Progress Report

With the end of summer nearing, I though I would assess my progress in the studio this summer. I needed to take a break this week and needed to finish work with a batch of extruded hollow forms before the pieces dried out. After my short break, I will start working again but with different clay (I've been working with leftover clay that isn't great for throwing on the wheel). 

I guess this piece could hang on the wall

Earlier this summer I outlined what I would like to accomplish during the summer and during my sabbatical. My somewhat ambitious plan for my show in January calls for a wall installation of 100 bulb forms and second wall installation of roughly 30 to 60 forms (of varying sizes). I wanted to make 6 large and 4 small pieces with significant inclusion of bike parts as well as 10 pieces that have movable parts, though I didn't note whether the latter would include bike parts. My notes also indicate an idea for display of the pieces from my Mini-Sculpture Project last year and 3-5 other pieces (ones that aren't wall pieces or bike part pieces or installation pieces).

extruded and pinch built form with sprigs

Anyone who has ever been near me before a show knows I tend to follow a cycle of panic about not having enough work, usually followed by the realization that I have quite a lot. Of course, having more work than needed allows one to edit.

my very careful list of work made this summer (so far)

As I was finishing up the last few pieces from this week, I looked around the studio and did a quick tally. I have 44 bulbs in various stages of drying and glazing as well as 14 other pieces drying or fired. One piece is still being formed (actually drying so I can work some more) as I write this.

bike parts will attach at the closest indent and at the circle near the top of the picture

I have 6 new wall pieces formed this summer and close to 30 made before this year. I have 6 pieces that incorporate bike parts (two which double as wall pieces), but none on the scale of my work from last year. I also have 4 extra pieces with no moving parts, bike parts or wall hanging mechanism. Obviously I need to channel my energies to bike parts next.

small piece to attach to large piece via bike part

One difficulty I have had in the last few weeks is my decreasing collection of bike parts. Last year I was sent 100 SRAM bike parts before I began the project. Having the bike parts gave me some flexiblity, but the constraints of the project also required me to use at leas 25 parts in one sculpture. The requirements of the project imposed useful limitations on form and size, which actually helped me focus my efforts.

one bike part in place (temporarily), the other to be added later

This summer I've been sort of waiting to get the "right" bike parts and have been working at a smaller scale because of the clay, the parts and the mess in my studio. I do have some other mechanical parts that I should be utilizing and when I start the new batch of clay I think I will give myself some ground rules that tightly constrain what I am "required" to use in the next projects.

another "pea pod"

The prospect of not going back to school this fall is an interesting one. I believe I got off to a slower start in the studio because of the yawning expanse of time opening up before me. Though I have worked steadily this summer, I have also taken time off and I've spend a depressingly large proportion of my time finishing work from last summer or dealing with other things that need to get done.

wall hanging piece

I have seen a difference in my work in the past week or two compared to the first pieces I made this summer. I am much happier with this work and feel better about most of the forms and some of the ways I am experimenting with incorporating the non-ceramic parts.

I can't remember if this guy hangs on the wall

Last summer I dove directly into building the bike part pieces, and while I am happy with the pieces, I didn't get a lot of change to test the fit of the bike parts before they were ready to be attached. I just had to wing-it, estimating shrinkage and hoping that things would fit after firing. This time around, I will have 7 or 8 pieces to start putting together (and testing for shrinkage and fit) before the sabbatical officially begins.

one bike part and some gear sprigs

Split Canvas, Mini-Sculpture Project and Bulbs

You can tell it's been a rough week when your chair breaks. Apparently director's chairs are not designed to be used as leverage for photographing work from above.

I finally finished up firing (most) of my work from last Spring's Daily Mini Sculpture Project. Making the work is a lot more fun than is glazing and firing the work. The pieces are so small that I had several shelves with a couple dozen pieces on each level. Most of the pieces had to be stilted because they were glazed all around with no specific foot or base.

  

pitcher plant

flossers pressed into wet clay

eating a book?

