In Process Blog

On Home.

2011-05-14T15:09:00.002-05:00

This is a subject I constantly think of.
I was reading through a post Kate wrote about homes and it is such a strong question for me every day. What is home? Where is it? What does it mean? I am constantly asking myself these questions, trying to find answers in the work I make. I am getting closer, everyday, to finding out what quality it is that makes a place a home, but I don't think it will ever be solved for me completely. I think it must be a combination of elements, rather than one specific piece.

Laura Cooperman

2011-05-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

Not only does Laura Cooperman have a great first name, but she also creates the most amazing paper sculptures in a subject matter close to my heart.
I've been toying with the idea of using paper instead of ceramics lately. It's much more accessible and more directly relates to what I'm most interested in - the recording of memories.

Visual Territory

2011-04-06T15:52:00.004-05:00

On the left, Recollect 3 sits in the gallery

Late in February, I went to the closing of Visual Territory to see the show and pick up my work. It was really nice to see my work surrounded by so many other talented artists.

Sherry Leedy, in her essay said these kind words,"Ultimately the 37 artworks chosen for Visual Territory were distinguished by their maker's ability to transform and transcend purely personal meaning, to reach toward what is universal, and speak to us all."

Jason Laferrera

2011-03-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

Maps are getting more and more popular. I found out about these prints on Design Sponge. Laferrera uses historic maps, often from the area the animal is found, to create the image.

Andy Vogt

2011-01-13T14:29:00.000-06:00

These sculptures by Andy Vogt evoke an interesting mix of decay and renewal. Click on them to see them in full scale. These cropped versions don't do them justice.

Found via all the mountains...

Hello Again!

2011-01-12T12:50:00.008-06:00

The past 4 months have been a bit nuts. I'm still here, currently in a city covered in snow and clad head-to-toe in cozy, cold-deflecting clothing. Right now I'm working 2.5 jobs, reading a little, eating and cooking a lot, and occasionally making something new.

Next month I'll be in an exhibition at Pittsburgh State University, in Pittsburgh, KS titled Visual Territory: Exploring the intimate territories of personal experience and the global landscapes of place and environment. I'm looking forward to it! I want to give my congratulations to some of my friends, Ariel Bowman, Tess Stilwell, and Robert Lugo, all at KCAI.

Also! I updated my resume. Now you can see what those 2.5 jobs are all about.

Houses - Finally!

2010-08-28T14:43:00.006-05:00

Photos by Brian Ferry

2010-07-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

I have always been a fan of Brian Ferry's photography, seen here on his blog. It always puts me in mind of the best simple moments that beckon from a long since gone past history.

These recent images especially relate to me - and I to them.

Reading

2010-07-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been absorbed in this book, The Geography of Home. It has a lot of really interesting ideas about how we as contemporary Americans look at the places we live. I highly recommend it if you're into that sort of thing.

A Quilt, Completed

2010-07-19T17:03:00.003-05:00

Pieces of Memories was shown at the KCAI Ceramics Department for the Spring 2010 show. It was also bought! I spent a lot of hours making this quilt and I couldn't have done it without some friends of mine who helped me in the 11th hour before it was hung. Thanks to Lora Campbell and Tess Stilwell!

The quilt pattern was based on a design from a quilt my grandmother, mom and two aunts made for my other aunt when she was married. My aunt has since passed away but my uncle continues to treasure the object made by so many loving hands. Each piece of the quilt was individually made and strung to create the end result. I hope you like it!

I still have to get the other objects I made this semester photographed, which may take awhile. It's good to at least get this one up here.

Non-Abandonment

2010-07-12T12:22:00.005-05:00

Okay, okay, so I've been away for a long time. This is mostly due to a few (a lot) of changes in my life recently, including:

Graduating from college

Moving

Teaching

Looking for a more permanent job that has just even a little bit to do with my major

Need more? Well, I hope I can distract you enough with the delightful photo above, taken by Mr. Mo Dickens. Don't we all look smart?

I will be back soon. With more pictures. I swear. In the meantime, check out my updated resume.

Process, Progress, Problems

2010-04-15T21:57:00.002-05:00

With a staph infection and two surgeries added to my stress level this semester I continue to slowly, but steadily make progress towards the end of my semester and the end of my four years here at KCAI.

Things are a bit hectic; April is always the busiest month, and my recent health problems really haven't helped any. Luckily, people have been kind and understanding. I have renewed faith in humanity and am so grateful for the opportunities I have been able to keep, despite my lack of physical strength.

