FREAK PARADE!

Spring Break found me in Milwaukee, WI with a group of my students visiting studios and agencies. A little side trip brought us to the Haggerty Museum of Art on the campus of Marquette University where we saw a show by Thomas Woodruff.

About Thomas Woodfruff
On a cold and windy night in 1963, Thomas Woodruff, a peculiar cub scout, carried a large American flag for his troop in the New Rochelle, NY Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event left lingering scars. He was known in the neighborhood as the boy who staged elaborate puppet shows in his darkened suburban basement. While still in his twenties, Woodruff collaborated with the avant garde theatre director Robert Wilson on the decor for his opera Edison, and adapted and storyboarded his stage spectacles for television. He has contributed award-winning illustrations to every major periodical in America, including the memorable backpage series “Rock and Roll Still-Life” for Rolling Stone in the early 1990’s. He has created the book covers for novels by Ann Tyler, Robertson Davies, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, and many others.

Woodruff has had over 20 one person exhibitions, and his paintings have been included in museum shows internationally. His major gallery works are created in series. In the past these works have often been elegaic in nature and have dealt with the AIDS epidemic. Some of his major projects are The Secret Charts (1994), a series of tromp l’oeil scrolls depicting an alphabet of loss; Apple Canon (1996), his collection of 365 individual apple “portraits” to “keep the doctor away”; and All Systems Go (1999), images organized as “missions” incorporating rocketships, Woodruff’s meditation on the end of the millenium.

Freak Parade has been his most ambitious project, five years in the making. He has recently finished Solar System (The Turning Heads), which showed at PPOW October 2008. Woodruff illustrated Jack Handy’s “My Big Thick Novel” for the 2002–3 Emmy Award winning season of Saturday Night Live; and continues to design for the theatre, most recently the decor and costumes for Salome at the Hawaiian Opera Theatre (2002). He briefly worked as a tattooist in the late 1980’s, and has promoted this and other “alternative” forms of image making in the many exhibitions he has curated. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 1981, and is currently the Chair of Illustration and Cartooning.

If in Milwaukee before April 18, check the show out live, or here for a virtual viewing.

At The MoMA

Detail

Marcel Odenbach, German, born 1953

You Can't See the Forest for the Trees
2003

Cut-an-pasted printed paper, cut-and-pasted colored paper, ink, and pencil on two pieces of paper

The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift, 2005

Odenbach's upbringing in postwar Germany was inextricably linked with the country's sociopolitical history, a heritage he addresses in his compositions though the bits of text and images culled from a variety of mass-media sources that often fade into the background of the larger drawings. You Can't See the Forest for the Trees plays on a common expression and is a plea to not only see this particular forest as a forest but also take into account its context: the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was named after the many birch trees surrounding the complex.

Throwing Clay: Some results #18 - Covered Casserole

I have made two of these and have sold one (forgot to take a picture of it)!

The two pieces are thrown separately, bottom and lid. Getting them to fit snuggly aint no easy task, but when it works it is awesome!

This casserole is 8.5" in diameter and about 4" tall with the lid on. It is glazed in glossy black and honey mustard. The honey mustard is pure inside and the outside has the glossy black over it which gives the green color!

For Sale

Click on picture for larger view.

Friends have been coming to my house and asking to buy my pottery! I have simply had it out on display. No prices, no sales pitch! I have been happy to give it as gifts up until now! I have since sold several of the slabscapes and a covered casserole.

I thought why not share it with everyone! So here is what I have for sale with prices. Of course anything else you see on my blog is for sale too, unless it has been given as a gift already!

Interested? Drop me an email!

For info on pottery classes, check out, The Pot Shop

Throwing Clay: Some results #17 - Hair Pots

Hair Pots?!

Using white stoneware, rather than the more typical brown, and then bisque firing as usual is the start of this Native American pottery.

Once the piece is bisque fired, you fire the piece again, unglazed! When the piece is to temperature, nearly 1000°, you take the hot piece from the kiln and using horse hair, you can use other hairs, but horse gives you the nicest lines, you drape the hairs across the hot pottery. The hairs are what make the black lines. The speckles are from sprinkles of saw dust. The materials essetially burn on to the surface.

Once cooled, you use floor polish to shine up the piece!

The pot on the left is 3.5" tall and about 5" in diameter.
The clock is 9.25" in diameter

Throwing Clay: Some results #16 - Slab Scapes!

