People often ask about my technique and materials. The clay I use is Grolleg porcelain, mixed by Armadillo Clay Co. in Austin. My studio is very small, overlooking a forest and creek through three sliding glass doors (the picture on here is a 360 degree shot, making the space look huge). I just got a larger Skutt electric kiln so I won't have to jiggle big pieces of greenware across town to be fired. The studio shelves are lined with my muses--all the props that have served as models for my work. People often ask if I "dip these things" in slip, or if they are buried in the clay. Nope, and I don't use molds or armatures. The clay is just rolled out and formed. Timing is important because porcelain dries quickly. Plastic helps. Each piece is one-of-a-kind; I'm not into making multiples or even similar pieces, because the unpredictable changes that occur during the making can't be repeated without a stale result. Plus, I have far too many ideas lined up and begging for attention.
My best tip to artists: keep track of your ideas and things you learn and then index them. I carry a sketchbook everywhere and jam it full of lecture notes, journaling, pictures, scraps of paper, drawings, poems, etc. Then I compulsively cross-index it under scads of sub-headings that I invent as needed. I've indexed fifty sketchbooks now, and the index itself is an unwieldly, messy, fat notebook. But it is a continual source of fortuitous connections and serves my absent-minded brain very well.
The bisqueware is painted with matte underglazes, glazes, overglazes and metallics, all pre-mixed, mainly by Amaco and Mayco. I don't trace or use decals to copy a masterpiece because I enjoy the meditative practice of copying (it is like ingesting the work, and I get to know it well). Underglazes handle like quick-drying tempera paint. It is a challenge to get the color nuances with underglaze, as most colors fire differently than they go on. At least two firings are necessary--this clay bisques at Cone 06 and vitrifies at Cone 6 (that is 2232 degrees F, very hot!) Often I'll do another Cone 06 and a low 019 for metallics (which smell to high heaven). Occasionally the color is still too dull, and I may have to cheat and use acrylic to heighten some areas. But this prevents the risk of cracking during another firing. If I have to cheat and use glue, plaster or grout to repair a crack or breakage, I'll gladly do that too. After all, it is sculpture, not something you eat off of. |
