Mold Making with April Cannon

Over the past year I have been preparing for a new chapter in my life as an artist/maker. The new project, driven largely by a need to get back into the studio full time, is an unapologetically commercial venture. Interfacing with the growing movement of legalization of weed in the US I am launching a bong/smoking accessory company called Bong Monsters.

The initial phase of the project focuses on slip cast doll parts for the creation of the objects. The problem with this is my limited experience in slip casting. While I have worked with the technique in grad school it’s never been my specialty. In addition to reading and watching videos on the subject I decided to have my friend from school come down and run me through the basics again.

April Cannon, who lives in Denver, completed her MFA in 2017 from Fort Hays State University. In addition to several private commissions she is represented by Mai Wyn Fine Art gallery in Denver https://www.maiwyn.com. You can see more examples of her wonderful work at www.aprilnoble.net

I’ve made many molds before but it’s an incredibly demanding skill that I have never been completely comfortable with. Choosing a slip cast driven project then was either a poor decision or an opportunity to learn new skills. I’ve opted for the latter, which is why in part it is taking so long to really get the project moving.

April coming down to help this month has been a huge step toward competence in this area. When I first considered this idea I was focused on where I needed to be rather than where I actually was, if that makes any sense? I wanted to work out multi part mold construction and various material techniques but on further reflection I decided what I needed most was a stable foundation to build on, so opted to have her demonstrate the most basic two part mold.

I threw some bong necks for the purpose, which is the part I most urgently need to start prototyping, and we worked with those. While the pieces we used as models were leather hard clay, April recommends either soft bisquing models to cone 014-012 or reductively sculpting the model from a solid block of plaster.

Before I start a description of the day, here is the tool list:

April’s recommended tool list Download

April’s List of Essential Tools: wet-dry sand paper, drywall sanding screens, cabinet scraper for scraping plaster to get a flat edge, misc. files for shaping plaster, surforms for carving and shaping plaster, wire brush to clean the files and surforms, WD40 to protect steel tools from rust after cleaning, clay shaping tools for claying up the model, wooden knives for cutting and scraping the plasticine on the edges of cottle boards, soft wax based plasticine for filling gaps, level, spring loaded clamps to hold the cottle boards in place while they are positioned, screw down clamps for use while constructing the mold, metal spoon for carving keys, cheap brush for mold soap, small sponges, dust mask, graduated buckets for mixing plaster, measuring cups for water, large square for laying out cottle boards, small square for checking midline, non-stick surface for working like plexiglass, melamine or granite, a good ruler

Here is April getting started with the model. She recommends applying, then wiping off, 3 coats of mold soap. Here we used Murphy’s Oil Soap, but Dr Brauner’s Pure Castile Soap works too and can be selected without scent. Mold soap is diluted to one part soap and one part water.

Finding the dividing line is one of the most important parts of making multi-part molds. The principle on a simple object like this is to divide the object in half using the widest point in circumference. On more complex forms the principal is the same, following the variable line dividing the object to avoid undercutting so the mold may be lifted cleanly from the cast object. April recommends looking at toys for an understanding of multipart mold construction as the dividing lines are often discernible on the object.

Once this step is complete, it’s time to clay up the bottom half of the model so the top half can be cast in plaster.

The model is immersed in clay up to the dividing line and then walls are built around the entire construction to contain the plaster. Normally cottle boards would be used, but mine were unavailable so we made due by building clay walls. All gaps were filled and the area was leveled and cleaned in preparation for the plaster. April recommends working with plasticine for filling in most gaps when using cottle boards as it will not dry out and can increase working time.

Calculating for the amount of plaster needed is a simple matter of multiplying L” x W” x H” of the area to be filled and dividing that number by 80. That will break the calculation into quarts. Rather than using a pre-determined formula for the plaster April uses the island method, putting the prescribed amount of water into a bucket and then slowly adding plaster until an island of the material remains above the water line. Once the prescribed amount of plaster is added, the mixture is allowed to hydrate for a few minutes and the mixed by hand. Other methods for mixing can be used but care should be taken not to add air bubbles that can cause problems on the surface of the object to be cast. Once mixed the plaster is allowed to sit another few minutes while agitating the bucket to remove more air bubbles.

Setting times for plaster vary depending on the temperature of the water used in mixing. As the water in the studio is a ground spigot we waited nearly 45 minutes to break away the clay and reveal the first section.

Once freed from the clay and walls the object was prepared for the second half of the mold. If the master had been bisque, she would have removed it from the mold and thoroughly cleaned and leveled the top of this portion for a more perfect fit. Because the model was green she opted to leave it in place and clean around it. Once clean, it was prepared for the second half of the plaster, including cutting the keys with a penny and filling gaps.

