09/26/2011
Clay Exploration I
Clay is a medium I am native to. I have worked with it
on and off for the past twenty years. Each time I return to the studio after
having been away for a while, I begin with a ritual that I trace back to my very
first class in clay; I make pinch pots. So for the first clay exploration, I
closed my eyes and pinched, pushed, pulled and squeezed out the form of a tiny
pinch pot. I was not able to keep my eyes closed for any longer than a minute max. When I opened them I stared out at the crude construction in my hands and cleaned them up a bit before moving on to the next one. After repeating this process several times I felt sufficiently reacquainted
with the tactility of the clay.
Clay Exploration II
For the second exploration, I took a slab of clay and cut
it into 31 pieces. Then I hand-pressed those tiny blocks into imperfect balls
or lumps. I stacked most of them into a mound formation. Some of the rest were
hand-rolled into long cords and pulled apart into many thin pieces. Next, these
pieces were rolled into tiny spikes, which were then adhered to the egg-shaped lumps
of clay. After the spikes were
attached, I stretched the egg-shaped base of clay into an unrecognizable shape.
The resulting forms were something entirely new and strange.
Clay Exploration III
The purpose of the third exploration was to experiment with ways of making holes in one’s piece of clay. Following the prompts, I squeezed, stretched and smoothed the surface at the bottom of a pinch pot until it had become so thin that it just cracked. I then lifted the piece slowly with my index finger until the hole formed, at first resembling a cracking egg. Then as the wall around the hole was stretched further it began to take on the form of a splashing drop of lava, frozen in time. After that, I attached the two pots along the lip forming an elliptical shape. I sealed the bond by scraping and smoothing a thin coil into the surface along the length of the seam.
Photos of Clay Exploration
