Creating with My New Dremel

 

What fun it is working with my new Dremel! My fellow gardeners and  myself are creating table decorations with stones from our own  properties. Our conventions are coming up soon, in April. There will be gardeners from both the State and the Pacific Regions, including our own Sedona Area Garden Club. There are demonstrations, classes, and well known experts in their fields. I went two years ago and learned new techniques and information, as well as meeting very interesting people from other locations in our state. 

 However, not everyone knows about our state's natural beauty and historical petroglyphs and pictographs. The former are carved into the rocks: the latter are painted on.  We were inspired to try to reproduce some designs from the petroglyphs found around Sedona, where I live and create, as well as the many ruins in our Verde Valley . We are talking about art that could be as much as 1,000 years old.  

As I tried to hold my hand steady with my electric tool ( that really does not like to go in circles) , I wondered, "What were the tools the Ancient ones used; what did these symbols actually mean; what was the intention of those people: and especially, How the heck could they carve into these hard surfaces by hand ??". These   images are found not only near Sedona, but in many locations in the west. 

It was very humbling to create figures as exacting  as these images we were emulating.  I am impressed and will always wonder about the methods used and meanings of their creations. These are some of my results that my cool tool helped me create. 

The Horse Box

Writing about my kitty box made me realize that I really do like to put animals on my artwork. This piece is entitled the " Horse Box", and is a handmade porcelain container, with lid. It  measures about seven by ten inches, with tail and mane. For this vessel I chose a red and celadon green color scheme. Who says my critters can't be any color I choose to make them? Naturally, being a horse, it has to have a tail and mane, and what better material to use than the real thing? I do like to make art that can make the viewer smile. 
When I recently redid my website, at www.claywrite.com
I put in a section entitled Masks and Folk Art. I consider folk art to be about things in everyday life, often created in a somewhat primitive style. I went to look up a better definition in my art history books, and I could not find one. So this is my definition and my Horse Box  is an example of  my folk art. 
Comments? 

The blue green

The blue green of the ocean; of nature; of my ceramics. Color is something that  reaches out to people, I have noticed. First there is a recognition of the form, but a visceral reaction comes from the color we are seeing. I guess it can bring up a mood; a memory; reflection, or something that hopefully makes us feel better from that visual. If a person sees my bowl  and smiles, well then we have that first connection.The second connection is when they buy it, the ultimate compliment for an artist.  

 I hope they are also admiring the shape and all the little decorative touches I have added to my porcelain configuration.The rough exterior with the brownish stain adds another color, but also works to contrast that turquoise hue. 

In the art world, one must have a signature to their work, a recognizable  style. This is one of the things a gallery wants in order to carry your work.That way, people have an idea of what that artist is known for, and how to find them.  I think this shape, and especially this color, is one of  my signature pieces. It does not displease me. I like the color and feeling of my blue green  ceramics. You can even call it turquoise! Enjoy.

Beaded Jewelry

I like making beaded jewelry. I especially like it with my handmade porcelain beads. Here is a sample of the three different colors I use in creating my long necklaces. I call the colors, moss green; earth brown; and denim blue.I like to intersperse the beads with chunks of crystal, and a colored stone, such as tiger eye with the browns, or some complimentary native stone. The necklaces measure about thirteen inches in length. That means you can just slip them over your head without worrying about some tiny little troublesome fastener. I really like a necklace to be a either longer version, or a short choker. That in between length doesn't show off very well. In between has never been my style. 
Each bead is rolled out by hand, cleaned, and then fired in the bisque firing. I like to have the small beads about one half an inch in length, and the larger ones at least an inch.  Since I make each one individually, there is always the human variability in size and length. That is part of its one of a kind ambiance. I like porcelain clay, because  of its white color, smooth surface, and how well it takes a stain. I use an oxide for the color, and fire it with my larger vessels in a high temperature. As I often tell people in the gallery
 " This jewelry will last longer than we will". Think of what we glean from ancient civilizations. Usually, it is some  form of clay vessel or adornment. I wonder where my jewelry will end up in the distant future?  