Before adding plaster, the water resistance of the model was considered, first with a final coat of soap and then an overall spray of mold release.

Without the cottle boards they will need quite a bit of reshaping as well as thorough cleaning to remove the mold soap and curing of the paster before a test cast can be made. If they turn out well the next step will be making mother molds from these masters for the production of working molds.

Thank you April! Such a productive and informative day!

A Blog of Ones Own

Its been a hard year for the blog. Not a single post, not an update or an edit. The project has largely been abandoned. Not for lack of interest but for total lack of direction or vision. i just haven’t known how to get at the work I need to make or the words needed to describe it.

Over the last several months I’ve had it up and even started several drafts but have been unable to think coherently enough about my direction to discuss the nature of the work I have envisioned. So the drafts were deleted and the blog left to its own processes in the dark.

It’s not that I haven’t loved documenting the process of Foxy-Wolff, but the presence of another voice, with editorial power over mine has become a burden. I can’t express myself in this format knowing another person might come and request changes and I might have to comply? No, not here, not with my words. Hooray for collaboration for ever! You better believe I mean it. Asking the ego to yield in the height of its passion makes for better work every time. But here, this is another sketch book, where I can work out my ideas of art and the world we share in real-time. You all might become my collaborators truly, but in a way that won’t make me check myself before I write something too personal or even ugly for the project I am representing.

So here it is, with no fan fare but my own, the relaunch of the blog, my blog. I’ll continue to store all the posts I wrote for Foxy-Wolff because the project is beloved and some of the best work of my life, but I’m ready to move forward with the work that drives me crazy and turns me on. The work I can’t get out of my head, and the stuff I think is just dumb.

I’ll be writing about my own and other collaborative works as well as more critical writing, which I miss a great deal now that I no longer have the academic push to produce. I hope you will read it, I really do.

So then on to what grabbed me by the throat and said TONIGHT? Tonight I finally figure it out? Yea tonight, whateves. A billion thanks to my friend who sent me this documentary one Eva Hesse. I can’t say more than she said her self through letters and art, but damn if I don’t feel charged up. I’m inspired by her work, the life she led, and her dignity in all her dark moments. Please watch it, I think its transformative.

https://www.pbs.org/video/eva-hesse-qscnnz/

I hope you will follow me, I plan to check out some cool stuff.

Maps of Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry, born in 1960, and winner of the Turner Prize in 2003, is one of the best known and influential artists living today. Primarily known for his ceramic jars and his self-identification as a transvestite, his work over the last few years has branched widely to include television series, tapestries and maps.

I chose to focus on these other works for this post, partly because I’ve written about his pots before and partly because I find the maps particularly inspiring. All of his work features images and the collage of ideas combined with a sense of history and craft of medium filtered through self-examination. The maps do all this but with a commitment to research and historical accuracy that seems to balance the self-expression in an art historical context. Seen in the image above, Perry’s sense of color and composition are a uniting theme in his work and himself as a work of art. Interestingly he suspends this way of working in the maps, so that the reference remains clear, though they are explicitly self portraiture. It seems the artist sacrifices his style for these works to know himself more completely. Map making requires a certain degree of stripping away and precision so that the directions can stay clear.

Perry was inspired for the etching titled The Map of Nowhere, from historical map of the earth centered around the body of Christ. Instead of the son of God, the artist has placed himself as the center of the world, with light for the seekers of higher consciousness shining straight from his “bum hole”.

This is a wonderful write-up of the work from the British Council collection where the piece is collected. Below is a brief video of an interview with the artists on the creation and inspiration for the work. http://collection.britishcouncil.org/collection/artists/perry-grayson-1960/object/map-of-nowhere-perry-2008-p8194

Another significant work in this style is the Map of an Englishman. Printed on four large plates to give the work the look of having been folded, extra ink was also allowed to stay on the plates to give it the feeling of period authenticity.

This blog post below has some wonderful images of the map close up and a solid discussion of the work itself. The maps are both achievements of scale and intimate drawings, revealing more and more with closer study.

A phrenology of the artist’s mind: Grayson Perry‘s 2004 “Map of an Englishman”

Map of Days is a self-portrait based on maps of the fortified towns of renaissance Europe. In discussing this work Perry likens the self to a walled city, separate from its surroundings, but dependent on them.

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw260594/Map-of-Days

The video below is from a British television series called All in the Best Possible Taste that Grayson Perry hosted in 2012. In the series he explores the taste standards of the classes in England as he prepares to make 6 large tapestries on the subject. I’ve included it here because it shows the artists meticulous process and his drawing as he considers composition of the tapestries.