Either way, here's a peak of what will be seen when the BFA show opens tomorrow (April 16). It will be continuing on through May 15. It's exciting to see how far we've come, not only I and my ceramics colleagues, but all the graduating class.

Also, at the opening and closing the Art History and Creative Writing majors and double-majors will be reading from The Compendium, collection of written works by our liberal arts students. I'm going to be first to read tomorrow from a paper I wrote on Egyptian paste.

I hope you'll stop by and visit. It's going to be a great show!

Hello again

2010-02-22T00:12:00.004-06:00

More tiles

Mono-printing on topographical maps

My studio, with a wall of family photos dating from 1970 - 1990

A series of awkward Christmas card photos, circa 1992

Me, working away on a new house

The semester started over a month ago and I have only just now gotten down to business of sharing with you what's been going on.

I have three projects going this semester: a ceramic quilt made up of lots of translucent porcelain tiles, monoprinting photographic imagery on topographical maps made from a mold, and pared-down houses with drawings on them (mishma technique).

It's going to be a busy semester - my last one! All at the same time I'm trying to plan for life after college (frightening thought!)

Done!

2009-12-09T19:48:00.006-06:00

Home, 2009

Home detail, 2009

Home Quilt, 2009

Home Quilt detail, 2009

Finally, it's all over.
I finished my piece in good time and had an excellent critique. I'm really looking forward to next semester.

Almost there!

2009-11-12T20:34:00.003-06:00

The semester is closing soon and I'm scrambling to get it all together. I have finally worked out all the problems with my clay (now using Cone 6 Val Cushing body) and have glazed half and almost done!

House plans

2009-10-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

I saw these old house plans somewhere and thought it would be interesting to compare them to modern-day ones. I also like how the form of the house is made up by the space needed for the family to occupy it. It forms an interesting idea about how we use space and what time has told us about the way we occupy it.

Back to Square One

2009-10-20T18:56:00.004-05:00

Ah, Experience. You have taught me much, whether I want you to or not.
The result of my critique with Rain Harris brought about the starting over of my project. This is probably a good thing in the end. I'm now making molds for all the tiles I want to make. This has taken the better part of five weeks to do. However, I'm hopeful that in the end this will make the process that much easier.
Unfortunately, I've had to switch clay bodies. Using Reeves casting slip has proven nearly impossible.
Wish me luck.

Miniatures

2009-10-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

I've always been really interested in miniatures and the objects that house them. The idea of always having your loved one close to you on your person always seemed like a deeply romantic idea, whereas the locks of hair people kept always seemed a bit creepy.
I've been thinking about incorporating the idea of the miniature into some of my individual county tiles.
By the way, here's an interesting site about the Art of Mourning where a lot of these came from. I never really thought about my work being about mourning before, but I guess in a way, it is.

Maps: Lion, Houses, Hand

2009-10-07T20:39:00.000-05:00

Using a shape to define a map, or a map to define a shape is a really interesting idea to me. It could really be amazing to incorporate the house imagery to play into my previous semester's work. These are also scanned from Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga.

Maps: Color, Geometry

2009-10-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

These are really beautiful for their use of color and the sort of play of both geometric and organic shapes that are formed from those colors. These are also scanned from Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga.

Maps: Inset imagery

2009-10-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

I really love maps that have inset images, whether really incorporated in like the map at the top, or just added as a border. These are also scanned from Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga.

Maps: long, linear

2009-10-07T20:20:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love the way these maps have a long, lean quality defined by the rivers and oceans that formed the land. These are also scanned from Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga.

Objects and Maps

2009-10-06T19:55:00.000-05:00

These are scanned from a really great book called Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga.

Mighty MO

2009-09-20T23:29:00.002-05:00

Things are moving right along as I crank out my tiles for my translucent porcelain map. It's tedious, but I think it will all work out.

Craft In America!

2009-09-09T23:49:00.002-05:00

Everyone should check out the Craft in America website and view the promo! It takes awhile to get to the segment with my department here at the Kansas City Art Institute, but you get to see a lot of really talented artisans along the way. It's so exciting to see my professors and colleagues being presented in such an intelligent and significant way. I'm so proud of my department!

View it here, or watch the episode on October 7th!

Find Your Way

2009-09-02T19:39:00.002-05:00

So, I was surprised that when I googled "ceramic maps" I actually found some pretty interesting images.

It's fascinating to me that so many people have thought about the connection between clay and our land. It makes a lot of sense, really.

1: here, 2: here, 3: here.

