"What is It REDUX"

So right now I am working on these butterflies that I have created by slip casting lace. To create the form I wanted with the lace I decided to use trim, it was able to hold a shape well and the ends have a nice finished edge. The only downside to this method is that I have individual wings, so in order to create the butterfly form I had to sew two pieces of trim together first. Then I folded/gathered the fabric in the center to fan out the wings, again sewing the middle to hold the butterfly form. Here are some butterflies I made that have just been sewn:

I tried mass production of the butterflies by using a sewing machine, but I discovered that the machine actually ma

kes the bunching too tight, turning the butterflies into flowers. I only dipped the butterflies once because I want to retain as much of the detail of the fabric as possible. I hung the butterflies on a makeshift clothes-line to dry and once dry I dipped them into a clearish glaze and let them dry again before finally loading into the kiln. I also encountered the i

ssue of having enough kiln stilts for the butterflies to rest while in the kiln and I found without them they fire uneven on one side. They are still really beautiful and delicate when fired.

Here's a fired butterfly:

I am really excited to start experimenting with color on the butterflies, I'm experimenting with the mason stains since they cover sort of like watercolor and won't take away from the detail that remains in the wings. I'm not really sure where i want to go next, I have some ideas

that would still consist of me sewing and slip casting. Aesthetically I feel like there is something that in me that wants to linger here and explore a little more into what this process can offer me. This project is my first attempt with slip casting and I really enjoy the incredible thinness of the pieces, more specifically speaking of the idea of butterflies and their delicate nature.

Cool Reads:

I was reading an article on Artnet about high-design skateboards, they commission artists to create the deck designs. The company Mekanism commissioned the "weather" artist Olafur Eliasson for one of their most recent projects. Eliasson created a skateboard entitled "Your Mercury Ocean," in which he turned the flat skateboard into a mirrored and rippled surface, similair to silvery water in motion. This is the only picture that the company showed for it on the website but you get the idea.

This article spoke to me because in high school I started working with skateboards when I fixed up my sector-9 longboard by stripping it and painting it. Since then I've been doing commission works for friends in my spare time/summer. But anyways I think this skateboard is incredible. the fact that it is still wood seems unreal. the manipulation and surface treatment completely transformed the wood.

Recipe:

Top Crater Glaze Recipe Cone 08-04 Oxidation Glaze Material Frit 3134 (Ferro) at 52.1%, Edgar Plastic Kaolin (EPK) at11.1%,Silica (Flint) at 36.8%, Total: 100% Add:Silicon Carbide (100 mesh) 1%

"DIY"

Recipe: Casting Slip to Stick-Em-Up Slip

(recipe by Valerie Zimany)

(Right: Finished piece and work in progress of one of Valerie's pieces. Uses a combination of wheel throwing along with press molding, held together using the Stick-Em-Up Slip.)

1. Pour desired qu

antity of prepared, fluid casting slip into a mortar and pestle, or other suitable container (such as Tupperware and spatula/spoon).

2. Using a syringe or eye-dropper, begin adding flocculant to the casting slip a few drops at a time - i.e. use Epsom

salt solution (made b

y dissolving Epsom salts in water until no more dissolve and crystals form on the bottom), or a commercial glaze suspender such as “Flocs”.

3. Mix the casting slip with pestle while continuing to add flocculant. The slip will begin to thicken dramatically.

4. Stop when the slip has reached a sour-cream-like consistency.

5. Wet down a handful or two of toilet paper in a different container and mix until fibers separate.

6. Strain out approximately 25% of the slip’s volume of toilet paper fiber and mix into the stick-em-up slip.

7. The stick-em-u

p slip is now ready to use, and is advantageous over a simple clay and water mix because the base utilizes casting slip (low water to clay ratio = less shrinkage), is durable in the green state (

because of the added paper fiber), and will have a slight melt when fired giving a strong attachment.