Another View of Small

I am not quite ready to leave the wonderful world of miniatures yet. I found this picture which shows the size of the small vase  in relation to my hand, which isn't really very large.  Someone once commented I have the hands of workman. Well, I guess I do. I can't have long nails or I rip the clay, or  tickle the hand that holds the pen. I am always playing with mud, water, ink or watercolors. Lily white hands I do not have. It isn't all bad to be able to do all the fun things I liked as a kid and have people pay me for them. I digress.
When you look at this vase you can really see the details I added: small clay coils; tiny balls of porcelain: feathers; a turquoise stone. This was not a wheel thrown piece, but rather a hand built construction. After forming the two sides, I joined them together, then added height to the  neck for style and symmetry. Since it is a one of a kind piece, I wanted to add those special touches that make it an individual V.Norton ceramic artwork, however diminutive. 
 As we get older;as we move; as we cannot afford a large space, perhaps having a tiny piece of art fills a lot of needs in today's crowded world.  

Miniature Vase

My last blog was on my flower bowl and how much I like flowers. This picture is of a carved, miniature vase with a few blossoms within.Still a flower vessel.
 It is a wheel thrown piece, and doesn't even measure four inches tall.The bottom is all hand carved, and then an oxide  is applied. This seems to make a nice contrast with my turquoise glaze, and it is a  trademark style of mine. Actually, this is pretty big for a technical "miniature". I think the scale is one inch would be one foot. So instead of a four foot vessel, you get something you can hold in your hand and put on a tiny shelf.
 I enjoy making smaller pieces. They fit my need for precious, help fill the odd spaces in the kiln,and are easy for the travelling customer. In high fire ceramics,  everything you create in going to shrink, from fifteen to twenty percent. Usually the problem is that  I haven't made it big enough to start with, and the end result is not the anticipated. With my small creations, I do not have to stress the end result because it comes out  as it is meant to be. Good feeling, when what we do comes out just fine because we aren't worried about a precise ending. This is a nice thought to carry into life. 
Comments?  

A Friend

This  piece of calligraphy I printed and then added the original water color background. It is titled " A Friend", and the words speak   to me. What a wonderful feeling to have  someone with  whom we can share our feelings and ideas and feel heard. As the poem by this  unknown author writes,"knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away." 
I so like that image. How nice not have to be so careful about our words because we feel we are accepted.That is such a basic need. We all like to hang out with those who like us, don't we?  In the art world there is an expression " a friend of the arts",i. e. a supporter or patron. I certainly like those who enjoy and buy my work. It is a positive affirmation of myself and what I create.My observation is that someone who gets to meet or know an artist does feel a closer connection to what they buy. Often they choose to take that feeling, as well as the creation, home with them.So the term friend has a lot of meanings. These are my thoughts for today. 

The Ceramic Cross

I sold a ceramic cross similar to this one today. It also  had a piece of turquoise on it, and measured about eight inches in height. The cross  was a sacred symbol in many ancient religions, consisting basically of two intersecting lines.I think this history inspired me with  the shape of the curves that I like to use at the end of this piece and others. This  well known  Christian representation is a part of our culture and others all around the world.  
I  got into making the cross as an art form after my last trip to Mexico. There it is taken to higher dimensions of making the common uncommon.I saw them made of wood; ceramics; bottle tops hammered onto two crossed sticks. There was a total variety of how to take a known form and give it a whole new incantation.
I work in clay so that is where my imagination went. How to make something that has beauty in its form and color, and yet is a bit different?  I like to use the low fired colors because they seem more modern than some of my high fire glazes. Like my masks, the cross is fired in the kiln, glazed in the brighter low fires colors, and then given a primitive final firing to get that antique crackle look. I  like to add some decoration, or an adornment, to what I create.  This  is my style, according to some who know me. It's true. I do like to add an embellishment to make the clay sing out to the viewer.
Comments? 

Creating the Mug

It occurred to me that my readers might be interested in seeing what form  that basic cylinder I threw became. So here is a picture of the mug I created from that straight up and down cylinder. 
Until last year, I hadn't made mugs in a long while. Economic necessity is a great creative force. When you look closely you can see how many  details  are involved in this basic shape. You have to trim it, always clean and re-clean,and  then add the handle.That is a separate pulled piece of clay with a certain curve to it. I like a handle that can fit any hand, with a substantial curve. I enjoy adding  a little decorative coil on the upper rim. It serves a function and  adds my  personal style. Then it gets fired the first time until it vitrifies in the bisque firing. Only then can I put on the glaze. I like a clear color inside so the liquid shows up.The final touch is my temperamental turquoise glaze. Always is a bit of variation in this color. There is also shrinkage, up to fifteen or more percent, to take into the equation.I like to use porcelain as my clay because it takes the color so beautifully. Since it is high fired, it can take the heat or the teapot or the microwave. Function in beauty. 
Writing this really gives me an appreciation for all the work I put into this most basic of forms. I applaud all makers of mugs out there! 
Your thoughts?