Sunprint Ceramics

2009-08-28T10:40:00.003-05:00

Apparently, a person could use cyanotype, a photographic process, in order to put an image on ceramics! This is very exciting news. My roommate last semester had worked with the process for her photographs, a tricky one to get right. I was really struck by the specificity of the color and how the difficult process yielded different results every time. This brings the kind of unexpected quality that I enjoy in ceramics.

Does anyone know about this process? I'm unsure as to how safe it would be, and if it would be okay to do my studio.

Top 2 images from here, with excellent accompanying photos

Bottom from here.

Maps

2009-08-27T15:58:00.005-05:00

This semester I'm planning on working with maps - especially maps of Missouri. I'm not sure where it's going yet, but I'm very interested in the way we historically and politically divide the land we live on.

Dreaming in Magyar

2009-06-29T21:09:00.013-05:00

Last week the travelers to the annual ceramics department trip to Hungary returned, weary and exhilarated altogether. I know, because I went last year.

Here, I show you some photos of my visit. It was truly a life-changing experience that left me full of memories that will continue to stay with me for quite some time. We went to the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet for three weeks. We visited Budapest twice and went for four days to the tourist town of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic.

Welcoming feast of goulash first off - the most delicious food when eating plane food for 17 hours straight

A gorgeous door

The view from my room

The City Hall of Kecskemet

ice cream and coffee around the square

Starting on my first lithophane

In the collection, not sure who made it

Lithophanes at the Herend Porcelain factory

The Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest

The domed stain-glass ceiling of the Museum of Applied Arts

Out on the roof of the museum

In the courtyard, there was so much sculpture that they had to take down

The exhibition of majolica which was once more precious than gold

You know she's a virgin because the unicorn's head rests in her lap

Inside the very huge Budapest market. It's like this every day!

Outside one of the gorgeous bath houses in Budapest we visited

Inside St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest - the patron saint of Hungary

Firing the wood-burning salt kiln

The gardens of the castle in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

The lovely town of Cesky Krumlov

Back home in KC, the finished lithophanes rest in the collection case

With everyone else's!

Let me back up

2009-06-17T22:33:00.005-05:00

These are (low-quality) images of my work from the fall of 2008. I was primarily concerned with the romantic nature of post cards from the past that contrasted with their messages of mundane tasks. I also was very interested in photos of my parents before and after my birth. They are romantic views on nostalgia and homesickness for a place and time a person has never been.

In which I find myself back in business

2009-06-16T17:51:00.008-05:00

Trying to get back on track here.

The poster for the end-of-semester show. Every semester we have a committee who decides on the name and poster for the show. This image is a little off. The colors are supposed to be reds and oranges. (What the hell, blogger?)

These are from my "Relic of a Home" series. Each focuses on my ideas of home and its sacredness. They are memories made tangible.

Side 1

Side 2

Side 1

Side 2

Side 1

Side 2

Side 1

Side 2

This mailbox will be sent to L.A. for the Craft in America exhibition in the fall.

This satyr plate I did was for my winter session class. It is based on the domed window of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest, where I went last summer for ceramics.

doll houses

2009-04-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

Images of Heather Benning's life-sized doll house in Saskatchewan

Blumenhof Winery

2009-04-17T00:42:00.000-05:00

My family owns a winery in the rural setting of Dutzow, Missouri. It has been my second home for many years now.

Can't stop looking at

2009-04-17T00:35:00.000-05:00

John Brickels

2009-03-30T23:15:00.000-05:00

Paula Bastiaansen

Robert Dawson
palma babos

The Whole is the Sum of its Parts

2009-03-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

These graceful pod forms are created by Alice R. Ballard. The marriage between the organic forms and the openings in some of them are interesting to me. Space and how it interacts with the form is so important in my work right now.

These Julie Elkins ceramics are particularly interesting to me at the moment.

"I'm attracted to places where you can see the intricate remnants of history in thick layers."

Adrian Arleo creates these surreal sculptures that involve textures that belong to other objects. I'm especially interested in the honeycomb-like surface.

The Nonfiction Design Collective is an interesting group of artists that create sculptural, mostly functional objects. They use the white of the porcelain to convey the European aesthetic of high quality that seems to be permeating the U.S.

Light

2009-03-26T13:47:00.000-05:00

Jolynn Krystosek creates these beautiful paper and wax sculptures. Their delicate nature and neutral palette aren't noticeable from afar, but up close their details draw you in.

The Scoop.

2009-03-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

I'm interested in the way these textiles seem to directly converse with the ways in which cloth and geography are connected. Regardless of meaning, maps continue to influence me. Leah Evans map quilts found here.

