Mold making part 2

We opened up our molds today, drilled wholes, prepared the surface and glued everything together for our bronze pour tomorrow. 

negative space and the body

In terms of looking at my sculptural practices in relationship to the body I think I am most interested in studying negative space and using the work to frame the space. Often what is not included eludes to the artist's hand and the body. (The spoon piece is by Jac Scott, the floor piece is Ghada Amer, and the large outdoor piece is by Tony Smith)

The Armory Show

On Friday my ceramics class along with the painting and photo students took a trip to NYC. We visited the Whitney Biennial and the Armory show. It was a lot of art for one trip. I wish we had more than one day to experience it all. The art at the Armory show was organized by the galleries, which left for a very crammed and eclectic environment making it difficult to appreciate each piece individually. Here are just a few of the works that stuck out at the Armory show. I will post more in a folder.

Mold making photos from the Foundry

The Arch

I am trying to relate my current ceramic work to the body and scale. I hope to balance eroded bricks in the shape of an arch that would be large enough for the viewer to step under, if they dared. I need to figure out how to balance the arch post firing. All I know about arches is that the keystone is essentially, beyond that I may have to enlist my engineering buddies to help me with this ambitious endeavor. I am looking at all different methods of building, my only criteria is that I don't use mortar or adhesive of any kind. 

This is from the DeCordova sculpture park and museum in Lincoln, MA. It is in a beautiful area in the woods. My boyfriend took me here last fall and I can't wait to go back and see it in the spring. The sculptures range from figurative statues, to asian inspired architectural pieces, to abstract flat planes, to a quirky giant pig. This is a place I could visit over and over again. I find it really refreshing to experience art outside the museum within a beautiful environment. They also sell a lot of ceramics tools for a good price in their shop.

Ceramics: Macro structures

I am starting a new project in my hand-building class. My ceramics work this year has been very direct and process-based. I am still struggling to find one cohesive form and idea for this project. I wanted to use tools to create a visual day by day account of my work in varying tooling methods and processes. After sketching, brainstorming and changing my mind several times I think I am going to explore macro and micro building blocks/structures. I wanted to create a carefully balanced piece that has been tooled to the point of almost collapse, the trick is not to let it collapse as most of my work has this semester. I constantly find myself reworking my pieces last minute, despite weeks of hard work. Right now I am looking at ruins and other man made structures to inform the macro half of the piece. 

These were taken in Central Square in Cambridge, MA.

Describing a place

In reviewing the different topics and themes in my photographic work recently, I have been able to see how my eye changes and becomes more sensitive to the different spacial qualities of each location. This may reiterate the comment Jonathan posted recently about my work. I try to capture not only the space when I photograph a place, but the energy and the atmosphere. I am not trying to recreate a scene, but describe a place and a feeling, like a painter but within a series of photographs.

Room to explore

Being in such a remote area here at Alfred has given me the opportunity to explore a vast environment. There are endless woods and wildlife. I am still scared of hitting a deer with my car whenever I drive around Alfred. I have been able to explore trails, old abandoned houses and broken cars covered in brush. The space and vacancy here is so different from my experience growing up in Cambridge, which is filled with people and businesses constantly moving and being replaced.