I've also been firing and under-glazing my bulbs for next year's installation. I have fired most of the 3 or so I worked on a few weeks ago. I've under-glazed about half of these.

bulbs after firing (top left has been partially under-glazed

first layer of under-glaze fired on bulbs

Sprigs and Stamps

My sculptural work almost always utilizes homemade sprigs and stamps for surface decoration, but it occurred to me last week that I've never actually written a full explanation of how these tools are made. I refer to them in passing and I have made a video demonstrating the technique but never a full explanation here on the blog.

a piece with layered sprigs (yellow and green) and stamped texture (red)

Stamps

A stamped effect can be achieved with most anything one can find, including sticks, pen caps, toys, toothpicks and any number of clay tools. I have boxes of such materials around the studio and am constantly collecting interesting bits of detritus to use in my studio from around the house, in the yard or  while out on a walk with my family.

stamped impressions from a mechanical pencil and a Handi-Snacks stick

Stamps can also be made out of clay. Just like any bit of material can be impressed into the wet clay to create a texture, any bit of material can be impressed into wet clay that is then fired and used as a stamp itself. Fired clay, which is technically called ceramic once it has undergone a chemical change inside the kiln, is stronger than unfired clay and can be pressed into wet or leather-hard clay over and over gain without cracking or deteriorating. 

impressing a ceramic stamp into leather-hard clay

A ceramic stamp fired to a relatively low temperature is also porous, meaning that it absorbs some of the water from the wet clay into which it is impressed. The wet clay shrinks enough to pull away from the ceramic stamp easily. A plastic stamp might stick to the wet clay, causing an imperfect transfer of the stamp's texture.

this stamp was made from repeatedly pressing the end of a pen or similar tool into pinched wet clay

Sprigs
Sprigs are basically small molds that can be used to shape wet clay into desired textures. I use sprigs to quickly (ok, relatively quickly, I can spend hours adding sprigs to one piece) recreate complex textures that I then layer or arrange onto my sculptural surfaces. Sometimes I fill a surface with sprigs, sometimes I alternate sprigs and impressed (stamped) textures, and sometimes I juxtapose sprigs or stamped textures with smooth surfaces or non-ceramic additions.

long sprigs made from pea pods

Clay sprigs work well for the same reasons that clay stamps work well. The wet clay retains the details of what was used to make it. I often make my sprigs by pressing clay onto organic materials including oranges and strawberries which would not hold up well over long use. 

sprig made from the end of a strawberry

The fired ceramic sprigs are strong and porous, allowing them to be used over and over again without breaking. Sometimes if I use a sprig mold for too long, I need to let it dry because it has become saturated with moisture and wet clay starts to stick to the wet ceramic.

pressing wet clay into a sprig mold

Using the sprigs is very simple. I simply press wet clay into the mold. If I were to leave the clay alone, the sprig would absorb the moisture, causing the clay to shrink and pop out of the mold. I usually score the back of the clay while it is in the mold and either pry out the wet clay or press the clay and sprig mold onto whatever I want to decorate.

using a scoring tool to remove the wet clay sprig from the ceramic sprig mold

The wet clay pressed into the mold retains much of the texture and shape of the sprig mold in reverse.

wet clay sprigs can be added onto wet or leather-hard clay 

I find that the change in material and texture, as well as color, changes viewers' associations with otherwise familiar textures. People often do not always recognize the sprigs as strawberries or oranges when they are flattened and layered in clay and glaze on my abstract sculptural forms

the completed form with sprigged decoration

Making a Sprig

Making a sprig mold is as simple as using it. This is probably why I have overflowing drawers full of sprigs all around my studio. I often choose to make sprigs from whatever natural and manufactured materials I come across, figuring it is easy to make them now and decide later, after they are fired, whether they will be useful.

wet clay ball

I start with a piece of wet clay, that I roll into a smooth ball. I usually press this ball into a small bowl using my thumbs or fingers to alter the shape. Depending what materials I am pressing the clay onto, I may need a different size or shape ball or bowl of clay.

pinching a wet clay "bowl"

I then carefully press the ball or bowl of clay onto whatever I wish to use to make the sprig. After the sprig has been fired, it will be used to create a smaller, monochromatic version of whatever it was that formed the mold.

preparing to push the wet clay bowl onto a pinecone

On something like a pinecone, both ends and the side can be used to make three different sprigs, or more. It is important to choose materials that do not have undercuts. If the clay used to make the sprig mold has to wrap around the original material, it will have to be bent back or broken to remove it.

