Week 11 - “i was here”
This week was a rollercoaster - but a (mostly) fun one! Also super long blog incoming please feel free to skim.
On Monday, I fired my first solo raku with about half of my sculpted rocks, with the rest cooling simultaneously in Jooby’s soda. I wouldn’t call the firing a “success,” but I will say that succeeded in doing what I needed it to do. I put the unglazed rocks on cookies to make it quicker/easier to take them out of the kiln, but every cookie ended up breaking as the kiln was ramping up, causing the rocks to topple all over. The glazed rocks (I used white crackle and copper/cobalt) were rolling all over the shelves and onto one another but luckily none fused to anything. I had to take the pieces out in two sessions because my raku tong skills are amateur level, and there were a lot of little rocks to grab.
I definitely learned some lessons with this firing, but overall, I’m satisfied with what it gave me and I think my tong skill level went up at least 1 point.
The results of Jooby’s soda, on the other hand, were pretty much flawless. They had some beautiful sculptures and pots come out, as did Emma and Christopher. My rocks all came out gorgeous, and I am loving how the soda ash and flashing looks on the Beck porcelaneous stoneware. It has a stunning range of colors, and I can’t wait to keep testing it. Most of the rocks I made in the dark stoneware (the same Mangus/Kwong All Purpose Dark Clay I was testing last semester) bloated, which seems to happen to that claybody past a soft cone 10 because of the redart. I’d like to try out some different dark clay recipes in the future.
175 (+/-5) rocks total!
I also threw in the perlite/sawdust/straw/course grog tests I made a couple months ago, and they all came out pretty cool. I don’t really see myself seeking those sorts of textures in my current work, but I’m glad to have these tests if that ever changes.
I really enjoyed conceptualizing and installing the Space Lab show.The process of framing this rock series in the context of our mutual through-lines of self, time, memory, and place was very informing for me. I liked how we displayed our individual statements together in the indoor space and thought the aesthetic we created for the show did a good job in illustrating our theme.
Installing in nature was a joyful experience. The forest felt sacred and still.
This piece is currently installed in the student juried show on a low pedestal as well. It also won an award!! for which I am honored :)
Displaying Propriocepta forms from 2023 in this rock pile was a sort-of last minute decision that I think worked out well. They are inspired by tidal pools and I haven’t yet installed them in this way, and they naturally filled with rainwater from the night/morning before class. Plus, the weather was perfectly gloomy and misty, which reminded me of the Pacific Northwest.
Some main takeaways/ideas/plans from critique:
-integrate my pieces more with their environment as opposed to using nature as a pedestal
-leave most of the rocks where they are and see what happens to them over the next few months, scatter some along the walking trail, and save some to bring to other places
-install 6’ sculpture along walking trail
-dig/process clay from location, make/document unfired rocks in location — returning material directly to its source
Reflecting on the install further, I really wish I’d installed some of my rock stacks alongside Jooby and Emma’s pieces for this show/critique. As usual, we were all pretty pressed on time, but I think we did a decent job at pulling it all together. :)