The Artist’s Project from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

For the past couple weeks I have watched a web series titled The Artists Project. This series, put together by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is in its fourth season and continues to offer a fresh perspective on looking at art. Each of the short episodes features a contemporary artist looking at their favorite work in The Met’s collection. From masterworks by George Braque to objects made by unknown ancient craftsmen, the work discussed in the series covers the breadth of the vast collection, and the commentary provided by the artists brings a personal understanding of the work that often transcends the conventions of art criticism and history.

artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/jane-hammond/

One compelling look beyond what is traditionally considered art, is an examination of snapshots from the collection donated by Peter Cohen, by artist Jane Hamond. Hamond is examining images never intended as art, but she brings the expansive possibilities of Duchamp to contextualize the images into a sort of ready-made for her own work. The video encourages the viewer to see these snapshots in a new context, clean and clear on a matted background in high res, transforms the images from scraps in grandmothers drawer to mid-century masterpieces. She notes that one of the things that make these images so compelling is the total lack of professionalism and artistic intent, rather seeing the photos as a sort of taxidermy to collect moments of significance in the lives of those represented. It is then for us to use our powers of observation to appreciate the bold narrative and sometimes revolutionary composition.

Accompanying each of the videos is a short bio of the artist and an image of their work. If they, like Hamond, have a piece in The Met, a link is provided to the museum page of the work where the viewer can more fully consider the work being discussed on the artists own work. Its ready-made connection making that links the topics discussed in the video directly to the viewer, combining all in a conceptual whole.

One of the things I especially love about the series are the diverse voices represented. One such voice, is that of Paul Tazewell, an American costume designer for dance, theater and opera. Tazewell discusses the portraits of Anthony van Dyck.

artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/paul-tazewell/

Here Tazewell focuses on the precise rendering of the images, especially that of the clothing as the basis of his appreciation and inspiration. This rendering, notes the designer, supports a character and their narrative within the work. He notes the idealized and feminized garments express a different sort of masculine power than that of contemporary culture and sees affectation and character in the portraits themselves that feels very much like theater. He then offers a very frank appreciation of a self-portrait of the artist for its sensual qualities.

Through Tazewells eyes I see van Dyck’s work afresh. Rather that the stifling formality I have long associated with this type of painting, I can sense the vibrant world that the precision reflects and the designers joy in regarding the images is somewhat contagious.

Dia Batal is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artists who uses traditional text and formats in contemporary context. Her examination of a Syrian tile panel with a calligraphic inscription in another opportunity to see art outside of my own cultural context.

artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/dia-batal/

Originally born in Beirut and now living and working in London, she didn’t like seeing these objects removed from their homes and taken out of context in a museum. With the recent war in Syria however she has come to value their presence there so that they might be preserved.

The panel is not a work that would have attracted my attention without Batal’s introduction. I think this is likely because of its reliance on a message that I can not decode. Her reading the inscription aloud in the video opens the ear to the poetry contained in it in a way that a translation on a wall just couldn’t do. It opens the doors of a cultural context in a way that travel does, allowing a more intimate view of the words contained in the work.

The editing of the video is that of a slide show of portraits of the artist looking and photos of the art being considered, including closeups. As she discusses color composition on the piece, the closeup allows me to see the oxide cracking over the tin glaze of the tile and provides an entry for my appreciation of ceramic craft and history. This window gives me a genuine insight and appreciation for a work that before Batal’s discussion I found opaque.

Production is part of the reason this works so well. The slide show format combined with the voice over provided by the artist hold the cathedral-like space of the museum intact. As she imagines the tile in context of the mosque, imagining the dome and the light, we are given the open clean lines of the display, that echo the sacred intent of the space. This allows the viewer to contact the art in a fresh unhurried way that mimics actually being in front of the work.

One of the things I found most fascinating about the videos is to compare the work they make to the work they appreciate. My favorite example of this was Wilfredo Prieto’s discussion of the sculpture of Rodin.

artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/wilfredo-prieto/

Prieto is a Cuban conceptual artist, and he uses his time in The Met to study. In the work of Rodin he finds inspiration in gesture. His careful examination of the studies on view share not only his understanding of the great artists technique but also the qualities he is looking for in his own work. He notes that Rodin believed to find expression in the material he had to dominate the material. Prieto takes this maxim into the conceptual realm with his work Yes No. Rather than dominating clay or plaster as Rodin did, he dominates objects, in this case fans, to replicate human gesture. His discussion of the masters work provides great insight into his intention with his own work. The static movement of Rodin’s figures informs the literal movement of the inferred figures in the fans.

https://vine.co/v/hmhhat3zYQh

I was not familiar with many of the artists in the series, one notable exception is Swoon. I’ve been a fan of her work for many years, yet I was initially surprised by her choice of art work to discuss. Swoon is a street artist working in some of the most non art venues in the world. Her choice of The Third Class Coach by Daumier struck me as inconsistent, being a heavily framed oil painting from over one hundred years ago.

artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/swoon/

In hearing the discussion however this choice becomes understandable. Swoon has looked closely at this work since she was 15. In it she finds its depiction of daily life speaking directly to her as she stands before the canvas, person to people and artist to artist.

