It's Always The Little Things

It seems like I am always being delayed by things I don't expect.  I should just expect something to go wrong at this point and assume every task will take double the time I think it will!

I ordered a bunch of mosaic tiles recently, and am in the process of detaching them from their paper backing.  This is done by soaking them in water until the glue holding them onto the paper dissolves, which takes only about 5 minutes.

One of the tile colors, however, absolutely refuses to detach from the paper.  I don't know what happened to this batch, and it has never happened to me before, but even after soaking them for two days, they are still stuck.  I eventually gave up my hopes for an easy solution and set to work.

A five minute job is now taking hours. I had to tear each tile off of the soaked paper, and now I am working my way through the 225 tiles, scraping the glue and paper remains off of the tile.  The paper remains are stuck fast to the side of the tile that will show in a finished mosaic, so I have to get it off.  Scrubbers don't get it well enough and besides, the tiny tiles are too small to hold with one hand and scrub with the other, so I scrape and scrape with the only tool that does the job adequately--my fingernails.

One step at a time!

Studio Reorganization

When I first started my studio in the room where it is now, I put up a few sets of shelves and a table and kindof spread out from there.  Nothing was organized in a way that made sense for work flow-- the wet slip was across the room from my molds, the glazes were far away from my tables and the sink, etc.

Since I got to reorganize my studio from scratch, I put a lot of thought into where things go.  Hopefully the work flow will be better and I won't be going back and forth across the room all the time anymore.

One of the most important considerations, however, walks around on four legs and drives me nutso by laying behind my chair or right where I'm trying to walk, or wagging his big tail near my works in progress.  So I made sure to arrange the shelving units in a way that left a few easily-barred openings to the serious workspace in my studio.

And it works!  Today I took advantage of that feature and blocked Bandit out while I was working on things on the floor.  A cocked chair lets me step over it easily when I need to get out or in, but my puppy dog can only stick his head in between the shelves.

Needless to say, Bandit does not approve.

Mosaics: My Other Love

Ceramics and mosaics are like two different parts of the brain to me.  In clay I tend to think in 3-D, with curves and textures and details.  In glass tile mosaics, I stretch to think in 2-D, which comes less naturally for me.  I have to restrain and often tone down my designs, because the grout lines and varieties in glass color create enough visual complexity without me adding a complicated design.

This was my first mosaic table, a Christmas gift for my now-husband, who loves tea.  We had this coffee table, but the glass in the middle broke and so I cut a board to size and created this design.

This was my second table, a year later.  I snagged a perfectly good free table from somebody's curbside, and it was our dinner table for about six months before I gave its white vinyl surface a makeover.

Both tables are currently gracing the living rooms of my closest friends, since we have no room for them where we are living now.  Plus, after I live with my art for a while, I like to see it out enriching other people's lives.  I can't keep every artwork I make!

Large mosaic projects like this drain me of a substantial amount of energy.  It takes over a month for me to go through this process:

• develop the design
• choose the colors (a "blue" area will have at least 3 shades)
  
• order and prep the materials
• refine the design after I get the uncut tiles on the surface--often I find I need to tweak lines
  
• cutting and gluing the tiles
  
• grouting
• cleaning and sealing

When I finish, I am totally uninterested in ever doing it again.  But after a few months or a year, I get that itch again and find myself on a mosaic tile website.  My current favorite to order from is Mosaic Art Supply. I am ready to start a new project soon.

Studio Overhaul Update

The studio owner (yes, it's my mom) has decided not to rip up all the floors after all.  The reason: concrete is COLD (I know, news flash). What's down there now is Pergo wood laminate flooring, and we were removing it because one corner is prone to water seepage from outside when it is rainy.  The water gets into the floor insulation, and the soggy conditions were making the floor warp.  And, as we found out when we ripped up the rotten boards, it encouraged lots of mold.  We decided to rip up the rotten/wet/moldy area as well as a foot or so around it.

Removing the wood laminate was not as easy as I'd hoped when we got to the non-rotten sections.  This meant I got to break out the circular saw and impress my mom.  I must have gotten my love of power tools from my dad.  I cut the wood evenly and we took out the rest of the boards, the insulation layer, and the plastic covering the concrete.

My mom wants the concrete painted eventually after we let it dry and see if it stays that way.  I have realized that I have a blind spot when it comes to the aesthetics of either a work in progress (be it ceramics or a vegetarian stew) or functional things, like the floor.  I see either the finished product in my head, or the function, and that makes it beautiful to me.  Give me a concrete floor over a white carpet any day.

After some finishing touches, I will be moving my shelving and studio equipment back, but in a better configuration than before.  I am committed to making the workflow better, and keeping the studio clean and neat--which means arranging the storage/shelving in ways that make it easy for me to do so.  My mom has given the flooring up as lost and will refinish the room when my studio eventually moves, so I can stop worrying about messing it up and treat it like the clay studio flooring it is!

Progression of an Idea

One of the wonderful things about making art is the process of developing an idea.  You learn and imagine things you never expected.  Sometimes what you end up with is a complete surprise, but when you look back you can see the progression as your mind leapfrogged around and refined its imagery.  Here I've documented a progression that has taken place over several years.

