basically all my other work ever). I don't specifically remember why I left the pods on top of the bike wheel smooth last year, though it could have had something to do with running out of time. I got on a plane a few days after I threw the pieces and never even had a chance to finish the piece until after my sabbatical had ended. 

pods for new bike wheel piece with sprigged and impressed textures

Since you should always listen to your mom, I added sprigged and impressed textures to the bulbs for the next bike wheel piece.

new bike wheel base in progress with bike chain set in place

I had used a bike chain embedded in a thrown form for the base of the first bike wheel piece. I liked the look of the chain and the base was stable once I filled it with cement (otherwise the bike wheel makes the piece top heavy and it falls over). I left the surface of the base smooth (time crunch again), so this time I tried a little more texture. I lost or broke the tool I used to cut the "path" for the chain, so I had more trouble keeping the "path" even this time.

second new bike wheel base in progress

I am partway through building a second base with some larger additions. I found myself a replacement loop tool so I should be able to cut the path for the chain more evenly. Since that challenge is apparently taken care of, I decided to make the chain's path more complex. You'll see later if I get it finished. Tomorrow's a holiday, so I better get back to work this morning.

Clay Workshop at Larson Gallery

This weekend I taught a clay workshop at Larson Gallery. We used coils to build vases, and occasionally sculpture, based on Jomon Pottery forms. 

a student's pot in progress

We had a good mix of adults and kids, about 20 people in total. Some people came with families, others  came along or with one other person. It was interesting to see how tables or families built similar work just because they saw each other working.

a family of potters

I talked to the kids about different stages of clay, showing them wet, leather-hard, bone dry and slaked clay. I also brought some examples of coil-built pottery and pictures of Jomon pieces (the images I shared last week on this blog). 

my daughter's portrait of the instructor

Monika Lemmon, a local artist friend, and my daughter both helped out with the workshop. My daughter helped set up and then helped eat the snacks and document the workshop. Monika and I walked around talking to students about what they were building and I showed them several techniques for using coils and applying textures to the wet clay.

a student preparing coils 

At the end of the class students were able to use underglaze colors or some glazes I had brought in. Surprisingly, at least to me, everyone chose to use the underglazes. After the pieces dry a bit, I will spray a clear glaze over some of the pieces.

finished work ready for firing and glazing

Some of the pieces were wet, so I left them at the gallery for a few days until they were dry enough to transport home. I will have pictures of the varied works for a later post. This week they'll dry until I'm ready to fire them and then I will bring the fired pots back to the gallery for students to pick up.

self portrait of feet, apparently

After she got bored making her turtle sculpture, my daughter absconded with my phone to take pictures. The pictures are highly entertaining, giving an interesting view of the world from her lower perspective. She particularly liked taking still life shots of chairs, granola bars and other stationary objects in the gallery.

the new art building is coming along well on the south side of Nob Hill Ave

Jomon Pottery Class

This weekend I will be teaching a clay workshop through Larson Gallery. The class is for kids and families, but unaccompanied adults are also welcome. Last year I taught a clay workshop in which we built ceramic bells. This year I will be focusing on Jomon inspired pots.

Jomon pottery. This piece, or one very similar was used to advertise my workshop

Jomon Pottery comes from the prehistoric Jomon civilization in Japan. The name comes from the rope texture impressed into the wet clay when building, though the most recognizable pots are known for their complex coil surfaces and multilevel decorative rims. The pots were used for cooking, though the more complicated pots with flame shaped rims were likely used for ceremonial cooking rather than purely functional cooking.

look at the inside edge of the farthest "flame"

I often show these pots to both my wheel pottery students and my hand-building classes at YVCC. For the wheel students, I point out the characteristics that make these forms inconvenient for contemporary daily use and ask them to consider how they might have been used in their original context. The bases tend to be narrow compared to the tops. At first this seems like a poor design choice, but remember that these pots weren't set on tables in prehistoric Japan. The pots were often put down into the fire for cooking, so that the base was actually buried. In refreshing my memory on Jomon dates today (the pots I'm talking about are 2500-1500 BCE), I read that some of these forms, particularly earlier forms, actually had rounded or pointed bases, pointing to their function in the earth rather than on a flat surface. (Did you know that ancient greek wine amphorae also had pointed bases? It is because of how they were transported in the bottoms of ships.)

The smooth interior contrasts with the linear swirls and gaps at the top and the complex patterned base

The tops of the elaborate forms are fairly fragile, compared to today's dishwasher safe bowls and microwavable  mugs. Just imagine serving stew out of these forms, there are plenty of places to rest the spoon, but I can imagine clumsy servers would perpetually be bumping their spoons into the sides of the pot.

The surface of this Jomon Pot reminds me of the linear texture and swirling movement of Starry Night by Van Gogh.

I show Middle Jomon Pottery forms to my hand-building classes because they have such interesting surfaces. They are clearly well-crafted for so many to have lasted so long. The coil patterned surfaces and deep textures are varied and interesting. The form of the rims and the surfaces look like contemporary art with their beautiful, expressive designs. Beginning hand-builders often get so caught up in shaping their forms and making them smooth that they are afraid to take risks, like attaching irregular coils. These pots are full of holes and negative spaces built into the rim but also onto the sides of these forms. (The lugs and loops on the sides of these pots look like places to attach rope for hanging or carrying, but I haven't checked my facts and my Ancient Japanese Art History class was more than a decade ago, so don't quote me.)

Late Jomon figurines (dogu) were also highly textured and visually interesting

Sunday at the workshop, I plan to show the students pictures of Jomon pottery, but also bring examples of coil-built forms that aren't specifically Jomon in inspiration or origin. We will focus on coil-building techniques in general and I will also bring some fun tools for creating textures in the wet clay. Jomon pottery will be the inspiration point for pressing materials (like rope) into wet clay and for building interesting surfaces out of coils and attached pieces of clay. I called yesterday to ask about enrollment. It appears the class will include kids age 7 and 12, as well as high schoolers and adults. Should be an interesting mix.

A few things started

Today was tedious writing-stuff day, so I have almost nothing to show for my day's labor except a backache. Oh, you can't see that either, can you? I spent most of the day drafting an essay for an application. I worked for hours on a 2-page essay then discovered, partway into uploading files, that the application essay was limited to 350 words. Thanks for telling us that in the application description, folks. (Why does no one ever give the accurate length in the application description?)

best epoxy ever!

Anyway, I did some stuff yesterday in the studio. I epoxied some colorful metal pieces into the end of this old sculpture that's been waiting about 20 months to be completed. No rush.

this guy is so happy to finally be getting finished

My studio assistant recycled clay for me yesterday so I could start finishing underglazing that was left-over from last year. I had some pre-sabbatical work and some non-bike part sabbatical work that never got finished when I ran out of work time.

partially underglazed work waiting for extra layers to be applied

Most of the work is partly underglazed (oddly, autocorrect wants to change "underglazed" to "underglazes" every time) and needs to be finished. Hopefully I can get that done next week and still have time to start building new work.

almost ready for glazing

After I was done in the studio, my daughter and I painted her Daddy's motorcycle gas tank. I'm not sure if this is what he was looking for. 

my side

her side