pressing the wet clay onto the pinecone

If a form does have an undercut, sometimes I will simply pry off the wet clay from an undercut, leaving the resulting shape altered by the motion of pulling it away. Other times I will rock the mold back and forth slightly to make a wider impression than the original shape. I also rock the clay slightly to create a wider opening if the original material has very straight walls. Regardless, the clay mold must be removed from the original material or it may crack while it dries or be impossible to remove later.

peeling the clay sprig from the pinecone

It is also important to keep the rim (the exposed edge of the sprig) relatively thick so it is less likely to crack before firing or during use. This rim also creates a logical edge for excess clay to be removed during forming.

completed sprig (before firing)

After shaping, the sprigs dry pretty quickly. I usually fire them to cone 08 or 06 (though sometimes I fire them in an 04 glaze firing if that's what is in the kiln). I have made sprigs as big as 3 inches wide and as small as the end of a Sharpie pen. I rarely wash the sprigs, but they can be scrubbed clean if clay starts to stick inside them.

sprigs and the original materials used to create them

Flossers, Bulbs and Safety Wiring

Over the last week or two, I worked on more forms than the bulbs I mentioned in my previous post. Since my sabbatical work is supposed to deal with incorporating non-ceramic mechanical parts into my ceramic forms, I thought I should get started as soon as possible.

flossers in the neck of a ceramic form

A few weeks ago I stopped by Revolution Cycles in Yakima to beg for bike parts for my project. They kindly agreed to collect parts for me and call me when they have collected some. While waiting for the parts to accrue, I played around with some other non-ceramic objects I have around the house, including some kids flossers. I'm not sure about the neon colors, but I like the shape of this particular batch of flossers.

I cut the holes wider and taller than the part of the flosser I will insert because the clay will shrink during firing.

As I plan next year's show, I want to have several levels of mechanical, man-made support with some pieces more supported or embellished, and others more focused on the clay itself and the organic forms without added "support." With this in mind, I have been making sprigged surfaces that use both mechanical and organic molds and which leave room for non-ceramic pieces to "cameo".

Sprigged decoration made from bike parts and bolts. One real bolt is in place during forming and there is space visible for another to be attached later. 

I am envisioning some forms that will be mostly clay and mostly organic, but even in the mostly clay sections or pieces, I want to camouflage a small quantity of non-ceramic materials. My vision of the work is that the non ceramic elements, particularly the mechanical pieces are prostheses for the organic forms and that the forms are gradually evolving to be more mechanical.

The non-ceramic elements will be attached after firing and glazing.

This idea of a gradation between mechanical and organic is also influencing my planning of the bulb pieces for the wall installation. These pieces will relate to the standing forms in the exhibition. Most of the bulbs are entirely clay, but a few will have non-ceramic elements added in. Several have sprigged additions that are made from mechanical molds.

bulbs dyring

My husband came home the other day while I was working on a bulb with sprigged attachments made from a mold of an airplane bolt. He suggested that he could safety wire the bolt sprig after firing. My husband builds hydraulic actuators for airplanes and safety wiring the bolts is something he does at work. I like the idea of wiring the bolt to make the bulb more reminiscent of a functional mechanical part.

form with "organic" and mechanical visual elements

Press Mold Bulbs

One of the potential problems with writing a blog about my process in the studio is that much of my day to day work is pretty repetitive. Yesterday I make almost a dozen pieces, but each one was made using a press mold of the same form. So, basically, this is what I did all day.

I have a couple plaster molds I made years ago to simplify the process of forming these "bulbs."

I pushed a thin layer of clay into both sides of the two-part molds, which are keyed to line up the halves together.

I added a layer of dark slip to the interior of both sides before closing the mold.

I scored and slipped the edges of both pieces of clay before pushing the molds together. Roughing up the edges and adding liquid clay (slip) helps the two pieces of clay to stick together inside the closed mold.

Once the two halves of the mold are together, the porous plaster absorbs some of the moisture from the wet clay, causing the clay pieces to shrink inside the mold and pull away from the wall of the mold slightly.

When the mold is opened up, the "bulb" form should pop out easily.

The seam is visible and needs to be smoothed, but the form is strong and can be decorated and altered. Lather, rinse, repeat.

My goal this summer is to form and fire 100 bulbs to use for a wall installation in a show next year. I've formed roughly a third of the pieces I need to make. I am waiting for most of the pieces to dry and be fired. I have two more in the mold drying right now.

an older iteration of my "bulb" installation