Her discussion of the brush work in the face of the mother looking at her child really brings a painting I’ve seen many times into fresh focus, and her knowledge of Daumier’s biography and training gives insight into the choice of subject and motivation behind it.

It is in this motivation that we can clearly see this work as having a strong influence on Swoon. Both she and Daumier being passionate observers of cultural inequality and injustice. The two artists presentation seems so radically different when first considered, when taken in the context of the compassion that both artists base their view of the world on, the similarities become obvious, despite one hanging in one of the premier museums in the world and the other being wheat pasted to a wall in Brooklyn.

Performance Art with Luke Turner and Nastja Säde Rönkkö

During the weekend of January 22nd to January 24 2016, Colorado State University Pueblo hosted a workshop with Luke Turner and Nastja Säde Rönkkö. Focused on performance art, the workshop asked the participants to expand their understanding of art and consider new parameters in the conceptualizing of their own work.

The workshop began on friday evening with a slide lecture and a question and answer session. There, Luke Turner introduced us to the the MetaModernist Manifesto, which he wrote many years ago. In the manifesto Turner identifies the essential nature of the world as one of oscillation. Life, art and its energies move from one pole of awareness, represented as the naïvety of modernism to another, the cynicism of post modernism. MetaModernism moves effortlessly between these two poles, creating sophisticated art that is complex and intelligent with a sense of humor, yet still seeks beauty and honest emotional engagement. Read the manifesto here.

The conversation revolved around the collaborative works, inspired by the manifesto, of LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. While this work was familiar to me, I did not realize it was performance art. Part of the reason for this confusion was that one of the collaborators, Shia LaBeouf, is an actor with massive media presence, so that work of the performances are usually shrouded in reports of the actor loosing his mind etc. Joining the conversation half way through via Skype however, the participants could see him through the lens of art rather than celebrity and found an honest and vulnerable person and not an object for worship or disdain. In his own words, the art that he has made over the last several years has given back his human citizenship. I took this to mean that he could see himself as one among the human community and not finding himself placed above and beyond. A place that would inevitably cause the loneliness and isolation that has been a characteristic of much of his life. Through the works of Labeouf, Rönkkö and Turner, he has been able to connect deeply with people on the most basic level, his presence on the other hand, gives the work a visibility and relevance that it might not enjoy without the star power he brings. This circumstance seems to encapsulate MetaModernism perfectly, simultaneously embracing and rejecting celebrity as one of the basic tenants of our culture and from the turmoil of holding two opposing beliefs at once, making new work, and a new way of seeing.

Nastja Säde Rönkkö was the primary guide of the workshop. We met early Saturday morning to a room of desks in rows. There, Nastja unpacked more deeply the underpinnings of performance art and showed us some pieces via photo and video that she found inspiring. Her assertion that intuition is a primary tool for relating to the self, and ones culture and society resonated particularly with me, as it seems the essential impulse to all art making. That this work was in fact coming from the same fount and tradition as that of object makers, only that the forms have changed to better reflect culture and society. If self could be defined as all things, then art too is all things.

So then as we began to think of performance in more formal terms, we were given to understand that composing performance art is within time, and words that relate to time, such as rhythm and impulse are of particular importance to its creation. This combined with the body, its feelings and perceptions within time, become the structure of the work generated.

While I had a good deal of academic experience with performance as a byproduct of my study of video art, I have practiced it only very little. This lack of real experience with performance was common among the participants of the workshop. Most in fact had no idea what to expect from the experience. This was a valuable commonality, as it allowed us all to begin at the beginning and to dispense with the “cred throw down” that can be so common to workshops.

We began with exercises that served the dual purpose of getting us comfortable and acquainted with each other quickly and helping us drop our social guard so that we might make authentic experience. These exercises often involved touching or sharing with virtual strangers in ways that were so immediately intimate that within a half a day, we were all feeling safe and among friends. As I’ve often told my students, you need to feel safe to really let go and make good art, and never have I seen a time when this was more true.

The exercises gave way to short, one minute performance piece based on a structure, an object we brought, or a film we had seen and so on. As the weekend progressed these pieces became more dynamic and personal, reflecting how quickly the group was learning to swim in the new medium.