Being from a family that makes wine for a living, these cups drive together two forces in my life. the artist seems to be bringingCups found here.

Old photographs continue to inspire me and these Rick Hards photographs (found here) are no different.

I haven't looked much into the work of this artist, but the ways in which she uses color and line are really beautiful to me. Lena Ryden found here.

Glove map of London

"George Shove, British
1851
Printed map on leather

The international expositions staged in Europe and America over the past two centuries attracted exhibits and tourists from around the world. To help organize the sprawling grounds, cartographers issued specialized maps that rivaled the inventiveness and visual allure of the displays themselves. On this ladies' glove, George Shove fit a map of London and the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition's distinctive Crystal Palace is near the base of the palm. The relative positions of other London destinations are also drawn in: St. Paul's Cathedral across two fingers and Kensington Gardens near the wrist."

Hermann, Missouri

2009-03-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

Hermann is a very small rural town where I lived half my life. There are a lot of things about growing up there that have shaped who I am and the direction my work has taken.

On a recent trip there, I took several photos:

The house I grew up in:

Architecture and Ceramics

2009-03-01T09:57:00.000-06:00

Dylan Beck

Beck uses a variety of materials (here, clay) to create images of architecture within the confines of urban sprawl. An interesting play of color, shape and historic architectural references help to bring about these ideas.

Robert Winokur

These houses and shrines show a very minimal aesthetic and simplicity that creates strong silhouettes, bold lines and sharp edges. They are, simply put, shrines and houses, which is largely similar to my ideas about homes.

Lidya Buzio

In a large way, these architectural forms by Lidya Buzio are the very opposite of Robert Winokur's pieces above. But what these lack in simplicity, they make up for in color and shape. The piece with the pedestal is especially interesting to me, because Buzio has clearly thought about how her ceramics will interact with what it rests upon, and takes it out of the stark and sterile gallery aesthetic.

Images of architecture

2009-02-18T17:42:00.000-06:00

Fragment of a capital, Abbey of Coulombs, France (Isle de France), ca. 1150, limestone.

This stone carving, found in the Nelson-Atkins museum was once a capital to a column. It shows a biblical story. What interests me, however, is the way the artists chose to represent the building in relation to the figures. Made small, it is meant to give a sense of distance in this compact scene, but what it gives is a very interesting stylized framing element for what is happening below.

Jacopo del Cansentino, Italian Florentine. Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple, 1330. Tempera and gold leaf on wood panel.

Bernardo Daddi, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Eight Saints and Eight Angels, 1338-1340. Tempera and gold leaf on wood panel.

These two early renaissance paintings depict firstly, a scene from the life of Christ, and secondly, a virgin and child depiction. The frames for these paintings were purposefully constructed to give the figures a space in which they could reside.

Louise Nevelson

This artist uses architectural framing to give individual grouped sculptures their own space. Made all one color, only the shapes themselves are focused on and give the light and shadow that plays off the sculpture its own place.

Contemporary Transitions

2009-02-08T20:46:00.000-06:00

Ida Just Møller

Ceramics and functional art usually go hand-in-hand, however, these cups are stretching that idea. From one angle, these cups look ordinary. When you turn them, however, you see high-relief sculpture, adding a level of surprise from what you normally would expect.

Niina Aalto

These cups are really just made to be cup holders for ordinary disposable plastic cups. This artist appears to be living somewhere between the world of artists and that of designers. The concept of cup holders (or coozies) for a plastic cup is a very design-based idea, whereas the classical forms and sculptural details invoke ideas of artistry.

Gesine Hackenberg

This ceramic jewelry made from plates brings up interesting ideas of traditional "china." It makes me think about how ceramic vessels are made with hands. Here, Hackenberg has reunited the ceramics with the body.

2008-10-18T19:09:00.000-05:00

Places of worship

Traveling

Beautiful percussion

Colorado

Fall foliage

Organized disorder found in worship plaques (above) and cobblestones (below)

2008-10-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy Molly Hatch's work, as well as the way she thinks about the everyday object being beautiful, considering all aspects of her pieces.

Hungarian secessionist finials

Unknown artist in the ICS collection

Lithophanes in the Herend Porcelain factory in Hungary

Tulip fields in Holland

Cooking, especially baking

Recent Happenings

2008-10-05T21:56:00.005-05:00

A few days ago a gift of apples was sitting in my space:

I wonder where they came from...

Here are a few things that have been happening lately:

A firing this weekend that appears to have gone well.

