Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Yin , Yang

 "Yin Yang"is the name of this ceramic wall hanging . It is a symbol I think we have all seen, and maybe wondered about.
 In Chinese philosophy and art, the yin is the female element, which stands for darkness. The yang is the male element , the source of life and heat. The two sides are curved and the circle cannot be complete without the other half. Also, you can see a smaller circle of the the opposite color inside each half. Very harmonious, isn't it?
 There is the obvious  interpretation of male and female fitting nicely together. There is an element  of  each of us inside the other, those x and y chromosomes I guess.
Artistically is seems to me to be a really lovely form. Curved lines bring the eye in and out, always going around to where we started.There is that little element of the dark in the light to jar us a bit and make us take notice .
 This piece measured about 10" across.I chose to use a low fire technique so that I could get the white to have that lovely crackle effect. It is achieved by taking a very hot piece out of the kiln, and  quickly into a container with paper or wood to sort of shock it. If it doesn't break, then voila, you have the glaze forming tiny cracks which fill up with the black smokey color. This creates a more exciting look than just a flat white glaze, I think.  Looking at my creation I am reminded about how everything is interconnected, and how very intriguing that is in both life and art.

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