Twice during the workshop we went for long hikes through the prairie, where nature became another collaborator, and the sometimes suffocating feeling of being too long in one room could be shaken off. The exercises and performances that occurred out on these adventures became very powerful, particularly the large group pieces done at the end of the workshop. I believe there was a video shot of one of these, I’ll update if I find it. In the mean time, click the link below for images of the experience posted to Flickr by the CSUP Today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/csuptoday/sets/72157661684628243/with/24622839016/

My personal last piece of the workshop revolved around an a sort of paper free for all collaboration done in 5 minutes. While it was not enough time to really give the objects much of a presence at the scale I had laid out, I reduced the pieces down over the following week and made a collage, it remains a wonderful memento from an experience I will draw from for years. While I can’t see myself really entering performance seriously, the techniques learned and the genuine integrity sought is likely to influence my video work deeply.

Workshop with Beth Cavener

This January 2015 FHSU hosted a workshop with Beth Cavener, an artist that I have had a serious art crush on since first seeing her work years ago. That piece, titles A Rush of Blood to the Head is still tremendously influential to my work and aspiration as an artist. It can be viewed here:

http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/gallery/a-rush-of-blood-to-the-head-2/

I have continued following her work and she has been the standard both for success and quality for myself as an artist. The workshop was then something that I looked forward to tremendously.

Before I begin discussing my experience I must clarify that I was very sick the entire time I was in Kansas, falling ill with the flu a few days before leaving and staying ill the entire time, that surly impacted my feelings. Another caveat was a major mental health diagnosis I received just before leaving that left me feeling terrified and deeply constrained. So it was through this filter that I went to meet my art hero/crush.

First I must say that it was truly the most expansive and informative workshop I’ve ever attended. Her technique is radical and her approach is methodical and meticulous, it is no surprise that she has been so successful. In addition to her tremendous skill the work she has put in to every aspect of her career is astounding. She told stories of how her first showing experience in New York that was so ballsy and brilliant that I could barely cover my awe.

Her style of working is doubtless detailed in other places but I will give a brief summary. Her process begins with a series of sketches in clay. These small studies are usually done in large numbers as a way to work through ideas and solve problems. For this workshop she could only make one based on suggestions from the group. We were large and engaged and there were many suggestions that came down to a vote. through a somewhat democratic process she agreed to work with a wolf twisted in a rope.

These models are done in oil clay so that they might stay workable and salvageable. She rarely keeps these. They are built solid using bamboo skewers as armature. At this point she is considering composition and posture and formulating the procedure for the armature for the full size piece which range from life-size, to much larger.

The armature for the large sculpture is made from gas pipe relying on 1/2″ pipe and a variety of connectors.

The pipe shown here is not galvanized, which she prefers because it prevents corrosion, so these were wrapped in electrical tape to prevent that. The frame-work is screwed down to the floor or table and the structure is built with special attention to removing it when the sculpture is built. The most important aspect of this process is to remember that the frame is a chair for the clay rather than bones for an animal. The clay must be supported from underneath for the most part.

This structure was tried and edited many times to be sure it would suffice for the entire piece, some of the sculptures weigh many hundreds of pounds when they are in process.

Once the armature is built the clay is applied, first wrapping the pipe and then building in layers until the basic size is achieved.

The legs are supported by dowels wrapped in electrical tape and jointed so that the body can be manipulated as it is built.

Things like tails and ears that can be relied on to create emotion are added last or even after firing so that they cannot be relied upon.

Once the piece is relatively finished it is cut apart, piece by piece and hollowed out, then reattached in sections and fired.

The sculpting part of this technique is quick and expressive, the restructuring and hollowing is slow and meticulous. In the end, every surface, including those impossible to see have been finished to her own anatomical perfection.

This process was detailed in slide shows that document many of her favorite pieces including A Rush of Blood to the Head which was wonderful to see.

As I mentioned earlier we were a very large group and asked a load of questions. She was very generous in answering all of these distractions and more revealing much about her self and her process as she worked. As a result she was not happy with the progress she was able to make on the piece. By the end of the workshop she asked that we not share images of the work but especially not of her. I have honored her wishes not be shown in the images but not her request not to have the work shown, partly because this is a post about my experience in this workshop and partly for reasons I will now elaborate.

Throughout the days of the workshop Beth was incredibly candid about herself, her process and her struggles both as a person and an artist. She seemed to make great connection with many of the students and their work, not however with me. Likely she was put off by my fan girl shimmer, that while i did try to restrain it, could only have been obvious and possibly for reasons I have mentioned before, I was ill and very caught up in my own mental health issues and so may not have been available for connection. So then in spite of my attempts I felt very much unacceptable to this person that I admired so much.

Because of this I was determined not to write about this experience. both to protect her and myself for I felt very much exposed and did not want to risk her displeasure, still fawning on some sad level, and so the experience ended. I was left to wonder what the students who did connect had that I lacked and if there was something I was fundamentally lacking that would prevent me from ever achieving the success of my idol and those class mates that were acceptable to the higher power that an internationally known and hugely talented artist represented.

