Sunday, December 20, 2009

Western NY Landscape #7, #8, #9 Ceramic Relief





3 1/2" x 5"

4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

3 1/2" x 4"

ceramic relief


I'm very happy with the painterly quality in the ceramics I've been doing. I use a combination of glazes and these underglaze chalk crayons/pastels. There is my secret. Not everyone is willing to share recipes. I heard of a couple getting divorced and fighting over the exclusive right to a special glaze recipe. I don't feel like the medium here is a special trick, though. I have my own sensibility, vision, and way of handling the material.

The top piece is very physical and seems like a setting for a fairy tale. Dusk is the time of day, late fall or late winter/early spring the season.


The central piece is spacious. A big sky with lots of transitions and a raised, dark green hill with a contrasting edge. I like the organic tilt of the all-over form.


The third piece has an array of greens; it has been tricky to get the right brighter ones. The trees have layered, interwoven color that I see in foliage. A bit of the feeling of a sky arching overhead is created by a curve.


The uniqueness of handmade things makes for memorable gifts and I found a great site to list some of my older work and for holiday shopping. Etsy is an enormous site where one can by directly from artists and craftspeople. Everything on it has to be handmade or vintage. You can find art, clothes, jewelry, household items, and many other things. It is nice to buy from an individual rather than a chain as well as things made in the U.S.A. I found half of my gifts there this year including cool etched monogrammed scotch glasses for my father-in-law and custom t-shirts.


Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

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