Studio Update: Week of 11/27- 12/3

This was my final week in the studio for a while as I prepare to spend some time in Georgia for a surgery. On Monday I drove home for a pre-opp apointment and then drove back to Indiana on Tuesday. My main goal for this week was to get my sculpture glazed for my crtique on Wednesday, which I loaded into the kiln on Sunday morning. This is the first sculpture I've made in a while and it was really interesting to see how my time spent decorating small functional ware has influenced the way I planned and decorated this sculpture. It's also the first sculpture I've created in years thats just a sculpture, no hidden function. I'm trying to give myself the space and freendom to just create without the bounds of function. I can make a sculpture whose only purpose is to be a sculpture, and that is not a freedom I have allowed myself before. The critique went well and I am left with a lot to consider as I spend the next month at home recovering. I have some books and informational sheets on overglaze applications. I have also been seriously considering moving to a white stoneware for my clay body. Within the past 6 months, the use of color has become increasingly more important than the clay body itself and I think a white clay body would give me a lot more freedom for vibrant colors and nonproblematic glaze research. Overglazes also work best with white clay bodies, and I am considering using overglaze to outline my patterns rather than scraffito. I also want to create more sculptures and the dark clay body I am currently is just, frankly, too finicky to handbuild with. Even with large amounts of grog added it puts up too much of a fight. I am really excited to take a step back for a month and do lots of research, sketching and thinking.

Image 1: Finsihed Sculpture titled " Play To Lose"

Image 2: Detail shot