I did attempt the technique but as I work at such a small-scale for the animals of the Magic Box that it was largely inappropriate. Still, I did manage a pose for Brittany the unicorn that I have not been able to pull off before. So then after so much anticipation I left the workshop drained and exhausted, feeling less able than I had in many years to achieve the moderate success that I have worked toward.

And so it remained, I would think of this post often but could not find a way to write about the experience in a way that would be meaningful to myself and my readers as well. In fact, this dilemma seemed to halt the blog all together, as those of you who read regularly will have noticed. Yet I was confident that time would reveal a way to relate the experience and perhaps relieve many pressures of being correct and acceptable that is such a difficult part of life as an artist.

And so that opportunity finally came today through one of my many Facebook clay groups. I found a video, an interview with Beth that I can’t imagine her having made when we met several months ago. It is a beautiful film that describes her process, her work and her struggles in a way that was so very revealing.

An Interview With Artist Beth Cavener Who Captures Human Emotions Through Sculpted Stoneware Animals

I have no wish to detail my mental process at seeing her expose herself and her insecurities and her work for the camera, but it is sufficient to say that I was moved by her courage to do so and by the very similarities that seem to so distress me in January.

The experience did not produce a great patron or helper as I may have hoped in my fantasy before meeting, but a teacher, a true teacher, with the power to reveal one of the fundamental truths of life in the arts. The truth of the constant self exposure that is required to survive the process of show entries and openings combined with a process of exposing ones self through work that digs into the soul every day.

I admire her more than ever, yet I no longer feel the art crush that I used to. This is obviously desirable, allowing her to be a person, complex and rich and myself also, with all of my great talents and imperfections.

I won’t try to assist her or do further workshops or any other absurd fantasy that occurred to me in the time of not being acceptable in January but she will always be held in great esteem and gratitude for showing me that even the greatest artists are people as myself, complex and conflicted.

Please look her up, her website is gorgeous and so is her work.

Beth Cavener – New Homepage

Glaze Development in Ancient China

The worlds first stoneware glazes were developed during the Shang Dynasty in China (1,600 – 1,100 bce). This is an astounding feat when considering that stoneware was not achieved in Korea and Japan for another 2,000 years and in the West for another 3,000 years.

One theory for the early development of stoneware temperatures in southern China was that the clay being used at earthen ware temperatures was actually under fired stoneware bodies. Observation would have shown that these clays when fired hotter produced more durable ceramic. The glaze was likely another observation of the process already being employed, wood ash fluxing at higher temperatures would have lightly glazed both the pots and the interior of the kiln. It would have been a simple assumption to begin testing wood ash mixtures and developing glazes.

These early glazes, being based on the variable material wood ash, have a wide variety and composition. In addition to the innovation of glaze and kiln design allowing the higher temperatures, the Shang also began the pursuit of Chinese porcelain. This proto porcelain as it is known is made from a kaolin bearing stoneware. The pieces were modeled after The bronze vessels being produced at the time and were lightly glazed with the same ash glazes common at the time.This type of glazing persisted through the Han Dynasty, techniques and form being refined through the generations.Unlike the high fire glazing tradition of most early cultures, the first Chinese stoneware were composed primarily of clay and calcia, rather than feldspars, in the form of limestone, but also derived from wood ash and sometimes crushed shells. The composition of these glazes were Silica, alumina, and calcium carbonate. The silica and alumina were provided by the clays and the ash or limestone was the second ingredient. The glazes were usually yellow to green and were colored by incidental trace amounts of titanium and iron in the clays used in the mixture. There was also a range of surface qualities that were largely dependent on firing and cooling speed. The more matte glazes were fired and cooled more slowly allowing calcium crystals to grow.

Over time the ash in the glaze was largely replaced with limestone, though it is likely that wood ash was used in some combination throughout the early history of Chinese glazes.

The height of these stoneware glazes were achieved in the Yue wares which were made during the Five Dynasties Period in the early 10th century ce. These works are revered for their refinement and beauty.From these simple beginnings, the tradition of Chinese stoneware and porcelain glazes unfolds and reaches its great peak during the Song Dynasty. From elegant celadons to rich temmoku’s the potters of the Song were some of the most accomplished in the history of ceramics.

I used Chinese Glazes; Their Origins, Chemistry and Recreation by Nigel Wood and 10,000 Years of Pottery by Emmanuel Cooper for sources in this post

Tang Dynasty Tomb Guardians

China’s Tang Dynasty (618ce to 907ce) is among the greatest periods for art making in the world. The relative peace enjoyed by the people and its outward looking and accepting culture where art was highly valued, created the perfect environment for experimentation and growth by artists.

