Summer Recap & Start of Year 2
After an epic (but too quick) summer, classes are back in session at IUS. Which means I am re-entering my blogging era <3
It was great having a quiet studio for a good part of the summer. I’m now working out of Max’s old space (who I miss dearly), and really loving the new location. Speaking of Max, I visited him at Arrowmont Craft School in Gatlinburg, TN at the beginning of August! It was great to tour Arrowmont and make some new ceramics buds. I’m very interested in applying as a work-study there for next summer.
Other cool places I went include:
Red river gorge!
Lewis and Clark Caverns!
Cool studio things I did include:
Summer woodfire
Summer soda (with Drew and Jooby!)
Cannon River Clay Tour (part two). Grateful that my grandparents were able to attend!
I had a wonderful time as my second year as an emerging artist on the tour. I had some really informative and positive interactions with viewers and a handful of great conversations with the artists on the tour. It’s an honor being a part of that community and to have been invited back for a second year. Looking back at the work I brought to last year’s tour, I’m proud of my growth and the direction my work has gone. I spent most of my studio hours this summer chugging away on these intricate functional forms, most of which took at least 8 hours to complete (some like 20. yikes). It felt good to show a cohesive body of work that was as sculptural as it was functional. One of my main goals last year was to find a way to synthesize those two realms, and I feel I’ve definitely achieved it. I had an awesome informal critique with Sam Johnson at the end of the tour that helped me focus in on some future goals for this work. I hope to find more balance in my forms by allowing more quiet surface areas and honing in on the different patterns that emerge across my form. When I resume my functional work, I plan to follow his advice in working on multiple pieces at once and exploring different, singular surface treatments on each piece. My challenge moving forward is to stop before the piece becomes too complicated, while continuing to subvert expectations and creating interesting silhouettes.
I’m not sure when exactly I started the sculpture I’m currently working on, but it’s been a while. This past week, I finally resumed progress after having it covered for over a month. It’s been a slow burn, mainly because all my energy this summer went into the functional stuff I brought to the tour. This sculpture will ideally be a 3 part, 9 foot monument and my main focus this fall semester. This is the base part, and it has about 10 inches of height left. I intend to bring the top to a point and have the next part nestle on top of it with a small overhang. You might wonder how I will build a 3 foot tall sculpture with a bottom that is tailored to fit the top of the base part. Don’t worry, I have a plan. Is it a sure fire plan? Not at all. But surely I must know what I’m doing going into my second year at IUS!
