The Offering - revisited

I just sent this piece (Offering) out, so as usual, I worked on a photo print to send along. This isn't the print I ended up sending....but it was the one I liked the best. For some reason, it seemed a little too "dark" to include with the actual piece (which is a more hopeful and lighthearted mask). I posted the original mask two entries ago so you can see what I'm talking about.
Often times, I feel I must tone down my dark side so as not to scare everyone away. But I admit to appreciating both sides of the coin.......

A Gathering of Old Friends....

Here is a grouping to illustrate what I was talking about in my last post. All of the sculptures are wearing masks - except for the "Open Heart". The masks can be removed to reveal the face underneath. I play around with these and put different masks on the sculptures: there are always so many possibilities within my own creative sensibility that I have a difficult time putting limitations on it.....

Glaze test Friday - 2

Here are two more recent glaze tests. In a way, they cancel each other out, but I can't ever seem to show (or make) a devilish piece without some sort of balance. The sweeter mask is named "A Watchful Eye" and its task is to keep an eye on "In Sheep's Clothing"......

I find myself somewhere in between the two!

Glaze test Friday

I thought I'd show some of my glaze tests today. I use these to test my engobes and glazes and to try out different ideas. I don't always make bigger pieces based on these, but often I get new directions from the results. These little guys are some of the latest out of the studio and I'm thinking of making this a regular Friday feature. Yes, I've got a lot in the works!

They do have names also:

top - A Rosy Outlook

middle - Bewitched and Bewildered

bottom - Simon Says...

Till Monday, adieu....

Triptych

Before I started my "leaf as metaphor" series, I did an extensive amount of testing and experimentation with glazes, colors and techniques. Shown here are three of these glaze tests. If you've visited my blog before, you may have noticed the "glaze test" slide show at the right. I'm mentioning it now as a shameless promotion of my Etsy site: http://unmasked.etsy.com . Ya know, in between shows, I still need to eat and pay my bills!

Speaking of shows, I'll be at Fort Mason in San Francisco this weekend for the Contemporary Crafts show. So, if you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and see my work up close and personal!

Red, White and...

I made this trio about a month before our presidential election. Although I felt hopeful about the election results, I also felt a bit of distrust with the process. For me, the blue mask represents the Florida debacle of 2000. Fortunately, my fears have been allayed and we can all move forward!

These small masks were press molded and altered, painted with engobe and glaze - and raku fired.

In Fool Bloom

Ah, the Fool! What would we do without him or her? I choose to depict the fool not as an object of ridicule, but of wisdom. I believe that there is much to be learned from the fool and that we need only look inside ourselves to find it.

One of the first masks I made was a fool - the piece shown here is one of the latest. I don't think I've come full circle quite yet, so there are sure to be more!

The mask is stoneware with engobes and pencils.

Getting a Bit Rusty

Here is another of the "flat faces"... this one looks like it has been forgotten somewhere and left to the elements. Although I don't like to admit it, I feel like that when I realize that I'm not getting any younger. Yikes, where did I leave that oil can?

It is a busy time in the studio - I'm just beginning to get out of my winter doldrums and pushing forward like the trees that are bursting to bloom. Working on this blog is getting me motivated to come up with some new stuff - wish me luck!

Parallels of Attitude

I used to slipcast many of my masks and then sculpt on top of the "face blanks". I'm doing less and less of that these days - for the joy of sculpting! This is one of the last cast pieces that I made (about a year ago). At the time, I was also experimenting heavily with raku techniques - especially copper mattes. This mask is the culmination of those efforts.

The title of the piece came as I worked on the glaze combination. I felt that it expressed my own changes of attitude while discovering new methods, and incorporating the best of the old....

On the Way to the Masked Fall

If you haven't noticed, I love plays on words and phrases. Even though many times they are cliches, they have become a part of our tradition and I respect that.

Without a doubt, this is an autumn mask. Instead of going to a ball, this leaf is headed for a fall (in disguise). I had a great time working on this and trying out some new combinations. It is very satisfying mixing up my own glazes and trying for different effects. I hope that it keeps my work from becoming boring, for me or for the viewer.

The final firing was raku - the branch is from a tree in my yard.

Green Cover

Last year I began making some masks that are almost flat. So far, they have all been swathed in coverings and I'm not really sure why I'm doing this! Perhaps it is my own insecurities coming out...

I do think a lot about being "green". It's such an important concept that I feel guilty every time I waste anything. I truly admire (envy?) those in the vanguard of the green movement.

The mask is raku clay that is painted with engobes after the bisque, fired again, decorated with underglaze pencils, then fired again - and finally, glazed and raku fired.

Night Owl

This mask is a close relative of "Birdgirl"....perhaps a cousin or a sister. I can't seem to resist the birds showing up in my work - maybe because they represent, for me, the ultimate freedom.

The night owl thrives at night for it is a time of quiet and rejuvenation. All things seem possible in the stillness, and then there are the dreams where one can soar.

The mask was made using the "naked raku" technique.

Unexpected Journey

Here is yet another piece from the leaf series. As with most things unexpected, there are mixed feelings. What is it here? Could it be surprise, delight, fear of the unknown, or even resolve? Since we all have our own reactions to the unexpected in life, the idea behind the mask is up to you, the viewer, to decide.

My own life is full of these journeys - and many of them are of the mind. I do my best to face them in the spirit with which they come to me.

Just a Little Piece of My Heart

This is the offering for today - it's "Just a Little Piece of My Heart". The New Year seems like a good time to share this mask since it's all about beginnings....or is it about endings? I don't know, but I do know that it is about sharing.

I made this piece during my second residency at the International Ceramic Studios in Kecskemet, Hungary (May to July 2008). Of course, it is Raku - as was most of the work I did there. I'll be showing some more of these as the days go by. It's always inspiring for me to work in another country as I get ideas that I don't think I'd get at home in my studio. Then too, I bring away thoughts and images that will affect my work for years to come.

Right now, I'm gearing up to get back into the studio in a serious way. I never seem to get much done during the holidays - so many distractions. And these days, I'm easily distracted anyway. So - Here's to the New Year!!