Throwing a Pot

I have been  throwing pots on my wheel for the past few days. I guess it is called that because you throw your ball of clay onto  the  center of the wheel and start from there.  A bit of ceramic terminology for you. Here is a picture of my hand in the cylinder I just made.The object is to take the round ball of clay and push it upward with your fingers to achieve the height you want.One finger is on the inside for support, the other fingers are under the clay and pushing upward so that the clay seems to carry itself taller. Usually it is the thumb or forefinger, or a configuration of both, that I use to lift the clay.  The cylinder form is where every pot starts, no matter where it ends up.  I like to make light weight pieces, so I am always playing a game with myself on the wheel. How little clay can I use to make as tall a figure as I want?  This is going to be a mug, so I will usually take a tool called a "Rib" to push out the inside and make a pleasing shape. It also will make the pot lighter, which I like.  
 I thought about how relevant it is to be on center while throwing and also in life. When I am focused on the present, the clay, or what is happening just then in life, it all seems to go smoothly. When I think about the future it creates an unevenness within. The clay can read this, and it resists. I think my mind, and then body, react when I go away from the now and into the future. Because of course, the future isn't even here, it is just a story I am telling myself. Stay centered in all things.  My art and life lesson. Your thoughts?

The Mask

Masks.Here are some  masks from my most recent show at the Andrea Smith gallery here in Sedona.For me there is something  intriguing, mysterious, and  thought provoking in creating these fantasy representations, 
 I am a traveler. In every country  visited, I observe indigenous people creating their interpretive  masks to represent their spirits.Thus  I call one of my mask series " Spirit Seekers".
 I start with the clay, and have a rough idea of what I want to create.But I do let the spirit of the clay direct where I am going.Often it has an element of surprise. Then I must glaze and fire the piece.Finally, I take it out of the kiln and do another primitive firing to get that dark and smokey look that I like.Only then do I decorate with yarn, feathers, and whatever else it dictates. I guess there is a bit of my spirit in each of my creations.     . 
Masks are a way to be secretive about identity. It does not even have to be a real one. Haven't here been times when we all hide behind a smile, a polite phrase even as simple  as "how are you?". What would we do if people actually answered with their truth, especially if it is a painful one?  Gives me something to think about when I go forth into this world.
Any thoughts from my readers?

Learning a Lesson

I don't think  this blog is going to have a picture. I was thinking about my conversation with a very smart friend this evening. We were talking about when things happen to you, you hopefully can learn from them. Then again, if the same thing happens over and over, why do we make the same decisions? I said my fault was loyalty. If I am your friend, I am for life. But things do not always turn out the way we wish they would, so I guess it has to be a choice about what path to take. Usually, we pull out of something when the pain becomes much greater than the pleasure. Can I learn to not wait until the end is so apparent? I think it is something to work towards for my higher good. 
I guess this happens in art, also. We keep making the same choices in color, or technique, or creative style. And it does not bring us the ending we want. Or it does not sell no matter. Then it is time to reevaluate and also figure out why we want to keep doing it. If it is pure pleasure in the creative process, then I think we get a pass. If it doesn't bring joy, then why  bother?
 Just some thoughts on a rainy evening . 

Canola Oil

I seem to still be in Canada in my consciousness,  so I invite you along with me. This is a field of Canola plants, in full yellow blossom, close to harvest.  As I traveled along the open highway, I saw these flowers  stretching  for miles, or kilometers as the Canadians say.  
 Every day many of us  go to our kitchen and  use canola oil to prepare our  food. This is where it all starts, in  these beautiful fields of yellow blossoms. The ordinary becomes a totally different entity. That which we look at one way, suddenly becomes transformed.
Art contains all those elements of changing forms into other forms. Clay starts out as a piece  of wet earth. I take my hands and I shape it into what I hope it will agree to. Yes, it is really a living thing to me and so, will sometimes  follow, yet sometimes resist. As with all transformation, there is perhaps the element of luck, or my prayers to the kiln gods which may influence the outcome. Looking inside the mind of a ceramicist.
 I guess it is really about change. Just going far away and seeing those fields of brilliant color will change my views.About the Canola oil in my kitchen; how vast Alberta fields stretches as far as my eye can see; what I am going to create  out of the images swirling in my brain.
  