Been busy making some holiday gifts but these just came out of the kiln today!

They are made on the slab roller, hence the name. And when glazed by pouring the glaze rather than dipping, they look like landscapes, again, hence the name!

They measure 12" x 4.75". The top one is glazed in glossy white, followed by glossy brown and matte blue. The bottom one is bobby green followed by temoku!

Throwing Clay: Some results #15 - More Mugs!

The most recent addition to the pottery collection, though these aren't staying! They will be sent off as holiday gifts!

Glazed with glossy white, matte blue and glossy brown!

Next in the cue are some covered casserole dishes!

Throwing Clay: Some results #14 - Pie Plate

I must admit, this is the first piece I actually made as intended. What I mean is that the many other pieces have been fun to make, but have not always been the picture in my mind. I do not mean I wanted a pasta bowl and ended up with a mug. I ust may have pictured the pitcher as something else but got what you see. This pie plate, however, is exactly what I wanted.

See, clay shrinks as it dries, about 15%. So when you make something you kind of have to make it oversized.

Well, I wanted a 9" pie plate, as most recipes call for that size. And if you measure this, you will see it measures just over 9" across the bottom, and flares open to about 9.5"

It is glazed in brick red, with matte white along the edge. When the matte white runs it creates some beautiful blue streaks!

Mmm, pie!

Throwing Clay: Some results #13 - Mugs-A-Palooza

Here are some sets of mugs. I knew this handle pulling thing would run amock!

Top: 3.5" diameter, 4" tall; matte blue and glossy brown glazes
Center: 3.75" diameter, 4" tall; honey mustard and glossy black glazes
Bottom: 3.75" diameter, 4" tall; bobby green and temoku glazes (given as a gift to neighbors)

Throwing Clay: Some results #12 - More covered jars

Here are three more of the covered jars completed. THESE are making great gifts and even gift boxes!

Top: 2.5" tall 3" diameter; brick red and matte white glazes

Center: 2.25" tall 3.5" diameter; matte blue glossy brown glazes

Bottom: 2" tall 3.25" diameter; raspberry and matte white glazes

Next up. . .mugs. REAL mugs!

Big Red Ball

Artist Kurt Perschke’s RedBall Project is a sculptural installation traveling around the globe, adopting cities as its canvas. Perschke uses RedBall to explore each city’s unique architectural landscape and history. The RedBall is boldly present and smoothly transient, moving between locations and engaging people on the street. The ongoing project is unique in each city and has taken place in Sydney, Barcelona, Korea, Arizona, Portland and St. Louis. Currently research is taking place for cities in Asia, Europe, and Turkey. To learn about the next performance, join the mailing list , which receives about two announcements a year. Or contact the artist directly about bringing the project to your city.

It is in Chicago right now! You can check out its schedule and all other things Redball here!

Throwing Clay: Some results #11 - Small Pitchers

Finally, some pieces with pulled handles! It was a goal to make something requiring a handle and to get those handles pulled! They aint as easy as you think! And the process looks as dirty as it sounds! But I am getting the hang of it. I feel like going back and making a couple of mugs from the first class with a real handle!

These pitchers are on the small side, they hold about a quart!

On the left: 6" tall, approx.4.5" in diameter; glazed in matte white and brick red. I love the glazing on the handle where all the edges are highlighted and was hoping for the same on some of the details on the pitcher itself.

On the right: 7" tall, approx. 4.5" in diameter; glazed in glossy white inside, glossy black and temoku on the outside. Again, I was hoping for more bleeding/running of the glaze and highlighting of details on pitcher!

I have another larger pitcher waiting to be fired!

Art Swap

While visiting and staying with my friends in Louisville, I brought them a thank you gift, a small platter I made in pottery, for their hospitality!



Cean's son Harrison, in turn, gave me this woodcut that he made. Through osmosis, Harrison has learned that artists often swap their art with one another.



I came home with a wonderful gift!

Throwing Clay: Some results #10 - Covered jars

It is not. . .NOT my intent for my blog to turn into a pottery showcase, but it has been a really great hobby and I just wanna share!

We most recently learned to make covered jars. They are actually made as one piece that is made with a huge void inside it only later to have the lid cut from the base exposing the hollow center! Sounds easier than it is.

These are the first three I made. Details from the top!

