My Addition to the Whisper Gallery I, In Process 2
Dreaming A Little, sculptural ceramic glaze painting, in process with the first layer of glaze
This is part II of my process for the ceramic art piece I'm making for @mrblinddraw's Whisper Gallery I. (see Part I)
To recap, The Whisper Gallery Initiative is based on the children's game "Telephone":
"A chain of artistic creations that are each initiated by a seed idea/art piece (one piece of artwork inspires the next piece, and so on). Each week we will have a featured artist who will create a piece that is inspired by the piece from the week before."@mrblinddraw
Before you do anything else, pop over to @mrblinddraw's post this morning showing the full series of collaborations created thus far. It helps to see the sequence of the 4 previous works and then mine added today.
I am the 5th artist in the series and when looking at the previous artist @voronenka ’s Flickering Light, I was inspired by the woman falling asleep while standing at the bar and who she is.
I imagined her moving between the awake and dream worlds and pieces of both her unconscious and the conscious coming together to create a scene governed by dream logic and not subject to the rules of awake time. The woman becomes the panther that she sometimes feels herself to be in her mind’s eye. As this panther-self, she is sitting outside in the balmy breeze with grasses and flowers around.
Working in ceramics I knew that the overall look of my piece would have a very different look than the previous paintings already created and I felt a certain freedom in my approach.
I began with making a small slab with a sort of frame and then added all the parts and a loose sketch of the panther. Unfortunately the first one cracked, so I made a second and in doing so had a little fun reworking the composition a bit.
I put a foundation layer of glaze down to establish some color and depth to build upon. Glaze always looks different when applied to when it comes out of the firing so it takes some knowledge of the glazes you’re working with to have any control.
After firing the foundation, I applied a second layer of glaze and fired. The plan was for this to yield the final piece which I would photograph and send to @mrblinddraw.
On Sunday when I opened the kiln I saw that the image needed more contrast and definition. It felt bland, too yellow and kind of flat so I wanted to add a little more color and “pop” to a few areas.
Since we are in the same time zone, I asked him if I could send him the image early Monday morning and he gracefully said yes. I really felt relieved to be able to push this further towards matching what’s in my mind’s eye. A “fast” firing which takes about half the time was required for me to be able to open the kiln at 6:30am.
A technical consideration worth mentioning is that typically with tiles or dishware, one doesn’t fire anything ceramic more than once because it weakens the clay and the glazes. But with a piece of art, it doesn’t have to endure the daily handling of a vessel or a tile so I could take it through a few firings. With glaze paintings I like to be able to do this so I can do a little and see what I have and they play off that some more. It’s a very enjoyable process for me but 4 firings is as many as I will do because I want my art piece to be strong enough to last through shipping, moves and the vicissitudes of life.
Early this morning I opened the kiln and here is Dreaming A Little which is 8" x 6" and is 3-dimensional in case it isn't obvious.
I spent a total of 19 hours on the piece and the materials were about $10. I like to keep an eye on the economics of art making at every stage and have found that perceived time spent is often quite different than actual, so I keep a tally as I go. A week or so after I finish a project, I always sit down and do all the math to see the breakdown of time spent, money earned, and joy/satisfaction/learning rewards.
I can’t state enough how much I enjoyed this exercise, collaboration and project and the ways it pushed me creatively were well worth the time and effort. Interestingly, my insecurities as an artist blazed brightly in the last few days of the process and thank goodness for @greyhawk who kept a clear head while I roller-coastered up and down. We are so lucky to be able to help each other in this way when either of us has lost sight of who we are as artists, or the piece we're working on, or the context of making. It works because we respect each other enough artistically to actually believe what the other says even in the midst of our worst doubts or highest ego trips!
This was an incredible exercise that turned out to be rich on many levels, thank you @mrblinddraw for inviting me to participate in your first whisper gallery!
Here is the sequence of Whisper Gallery I so far:
Dreaming A Little 8" x 6", ceramic sculptural glaze painting by @natureofbeing
Follow @mrblinddraw to see progression. The next artist is @artistchristian
As always I sincerely thank you for your support, Steemit has opened up my world and I have all of you to thank for this!!
What an incredible addition to #whisper! Thank you for showcasing your process and contributing to this chain of creative improvisation. Wonderful work as always @natureofbeing :D
thanks so much @sndbox :-))
Amazing result, I love how you show the process of you work
This Whisper Gallery is a fantastic idea, the texture and colors of the puma seem to be very vivid (I am sure it is even better up close)
Keep up the great work, I will be following for more!
(I am no artist, but I used to have artistic urges when I was younger - painting and writing.. I admire people who can devote time into art ... )
thank you @katerinaramm for your support, isn't whisper gallery a fun series?
Oh yes! It is really fun and I am looking forward for the sequence :)
Again, thanks for bringing it to my attention!