China hosted flourishing trade along the silk road, that brought foreigners, religions and goods into the country. Among these goods was more finely processed lead which facilitated improved low fire glazes for Sancai Ware. The word translates to “three colors” and refers to the brightly colored glaze combinations that grace the tomb guardians of the Period.

These objects were made as surrogates for human sacrifice and were intended to serve the dead in the afterlife. While the Tang is a time of great artistic innovation, these objects were not considered art, but much more functional forms.

The were called Ming chi which translates to spirit objects and were critical for the type of ancestor worship that was practiced at the time. The belief was, and still is for many Chinese, that the ancestor, after the appropriate mourning period, became an important intercessor between the surviving family and the world of the gods and spirits. Not taking the proper care of one’s ancestors would lead to disaster and cataclysm, so keeping these important family members well supplied and happy was a families greatest duty.

Like any highly stratified society, there were strict rules governing the placement on Ming chi. The number and sizes were governed by the persons station in life. The smallest were around 12″ and the largest were over 40″They served a variety of purposed in the tomb, some, that blend human and animal characteristics and carry weapons were made to protect the ancestor from evil and tomb raiders. Others had more mundane tasks. The horse below is pictured alone but he would have been paired with a groom to care for the animal who would serve the ancestor.Each figure had a specific name and duty within the tomb, and were often based off Taoist and Buddhist deities. One of these was a figure known as the Heavenly King. He was a fierce male figure placed near the entrance of the tomb. Many of the figures stood on vanquished demons, the Heavenly King is depicting standing on a bull or ox which represented his unchallenged spiritual majesty. It is important to remember here that the Chinese have a very different concept of heaved than we in the west. Heaven is more of a god, and it is from this god that the ruling elite derive their right to rule.In addition to traditional images of Chinese culture, the tombs often featured influences from the outside world, camels and some foreigners were common additions to the groupings

The craft of the Ming chi was perfected during the rule of the Empress Wu, and represent a departure from earthenwares of the previous periods. These figures are made in molds, then assembled and modeled from the white stoneware of the time rather than the red earthenware seen during previous periods. The white body, while sometimes under fired, was seen as superior because of the brightness and clarity achieved in the glazes. Sometimes these figures were high fired before being refired at lower temps for the glazes, though its thought only pieces for export received this extra step.

The sancai glazes were composed of 3 parts lead, 2 parts loess clay or white clay and powdered quartz. This base was then colored with iron for amber, copper for green and though rarely, cobalt for blue and turquoise. The term sancai is a misnomer, in that there are 6 colors in this palate from the period, though the most common were amber, green and creamy white. Glazes were applied in a variety of ways including dipping, brushing and trailing.

Ai Weiwei and The Art of Destruction

The pottery of Neolithic and Bronze era China have inspired many artists over the centuries since it was first created, but none to such a controversial degree as the work of Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who has risen to the apex of the international art scene with his thought-provoking social commentaries. The majority of these are protests aimed at the communist government of China. The artists work in ceramic is no exception.

The bones of the work are historical vessels from the early history of China, including Gansu Jars and pieces from the Han period. These objects are then changed, and sometimes destroyed to make Ai’s controversial work. The photo above shows two of the works. The first, the photographs, are a piece titled Dropping A Han Dynasty Urn and are exactly as the title and photo indicate, The artist is seen in three frames dropping an urn from the Han dynasty period, a piece that has remained intact since it was made any where from 206 bce to 220 ce. The other vessels depicted are from a piece called Colored Vases and are Chinese jars from various early periods that have been dipped in paint.Another work titled Dust to Dust are the remains of 30 Neolithic vessels that have been ground to dust, and displayed in glass jars in orderly rows.Pots are not the only objects that have been altered from their original state as antiques. These stools are from the Ming Dynasty and represent a large body of works based on altered antique furniture.

Ai sites his greatest influence as Marcel Duchamp, and indeed in these works we see Fountain and Bicycle Wheel reborn in a new context, but rather than a pure examination of art and object, the objects the artist has chosen to alter are loaded with political statement as well as artistic. When challenged regarding the destruction of the furniture, he countered with the official Chinese government position of destroying objects from the Ming and other dynasties.

This leads to the sticky question of the nature of Ai’s works with objects of antiquity. Is this destruction or transformation? First it must be noted that there is a good deal of speculation that the works are convincing fakes. We must acknowledge that the artist loves the concept of the Fake, giving that the name of his architectural firm. It is not unreasonable to consider the entire project an elaborate joke. But for the sake of argument, we must consider that these are the genuine article, irreplaceable objects of tremendous importance for the history of all of humanity. Are they truly destroyed?

