Stepping up to the threshold

Life's been super busy. And I've done that on purpose. I haven't had a chance to just sit down and write on this thing or even update with simple images. In addition I haven't updated the blog because I haven't had anything worth updating it with. The Anagama stuff was sort of a barsetter as far as my sculptural work, is concerned, and everything past those has sort of felt like an echo, or a doodle. I haven't felt as though there was something worth conveying, which has been troubling. The Anagama work was a life-changing event, and it has been hard to follow that up. Furthermore I'm in the deepest point of self-transformation that I don't quite know who I am or even where I am going, so I've been unsure and uninspired. My illustrations outside of work haven't kept my attention long enough for me to get them to a point of being complete.

I did this guy last night though, as I've decided recently to go heavily back into figurative work

More of a character sketch to get me warmed up than anything, but whatever, he makes me laugh.


This was a piece I made a couple weeks back, and I'm particularly happy with how the hands came out. I woodfired it in Clayworks' Noborigama, which killed it, I'm afraid. Such metallic, shiny surface treatment has seemed to injure the feel of the figurative work. I've tried glazes in the past, but I haven't found one that has complemented my style yet, and I don't think I will. The best, by far, has been the Anagama treatment.

I don't think that, if I continue down the figurative sculpture path, I'll ever be able to not fire in anagama for the finish. I'm definitely going to be doing figurative work. The last week or so has been rough for me, for a variety of reasons I'm not going to get into. That broke, however, last night when I began to do some more thinking. Freshman-year me would scoff, but I've begun to realize how important critically analyzing oneself is towards making fulfilling artwork. So I'm in research mode right now, and I've begun to formulate a couple of ideas of themes and elements to spit out and re-arrange and re-examine, and I'm energized.

I think I'm done with thrown work, for now. I can't justify using them to myself, unless they are purely functional, and I've got plenty of mugs and bowls. I think its high time I got good at sculpting the female form, and its time for me to discover wood again.

Thats it for now. No hints about the themes, I'm still figuring that all out myself

Its going to be an exciting winter!