Top: 2" tall 3.375" diameter; matte blue and glossy brown glazes. This is a gift for a neighbor who was taking the class but had to drop out. She gave me her clay so I made her this jar as a thank you!

Center: 2" tall 4.375" diameter; matte white and brick red glazes

Bottom: 4" tall 4" diameter; temoku and glossy black glazes. The rust colored rim is unglazed and the two pieces (lid and base) were fired separated which gives them the toasty color as compared to the rims of the other two which were fired covered/together.

Now my only question is, what to use these containers for?

Throwing Clay: Some results #9 - Gingko Plate

I am starting to better get the hang of glazing! I feared it for the longest time but as I do it, I understand better how it blends, works, how to control it etc.

This is the only plate I have made so far and I am liking it a whole bunch! It measures 10.5" in diameter. I glazed it by rubbing bobby green glaze into the leaf impressions and then glazed over the whole plate with glossy white. Other than a couple of thick glaze spots. . .

We learned how to make covered jars/containers. I have three ready for the bisque and one still drying. I also made a couple things with some donut forms! Next I am going for a pitcher. A real pitcher one can use for some ice cold beverages! I had one going Saturday, but then nearly lost it and called in some professional help. I have to pull a handle tomorrow for it and then conquer the next all on my own!

Throwing Clay: Some results #7 - Glazing

On July 1, I showed you some platters with leaves pressed into the surface. They were just air dry. I was waiting to get them bisque fired, glazed and glaze fired!

Well, one is done! Behold the Starved Rock Platter!

Glossy blue glaze was rubbed into the leaf imprints and then a bobby green glaze went over the whole platter! I wish I could take all the credit for the glazing solution but Dominic made the suggestion and even did a test platter of his own to give it a go! I did do the glazing on this.

I am still waiting for the second platter which was just put in the kiln today for its glaze firing, so stay tuned for its debut!

Throwing Clay: Some results #6

Here are two trays done with a technique of creating a thick disc on the wheel and then throwing it on a board! You get these wonderfull oval/elongated platters. They are great for cheese, a tray for a serving set, appetizers etc.

I showed you two that I made with leaves pressed into them and I am still waiting for those to come out of the glaze firing. In the meantime, here are two of the first I made, a small one with circles and one that looks like an eggplant!

You can see the basic technique here.

Pottery in the works

In my last post I mentioned the trays I am making. Well, here they are in their current state!

The top tray has been bisque fired, waiting to be glazed. Dominic has suggested rubbing one glaze into the leaves and then over glazing with another. The result should be a deep color in all the veins and details of the leaves! I used various oak leaves I collected at Starved Rock State Park.

That tray inpsired me to create the bottom tray. This tray will be a birthday gift for my friend Marcia who I was visiting up in Denmark, WI a weekend back. She loves her garden, loves pottery, so what better gift to make her for her birthday! I often send her ceamic bowls or pitchers as gifts and they typically have some sort of plant theme to them. I collected lots of materials from her garden. Her tray has in it branches off her Russian Olive, White Pine, Cedar, and ornamental grass!

Mama Potter says this aint pottery and that "throwing clay on the floor (which is part of how you make these trays) is not the same as throwing clay on a wheel!"

Throwing Clay: Some results #5

It has been a while since I posted some pottery. I am getting the hang of the glazing, with some sagely advice from Dominic and Mama Potter! Here are two very recent pieces.

Top: Flower Pot: 5" tall 8" diameter; Saucer: 1.5" tall 7" diameter; both glazed with glossy black and glossy brown. Bottom: Disc Bowl: 2.5" tall 9" diameter using porcelain slip and celedon glaze.

I have also been making some thrown slab-like platters with leaves and such pressed into them. They are currently either in the kiln or air drying. They are really nice and I am excited to see the final results!

Papercut

Pictured left to right are: My papercut; Kristin Bouvier, me, Christpher Liechty, the artist, Anne Kirby and Stella Liechty

While in Xi'an, we visited the HuaQing Pool which are hot springs for the royals. There were several "street" artists. One saw me and made me stop so he could do a papercut profile of me.

I stood still and he with his small scissors and black paper just went at it. In a matter of minutes, no more than 5, I had my silhouette. He must have had some sense of my liking of Chinese papercuts!

After me, several other of our group stood and had theirs done too. And each one cost about $1.42 or 10 RMB!