Out of the kiln and back home!

I've been waiting for weeks for my life size man sculpture to be fired and yesterday he finally came home with me! My boyfriend came up with me to the studio to help me lug him into my car. He lost a lot of moisture weight in the gas kiln but he was still heavy enough to require two people to transport him. Here are pictures of my guy and the mat of clay I made to accomodate the movement he would make in the process of the temperature increases. It has been an interesting process and just the changes that happen when water based clay dries, heats up and cools down is amazing! He came through the firing pretty well but as you can see a bit from the pictures, he has several cracks in him. Fortunately, the cracks didn't go all the way through the clay. One of the main reasons we hollowed out our sculptures evenly was to prevent cracks. Cracks happen when the thicknesses are uneven. I really tried to be as uniform in the thickness of all areas but there were several places I missed. I will fix these areas with some heavy duty epoxy and mix in some clay grit to mimic the look of the clay: I hope it works! Overall, its been a positive experience and at least he didn't break a part. I think he came out pretty well for the first time doing sculpture this way. Thanks so much for your positive feedback during this process!

Loading the kiln party!

As I type this, mine and my classmates' busts are drying in a medium sized gas kiln. Here we are loading the pieces, very carefully, into it. I mostly stayed out of the way because of my lack of experience with the process. I was impressed with how careful everyone was with every piece, making sure each one fit by measuring the pieces and the space in the kiln. The sculptures were mostly dry but not bone dry in case some part broke. If the pieces were bone dry it would have been almost impossible to fix--fortunately only one finger came off. These sculptures will dry slowly in the closed kiln for about two weeks or until bone dry. Then they will be fired slowly,to prevent air bubbles from expanding and shattering the pieces, over about 16 hours. It will be a high fire so that the pieces will be able to be put outside. I don't plan to keep my sculpture outside but the high fire will make it more durable.

Progress! first post on my sculpture

I finally went out and got a new digital camera--a Canon PowerShot G11! This isn't an ad for this company but I'm really happy with it. I understand the wheels and buttons and its not too big and it can take decent pictures in low light.
Also, now I can take better pictures of my artwork which right now is the flat drawings I've been scratching into clay. I also took pictures of the life size bust I'm making in my sculpture class. I will post pictures of the notes I've been taking each class as well.
I've learned so much during this class and so any questions you have about the process I'll try to answer.

Anticipation of a fabulous class!

I am balancing working towards an art therapy degree and making art. I wanted to be in a psychology course this quarter but that fell through so I pushed to get in to a wonderful sculpture class. I have taken a class with this teacher before and now we will be creating figurative busts. Her own work is amazing and I highly suggest you check out her work, her name is Tip Toland. She does very realistic figures but they aren't the solemn faces they have a mischievous humor peeking out from behind their eyes. Here is a sampling of her people...I apologize for not knowing how to do hyperlinks.

The inspiring sketches of Leonardo da Vinci

I've had a book of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings and sketches ever since I was ten. Looking at them and copying them has taught me a lot as an artist. He was curious about nature and it shows in his drawing style...the spiral lines he uses to draw water makes you think you can hear it rushing by. This spiralling line also shapes his drawings of men and women.

Presenting..AmorandStitch!!

Another wonderful etsyian! Her work reminds me of the tradition of needlework and yet it is definately modern. She blends the bold and the feminine...I hope you will enjoy her work.
1) How long have you been selling on etsy?

Since mid June 2009

2) Do you have advice for etsy newbies?

Do all you can to promote yourself and take a visit to chat as I have met some wonderful people there who have been very helpful. Believe in yourself, the sales will happen!!

3) What are your fave etsy shops and why?
I love ComestibleKid's Shop, as it's got some really funky retro items. I love nearnu, vintagebarcelona because I love vintage wear I own lots of vintage myself and you can never have enough : ) and I love the thinking about who owned it before me, where its been e.t.c


4) What are your fave pieces in your shop and why?

I love my pendants, as they are so unique and I am going to start to create interchangeable art pieces for people to purchase so they can change the look of the pendant. I like the Geisha girl, as she is so beautiful and it took me a long time to create this piece so I don't think I will do another, and Finally I love 'A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child' cushion as it is a lovely way to capture a memory of your newborn or child.

5) What plans do you have for your shop?

I am really enjoying etsy and I plan to continue making and listing, but I also want to create some prints of my art to make cards and art canvas's for the wall. I have also just launched my own website www.amorandstitch.com check it out!

6) How long have you been creating art?

I have been creating art since I was a child, I went from school to college onto university I then worked as an art psychotherapist for 8 years. In that time I discovered the magically link between emotions and art on a much deeper level. I am noe enjoying being a mum of two little people and creating my art.

7) Who are your art heroes?

I love Gustav Klimt,Tretchikoff,Andy Goldsworthy,Jean Micheal Basquit are just a few of art heroes.

8) Where do your ideas come from?

I get inspiration from lots of different areas, but I mostly sit in my garden watching my children playing and make sketches of possible art pieces, so I guess from life.

9) What do you do when you have a creative block?

Read a book, the one I am reading at the moment is 'Angels in my Hair' by Lorna Byrne, is wonderful.

10) What other interests do you have that feed into your art?

I guess my love for vintage, as I like to use vintage images and materials in my work, i am starting a new collection of embroidered postcards next week.

The drama of my apartment figures!

I have lots of figures, action figures,body parts of dolls hanging around my apartment and I was looking at them the other day and took more pics because I was drawn in to their dramas just being next to each other. This isn't a bad idea for a background for art pieces for etsy or any other site. As long as the picture isn't too complicated to look at, it can really draw people in to your work if the surrounding environment is cool.