In the case of the pieces from Dust to Dust, there can be no doubt that the vessels that fill these jars have been utterly destroyed. The remaining ceramic is contained in its own funerary urn, placed on a beautifully crafted shelves, clean ordered and evenly spaced. Yes the jars are destroyed, but they are still being treated with reverence and respect.

The Han Urn too is destroyed, or at least broken, like most of the works from its time. A skilled restorer could have the piece back to museum quality in a few days, so what truly is lost? certainly the rare quality of having never been broken, which is remarkable and wonderful to me personally as a person in love with art and antiquity, yet what might have been gained from the sacrifice, for that is what I believe these acts constitute.

We consider the great history of China unbroken, yet I believe Ai is pointing to another possibility, that it has been broken, that the current government of China has broken completely with history and humanity. The ritualized sacrifice of treasures has brought a great deal of attention to the artist and so then his cause for the freedom of the people of China. Reading comments to certain blog articles about this work it is clear that many believe that Ai should be imprisoned for this desecration. Actually he is imprisoned, being on house arrest for years because of acts like these. Is it because of the breaking and damage to historical objects? No, it is because the Chinese government sees this artists statements on a global scale as a threat to their continued power. This is what sanctifies the destruction of these objects and why this work is so compelling and thought-provoking.

Last year an artist broke one of the vessels from an exhibition in Miami. He claims to have done it to protest the galleries emphasis on international artists rather than on the local scene. I believe he has missed the importance of the statement made by Ai and used his fame to artificially propel his career, I have no doubt that if the protestor was himself showing internationally he would have no problem with an international gallery, nor would he refuse the opportunity to exhibit abroad in solidarity with local artists.

As for the painted pots, Greek sculpture demonstrates that painted surfaces usually don’t survive time the way that objects can. These pieces belong to history and humanity. This is but a brief moment in their existence. It is possible that the new status conferred to these objects as highly valued pieces of contemporary art will have a protective effect on them, but in any case, The culture of contemporary art and these political and aesthetic concerns will crumble to dust before all of these pots are lost.

http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/70/AiWeiweiDroppingTheUrnCeramicWorks5000BCE2010CE

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/feb/18/ai-weiwei-han-urn-smash-miami-art

Gansu Jars of Neolithic China

Neolithic culture is a period that begins worldwide about 8000 bce and is defined by humanities move from hunter-gather culture to settled agriculture centered around small villages. Important innovations and technology of the time were stone tools and the regular manufacture and use of pottery. It is in fact through pots and fired ceramic objects that we have learned about many of these early cultures, because the ceramic is able to survive the decay of long years in a way that other crafts that were practiced by these early ancestors cannot.This illustration is a recreation of a neolithic community in Jiangzhai Village, Lintong China. The image was taken from this website below, where a discussion of the layout and functions of the buildings is discussed. Most interesting to this article is the area near the river, which was the locations of the potteries and kilns. This would have been a very important industry for the village and so was located within the walls of the town.

http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/Xian/Shaanxi_History/pages/031_History_Museum.html

The area of this site, while outside of the Gansu province was from the neighboring province of Shaanxi and was a part of the Yangshoo culture which give us the Gansu Jars.This jar was found in the Jiangzhai Village and has many of the distinctive characteristics of the Banshan Yangshoo or Gansu Jars. Bulbous shape, small handles and free flowing dynamic brushwork are all characteristics of this work. In addition, these pots were light and well made, which is one of the reasons for the large number of these that have survived the many years since their creation (from the 4th to the 3rd millennium BCE) These were thought to have been built quickly with an eye for function. The majority of those that survive were used as burial jars.These beautiful forms were made by coiling and then paddling to refine the form, they were then scraped and burnished and painted with colored slips and fired in small updraft kilns.

“The forms of Chinese are are…in the widest and deepest sense harmonious…we can appreciate them because we too feel their rhythms all around us in nature, and instinctively respond to them” -Michael Sullivan 1967I dont dispute this quote, but I would go further, in that all art springs from that which came before, either in celebration or protest. Chinese culture is rare in that it traces its beginning, unbroken, to the Neolothic. There are many villages in China that still employ techniques for making pottery that were used during this early period and many of the forms produced clearly owe their origins to this formative period. Not only are these forms still relevant in China, but the pottery of China has been traded and treasured all over the world since the opening of the silk road. We respond to these forms and these designs because they are fundamental to the culture of the entire world, nearly every artistic tradition owes a debt to the pioneering potteries of Neolithic China.

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Speight, Charlotte F., and John Toki. Hands in Clay. 5th ed. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield, 2004. Print.

Wood, Nigel. Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation. London: & C Black ;, 1999. Print.

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