(I haven't tried this yet but I'll update everyone if I end up using it to let you know how successful it worked)

Artists of Interest:

Jordy Fu

I stumbled upon designer/artist Jordy Fu. More specifically his work with recycled cut paper. His sculptures are very organic and delicate looking. The translucency of the paper creates beautiful contrast of lights and dark that add a lot of dimension to the work. I wonder if it would be possible to create a similar effect if I were to thinly slip cast with porcelain?

Valerie Zimany

This is the artist I mentioned earlier with the stick-em-up slip recipe. Her current works are referred to as wall reliefs. She prefers to work with porcelain for its lightweight quality. They remind me of fungus or barnacles, having a very earthy or natural orientation to their forms. I am most drawn to the piece in the top left, the flowing organic nature that winds around creating almost a cellular structure is really beautiful.

Artist Feedback:

(hopefully I'll have time to add more of my comments but for now here are a few)

Elise: This piece spoke of a darker nature, the skeletal structure makes up what appears to be human ribs, although it doesn't read as bone. I like the use of melted soap to create this residue that covers. The soap actually changed the surface of the clay. I know that the clay was fired and dry but now it looks wet again and also moist. It actually worked well because the floor happens to mach the same color.

Abby: another dark piece except the gross/gory factor is front and center. It looks like something straight out of a horror movie. Like if a person was soaked with acid and all that's left is a residue of some ribs and puddle of organ matter, tissues and flesh. The acidic green liquid seeping out of the piece is what I would imagine stomach acid looks like. The liquid really made the piece seem like it belonged there.

The Surround

So my first project attempt was a bust. I had technical problems with the execution. I've switched my thinking to work on a new slip casting project, but I think I have revised my plan for my original idea, which now also will involve slip casting.

I found this outdoor installation piece entitled "Garden" by Mary Mckenzie. The ambiguous flower forms speak to the flower slip-cast forms that I am currently working on.

Also her use of glass in the pieces is quite beautiful and might be something that I am interested in experimenting with in my forms.

Dreams...

I don't really remember too much from my dreams, usually it's more like a lingering feeling of some sort that I remember. For example I have this one dreams that I kind of remember because I think that It's been recurring that's why it feels so familiar. I am standing on grass in one spot and it feels like I've been there forever kind of like I'm stuck and then I start sinking, deeper and deeper. I try to grab onto things to pull myself out but they just keep breaking. And just when I give up and suffocation seems inevitable I fall out of the sinking earth and find myself standing in the same spot when the dream started. Then I wake up. Wierd.

Visual Memories...

Like I said earlier I live at the beach in the summer. I like to think that I have a very intimate relationship with the ocean. It has magical calming and relaxation powers! Sometimes when I'm upset I like to meditate and think of the smell of the salt air and the water lapping against the sand. The feel of the water when it rushes up and meets your toes for the first time or how it ripples between your fingers as you run them through the waves. It's interesting how retrieving what are visual memories brings other sensory triggers like touch and smell.

Studio Practice

This summer I was at the beach with limited space for storage so my practice continued through drawing, watercolor painting, and sand sculpture. The sand sculptures really got me interested in texture and patterns. This semester I plan to incorporate my new ideas with my current theme of humans relating and coexisting with nature. My first piece is going to be more of a sculptural one. It's inspired by nature along with some of my ideas that have transfered over from painting.

I was searching the web for different

artists who deal with texture in their work, more specifically tree like forms. I stumbled upon Bonnie Belt a ceramic artist from California. I was intrigued by her delicate bonsai trees and her use of texture on the branches.

http://www.investinthearts.com/bonniebelt.shtml

Another artist that I've been looking at for inspiration is Pamela Anderson. She is another ceramic sculpture artist who creates forms inspired by nature. The texture created by shape is really wonderful and the forms are definately inspired by natural elements, which is a common theme to my work at the moment.

http://www.pamelasunday.com/sculptures.htm