Studio Update: Week of 3/31- 4/6/24

The coming weeks are filled with a good mix of studio work as well as computer work as I prepare my portfolio for upcoming applications. I have been working on the largest sculpture I have made to date and that has come with some new learning curves. Initially I was going to build it all in one piece, with heavy supports in the base, but after talking with some studio mates I decided to change my game plan and build it in three separate pieces. This will allow for better ease of transportation, shipping, and less logistics to think through as far as weight support and drying times are concerned. It does bring about new challenges though as I have to figure out how these pieces are connected post firing. I want the feet of my bird attachment to go in a very specific spot so I mapped it out with a paper template that I can refer back to when the pieces are separated. I build support rods on my base form to line up with the holes in the bottom of the attachments so that they can lock into place post firing. I got pretty far into building the bird character this week but that definitely

had its challenges as well. For starters, I didn't like how wide the but and belly region had got as I was concerned about slumping in the bisque firing. A lot of this was due to the weight of the sculpture causing the shape to change slightly. To troubleshoot, I cut the body off from the legs with the plan to reattach one it firmed up more. This would allow me to dart the belly and but region and get the shape I wanted on the bird's body. I used foam cut outs to support it during this time. Later in the week I discovered that the bird legs were not going to be thick enough to support the weight of the sculpture so I cut them off and rebuilt them as thicker, sturdier structures. Instead of carving to create the ripples in the legs I added coils. By the end of the week I was feeling pretty good about the sculpture but a little nervous about the balance of it and it's ability to support itself. I needed to wait until the right time to reattach everything and I decided it would be best to get the full body made and sculpted before I tried to reattach the legs. This would not be something that would happen this week.

Other events this week included some really scary weather in the area. I have never experienced any real threats from tornados before moving here and they freak me out every time! Brian cancelled class on Thursday do to some impeding tornado alerts but of course some of us were still in the studio. I feel safer there than my apartment anyways. Kade however thought it was a good day to load and brick up the soda kiln so when the weather started getting crazy, we were scrambling out into the storm to cover up the door to the soda kiln. I guess that's one way to test your dedication, in a high risk situation do you protect yourself or your art? There was a couple tornados that touched down so we spent the rest of the night holed up in the studio. Kade wheeled their table back next to my studio and we worked on our sculptures with the weather report on in the background.

On a non art related note, I'm trying to get into gardening! I planted some seeds and most of them are trying to sprout. It's been a refreshing thing to focus my energy on to in moments of burn out. Catch me this summer with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.

Image 1: The base of the sculpture with the foot attachments

Image 2: The butt

Image 3: The belly

Image 4. Kade is hiding in the wood kiln during the tornado

Image 5: Some garden starts!