Gearing up for glazing - so many to choose from!

Still a few mono-prints left to bisque - I'm pretty excited about this one.

Semester Work

2008-10-05T21:45:00.004-05:00

A few years ago my mom gave my photos of her and my family from a time before I was even thought of. These images of an era of youth and beauty during the '70s and '80s, along with found antique post cards, gave me a feeling of nostalgia for a time that I had never known. But looking at the images of my parents, my aunts and uncles at the age I am now somehow lends me to feel as if I know them in ways I would not be able to otherwise.

This leads me to a personal experience, one that feels closer to homesickness, a feeling generally not associated with an unknown place and time, but which I now connect with my own personal wistfulness for the places and times I have left behind in my own life. Strangely, the two merge to allow me to feel closer to home.

Renegades at the Leedy-Voulkos

2008-10-05T21:43:00.003-05:00

Last weekend was the ubiquitous First Friday in the Crossroads district. I headed down with a group of friends packed into my car and arrived, surprisingly without incident, into the throng that seems to be every year's September First Friday. With what always seems to be some kind of organized chaos, we descended upon various galleries where interesting work mingled with the unexciting.
My first priority that night was to stop by the school gallery to see the work of our very own (see Paul's post). But on the way I made it out to the Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, where the Renegades of Funk show pulled me in from every direction. It was like a party with a DJ and action happening in every corner. The first thing I saw was a little girl with a paintbrush going at it on a wall. Across the room, Hector Casanova (pictured), a former instructor for the Foundations year at KCAI, was actively painting over another painting. All were part of an exhibition featuring underground artists. Putting their work up in a gallery defied the "street art" philosophy of having their art be accessible to all and not limited to gallery space. However, the aesthetic, technique and the overall feeling of what was happening - that it was all in-the-moment and involving both the viewers and artists - gave me a taste of that street art edge.

2008-10-05T12:37:00.000-05:00

Gardens

The vineyard where I grew up

J.M.W Turner's paintings of nature

Mary Cassat's later work inspired by Japanese prints

Mark Rothko's color field painting

Rembrandt's etchings

Song Dynasty China ceramic pillows

The Book of Kells and other illuminations

Donatello's Mary Magdalen

2008-09-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been looking at a lot of old photos of my parents. Here they are (above) in the '70s. Below, early '90s.

These postcards show a romantic view of what we see as the past. To the writers, they faced the harder reality of the present. In my work I've been trying to play with these two ideas.

Paula Wittner's paintings show a part surreal, part whimsical take on events both historical and mystical. This painting is called Ezekiel's Vision.

I have always loved Edward Gorey's drawings. He worked as an artist from the '40s until his death in 2000 but his drawings always took on a Victorian look and often combined the dark with the humorous.

Gustav Klimt's work is mainly about the celebration of women within fields of color and pattern which create curving and untraditional frames.

Antoni Gaudi's architecture has the curving lines and framing elements I often look at when creating edges.

I bought these postcards in the Czech Republic where all these artists are from: From left to right - Pavel Hudec-Ahasver, Jan Splichal, Jaroslav Feyfar and Dagmar Hochova. Their subject matter seems deeply personal while showing almost timeless images.

In Hungary I had the privilege of meeting Gabriella Kuzsel who works with plaster molds. Her work is very precise and this piece, King and Queen shows a unique understanding of the material within her own emotional thought process.

Maps - mostly of home - are really interesting in the way that space is divided by line and the interaction between the two.

Postcard Collages

2008-09-07T13:33:00.004-05:00

Gracia Haby is an artist working and living alongside Louise Jennison in Melbourne, Australia. Haby's paper collages grace many of their collaborative books, zines, and lithographic prints. Her images, often whimsical and funny in nature, speak to the viewer as if from a different world. This work is from an occasional series based on postcards received from friends. The postcards themselves have been transformed beneath Haby's skillful hands from images of known and recognizable locations to be come otherworldly, almost ethereal landscapes. Each accompanies a message. This postcard collage titled At First All Was Not Clear, partners the following:

May 10th, 1904

Dear you,

The great big trees of California live up to their promise and name. An ancient open air cathedral, all quiet here in this forest of mostly pines and firs.

I have discovered, though not first hand, that bad luck knocks on the door of those who cut down big trees, or shoot in the direction of an owl.

The space allocated for a message seems to grow smaller and smaller with each postcard. Hope to sight the once thought extinct Ivory Billed Woodpecker. If I sit very still I think I will be in with a sporting chance.

Fir cones and Racoon tracks,
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