And who knows..? Perhaps the sleeping artist in my will wake up one day in the distant future
First, Great results @natureofbeing! :D Second, as always it is a pleasure to be invited in to learn about your process and hear your thoughts around your art! <3 I always had a soft spot for glazed ceramics and find it so intereting how the value and color change so drasticly during the process...Again, thank you for a wonderful read! :)
So glad this was enjoyable for you to read/see and especially since I know you understand process and painting (actually painting MUCH more than I do!!). It would be fun to do a project with you some time.
Wow, I love that you created this amazing piece for only $10. It’s incredible what can be done through sheer human creativity! You’re so talented. :) Also, the whole post is a masterpiece in content and design. Thank you for sharing, as always!
Thank you for your support @lilyraabe! And not only for $10, don't forget the 19 hours!! But yes the materials aren't so much for a small piece like this.
Ha, well of course, when you add in YOUR time I’m sure the “price” skyrockets. <3
I'm in love, Cats, Ceramics....showing the process
other great art
Cats.... ;)
Lol, thanks @battleaxe :-)
Yay 💃 💃
And you've added a tiger to the piece.
And colors too.
Well done Ma
Panther, thanks @seunnla
Oh this is AWESOME! I love it. And such a cool process.
thank you so much @Dougkarr!!! Speaking of cool projects, I need to pop over to your blog which I'm behind on :-))
Wow, this turned out great. Really like the colors and the large black panther. I have a cat named Pantera, after that very same feline, just in case you were wondering ( :
So nice you can re-fire these. I like that attitude, as long as it's for art, more can be added in hotfire do-over's. And so nice to have @greyhawk to bounce art-life off of. SO very valuable in so many realms, and the ability to stay at least a BIT grounded in these processes. Lets face it, being an artist is sure a roller coaster ride. I've really had that driven home even more now on this site. How fast your psyche changes, in even a day. Why is it creativity makes us a sensitive bunch? Suppose it's because you put so much of self into what is being made.
Great work on the collaboration, I really enjoy this 'telephone' idea. Creativity to the max. Hope you have a nice, crack-free clay day.
Glad you like the finished piece :-) and what a great name for a cat!
It REALLY is amazing to have a creative partner, an equal, a peer, a challenger who's also so much more. I'm very grateful for my good fortune.
I tend to think that sensitivity is often (not always though) part and parcel of creativity. I know that I have strange needs for simplicity and quiet and time to myself that my friends and family don't seem to require. I used to fight this within myself but now I accept it and do my best to honor it.
And you are so right about how quickly the psyche changes! Hour to hour sometimes...and I see this with everyone, not just creatives. Must be the nature of being human in our times, after all the world is changing at an unprecedented speed these days!
And once again, I'm chuckling reading your comment - a crack-free-clay day!! I had one thankfully and hope you do too!
It is so very nice to have someone to bounce around and off-of...all your ideas, hopes, fears and all the rest of the bailiwick that goes along with the artistic world. I seem to have the double whammy in that regard. Very, almost overly sensitive at times, combined with some part of a foot into creativity. Though certainly not at a scale with your works, or other's on here. And no one but a Steemit audience to try to please. Can't imagine it with the added pressures of being a paid artist.
But I get that double dose, which does change often, as you say. I agree, sometime hourly. I like your discussion about the events of the world of today. I'm sure that is a HUGE part, that I hadn't really put into terms with the creative side of things. Yet is is so important. Decisions made on high that affect how our lives may go, with NO chance for a change or having any effect on our part, as we have no input they could care at all about. Kind of watching the boat get holes poked in the bottom, and hoping it just keeps on floating down the river. Too many idiots with sharp stick for my inflatable...
Well, I've rambled on here long enough. I hope your night is a good one, and tomorrow is productive and fun. Keep on keepin' on, and smiling while you do.
Wow! That's so cool. I really love the depth and texture of some of the elements. The shelves in the background add an element of surreality that really gives it a dreamy quality.
Thanks so much @fronttowardenemy, glad the dreamy thing comes through. To be honest, I tried to make it much more like dream-like but with reglazing sometimes the glazes don't show up as much. Anyway, thanks for your support and time!
This is just the most amazing thing that's growing in front of us. I love to read about the economics that you talk about in the art. It's interesting and I didn't know that part of this was a struggle. I hope that @greyhawk gave some great advice :) Thank you again in being a part of this amazing community project. I really can't thank you enough.
Glad you enjoy the economic transparency...it's a goal of mine and I started awhile back including this information in my art posts. It's such an important aspect of the process and so rarely talked about. We can all learn so much from understanding what goes into making something, anything actually!
@greyhawk was incredibly helpful and gave such great advice! And thank you so much for doing this very cool project and including me, I loved it!