This was Stage 1: a sculptural spiny eel curving its way up a handbuilt pot.  There is an opening at the top with a boring rim, as if it is meant to be a vase.  It was never finished because although I loved the form (more specifically the eel), I could never decide what color/texture combination to use in glazing it.

Stage II: Eel vs. Creature.  I went to rebuild the original piece to basically test glazes on, but ended up continuing the wall up and around and finishing it with teeth.  The concept was a spiny eel, probably hunting, encountering a hunter of its own as it wound its way along coral and rocks.  However, the boring satin grey I finished the creature in basically ruined the piece for me.  It never quite came together.

Stage III found another eel hunting, this time encountering a shark.  I felt the shape of the shark's nose balanced the form nicely, though I do wish I'd curved it the other way.  I love the contrast of the metal and the clear crackle glaze on white clay.  However, the piece still felt like it was a step in the road.

Stage IV: Abandoning the eel!  I often find that my original ideas are too cluttered, and simplifying them usually results in a more powerful piece.  That is what happened here.  I took just the shark shape, cut the mouth into it, and pit fired the resulting sculptures.  The simplicity of the form allows the markings of the pit fire to shine, and to me this type of finish creates a mysterious, primeval feeling.  Smoke and fire, water and shadow.  The pieces have openings for a tea light candle to be inserted so that the light can flicker along the inside of the mouth.

Smashy Smashy

Yesterday I did something I've been wanting to do for months, if not years: collected all my old work, finished or "in progress" (some have been "in progress" for ages), and smashed it to bits!

Old, bad, or unfinished work hanging around felt like a weight around my neck, keeping me from new projects and new ideas.  This year, when I finish overhauling my studio, I will have a nice clean slate to work with.

I didn't throw out everything; here were my questions that helped me sort:

• Was it well made?
• Did it still inspire me in some way?
• Will I want it one day to look back on my beginner years?
  

If the answer was "No" to all, I tossed it.  I felt no pangs of sorrow as we smashed--so I'm pretty sure I made good decisions. I think my sister had more trouble throwing things out than I did!  She helped me (thanks sis!), and it was funny to see her reactions to demolishing certain pieces.  Some she was thrilled to smash, some she was very sad about.

Major Overhauls

Due to a minor but unfortunate flooding situation in my studio (also known as the former rec room in my mother's house), we have decided to take up the now-warping wood paneling and insulation on the floor, leaving bare concrete that we will paint with a concrete sealer. 

To be honest, this suits my needs fine because I won't have to worry that I am damaging the floors with a plaster/clay/glaze spill or by dragging heavy equipment.  Luckily this decision came at a time when I am taking a break from clay and cleaning up my studio and throwing out unhelpful clutter.

When I walked down there to begin the cleaning/moving process (I will put all things on one half of the room, deal with the other half's floors, and then switch), I almost walked out in despair.  Who knew I had all that stuff!  And in such a mess!  Then I reminded myself of my "One Step At A Time" resolution, identified my very first step (get a trash bag), and jumped in.  I refused to let myself think farther ahead than the next 2 minutes.

By the end of the day, I had made some serious progress!

Walking Like Freckles

Feet barely skimming the ground, Freckles is a study in enthusiasm as she explores the forest trail anew each day.  It is still hunting season, so I call her back when she roams too far away, and she gleefully stretches her legs to race towards me.  She even skips.  I saw her.

She reminds me of what we all need more of in our lives: sheer childlike enthusiasm.  Full steam ahead, doing our absolute best at whatever we chose to do, simply because it makes us happy.

Resolutions for 2010

I have two resolutions this year.

#1) Believe in myself. 
Putting myself into my work, into my words, and into my relationships is so hard for me because I try to please everyone.  I assume that they won't like what I have to offer, and I fear their disapproval or disgust.  This resolution is a wide-reaching one, requiring that I

• stop looking for outside approval
  
• start saying/making/doing what is in my heart
  
• value my own thoughts and efforts.

Simply making this resolution has caused a change in me.  Whenever I catch myself feeling negatively about myself, I reaffirm this resolution.  Each morning Ray has me saying a statement that fulfills this resolution.  And whenever I am wavering, about to lose my courage and wimp out, this credo will be my guiding star.


#2) Take things one step at a time.
Right now it's taxes.  And getting my ridiculously awful business records in shape.  And cleaning/rehauling my studio.  And figuring out an Etsy shop.  And designing new pieces.  And casting new molds, making new pieces, testing new glazes, applying for new shows---

You get the idea.

Every time I start hyperventilating, I stop and identify what the next step is for what I'm doing today.  I have the rest of my life to become a super-awesome expert; it doesn't all have to happen this month or even this year.  Yes, it's a complicated lifestyle full of challenging tangles to unravel and huge tasks to complete.  But like Jordin Sparks warbles, the only way we get there is one step at a time.

It helps that I LOVE that song!

If you have a resolution attached to your artistry this year, let me know in the comments!