On the Road Again

 Again,  this artist is travelling to remote place without internet. However, you know me, and it will all be inspiration for the blogs to follow... 

A-mer-i-ka

This is a ceramic wall piece that I have currently hanging  in a show  at the Sedona Arts Center. The show theme is "Freedom", and my abstract rendering of the red, white and blue,  interpretation seemed to fit that theme nicely. 

 It is a large platter,@ 14" across, hand built rather than wheel thrown.While it hangs nicely on the wall, it has a foot, so it could sit on a surface as well. I like creating  those options.  When it gets that big across, there can be a possibility of cracking, so it is a victory not only in style, but survival.The freedom to push the clay to its outer limits and see how far I can take it. 

We just finished celebrating the 4th of July.I watched great fireworks! I thought of the  immigrants coming into the United States. In all those accents , arriving at Ellis Island,a new life in a new land of freedom, which they might call "A-mer-i-ka."

 I travel a lot. I like to see first hand what I read or hear  or have a fantasy about.What is that place is really like, compared to where I live?  Reality turns out to  be more interesting to me than all  my speculations. I am grateful that I can do this. I know there are countries where woman cannot. I have visited there. 

Where Do our Designs Come From?

Where do our designs come from? Well there is one school of thought that says nothing is really totally new. We are merely recycling things we have already seen and tucked away in some corner of our minds . There may be some truth to that . Above is a picture I took at Ghost Ranch of the mountains  off in the distance. When it came time to work on the cover to my book, I really did not have a defined picture to draw from , and so I just started to paint.  I think I just went into that part of my mind I will call my design center. I do not even know why I put in that turquoise door. A focal point of color perhaps. It is such a southwest color, and one I use a lot in my work.
 Later, as I was walking back to my room, I saw a door just that color.Was I copying what I had seen unconsciously ? Did all the images I had seen there, or elsewhere, just go deep into that design corner of my brain, waiting until I needed them to create my artwork ?  Well, that's the nice thing about a blog, it is food for thought for all of us. Please, tell your experiences.

Pages in My Book

I titled this picture " Pages in my Book" when I was down loading my  photographs. These are two of  the pages I painted using paste paint, which is acrylic paint added to a paste medium. These I painted using small cut sponges as my paintbrushes.
Our canvas was a  long sheet of Arches text wove paper,that were sewn together in the middle.What a sweet paper to use and abuse and it doesn't seem to fall apart. I am a fan. I learned these techniques at Ghost Ranch , New Mexico, while studying with Nancy Culmone.
 It is interesting because the paintings are each twice as long as you see, @ 10" by 16." When folded in the middle, they end up facing the  image of another half page. So, one page becomes two images.  Two totally different , and yet one hopes, harmonious images that play together.
 New beginnings; sunrises; sunsets; pale glimpses of color; bold explosions  of different hues .Pages in the  book of what? Art; life perhaps? Isn't that the way it is? Starting out on one path, then I find myself on an entirely  new page. I proceed forward, but often I find myself on a continuation of a page from before. Yet facing a new page it has a new look. Amazing.
 Ramblings of a tired artist.

On the road

I am on the road, as you read this . Off in the mysterious desert landscape of New Mexico, where I will be immersing myself in the creative process. So, that means that  you, my faithful readers, will have to wait until I return to continue our ongoing literary path. I am sure I WILL HAVE MUCH TO TELL when I return 

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.

Art is Like Love

This is an original  calligraphy piece entitled "Art is Like Love". Then you read the next line. You have to be willing  to make a fool  of yourself. Therein is the challenge. It is all about taking a risk, facing the possibility that you will fall flat on your face, either with the person you care for  or the creation you are working on. 

Some of the risks  you can  calculate. On the art side it would be  what colors  I choose to use; what is my background going to look like;  my  letter and linear spacing. Going off the edge of the paper onto the mat with watercolor was a bit of a risk.This  is not the way one "usually" presents a finished piece.The  norm is to have the picture neatly inside the mat and frame. I wanted to get out of the box here to make my point, to push past the boundaries and take my viewer with me, even though it did not have  to be obvious to them why I took that approach. By taking the  risk of looking foolish, we often can create  our heart, or art's desire.