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 Ferny Urny

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Jason Anderson

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Raku Cremation Urn by Ryan Peters (clayguyry)

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I just got back from Kate Robert’s gallery talk of her work Indigo Curtain. Her exploration of the ceramic medium in such new ways defies our construct around what can be made with what materials. By mixing unfired porcelain, fiber, mason stains, varnish, fishing line, and wood, Kate creates a hanging installation which seems more delicate than it really is. By unfiring her pieces, she has the ability to recycle them, reusing their materials to create a new piece, separate from the first, but always part of it. 

I particularly like her focus on nature’s inability to discriminate and the inevitability of death and decay. She finds beauty in the temporal, fleeting moments, including the final ones. In a way she is acting as nature by creating, destroying, and restarting the cycle of life again in her work.

I find her content to be extremely original and intriguing. Her gate made of unfired clay represents something that is supposed to be sturdy, but appears fragile and is made of material that can be broken down by soaking in water for a few minutes. I think her work is well planned out, and appears effortless but clean and technical even despite her choice in rugged materials. 

As a ceramic artist who is currently challenging the norms of my medium, I am personally very inspired by Kate to push myself and my materials further. I want to use clay to make things that don’t have to appear as so. She is definitely an artist that I will continue to follow.

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As I have said before, much of my work is inspired by the Aboriginal people and their art. In search of this art and the meaning behind their style, I have used resources such as kateowengallery.com and artlandish.com. Both of these websites have given me information of the origin of the dot paintings as well as the art itself. 

In terms of dots, to answer McClain’s initial question, the art of dot painting actually did not begin until the 1970′s when Geoffrey Bardon became the school art teacher in Papunya, Australia. While observing the Aboriginal men’s sand drawings of symbols during story-telling time, he encouraged them to transfer those images onto canvas with paint. The Aboriginal people were fearful that the sacred-secret symbols and stories would be understood by Westerners as well as other tribes, and so they began to cover the images in dots, abstracting the symbols and designs. These works depicted the land of the people and the stories associated. They were seen as a visual representation of identification and origin. Now, paintings consist of dots, crosshatch, spirals, and lines painted in acrylics giving movement and rhythm to these pieces that mix contemporary and traditional Aboriginal art.

I was first influenced by the art that I saw on Aboriginal reservations in Kakadu, Australia as well as the Aboriginal Art Museum in Darwin when I visited but since then I have found much more on tumblr. Key artists that are thematically significant to my current body of work include many current and past Aboriginal artists such as Chantelle Roberston, Rusty Peters, Naata Nungurrayi, Richard Yukenbarri Tjakamarra, and Tjungkara Ken. These wonderful artists have much to do with my inspiration for seasonal landscapes. Their use of abstracted, organic symbols and variation of color have given me great ideas of how to portray my own landscape scenes while holding true to the Aboriginal style.

In terms of the tribal family shields and figures, I find a lot of carving and textural inspiration from Judi Tavill’s ceramics. Her use of moving lines and varying textures always inspires me to use different tools and experiment with design. 

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One artist whom I admire deeply but does not relate to my work is my older brother Ian. In my opinion Ian deserves not only my respect, but everyone’s; even if you don’t relate to his style.

My brother started out as a musician. He first got into electric guitar which he played in his numerous hardcore bands that practiced in our basement and shook the walls of our house. Later he got into acoustic, coming out with solo albums when he grew confident as a singer and lyricist. He eventually went on to Illinois State to major in Classical Guitar. During his senior year of college, he befriended an oil painter named Ryan and like with guitar, became so intrigued by the art form. He soon took it up on his own and entered his first piece into a show intended for graduate students of art, and got in. Since then he got more and more serious about it, putting his music on hold, and began his career as an oil painter. 

Seeing the progression of his work, creating portraits that looked as real as life, was and still is amazing. When he first sold a painting for $3,000, I was convinced my brother could succeed at anything he put his mind to.

Now, Ian is living in Oakland, CA as a newly wed who plays guitar, paints, and just recently became a tattoo artist along with his wife Samantha. My brother’s art is incredible, but his passion and work ethic is insane. He pours himself into everything he loves and puts the time and work in, even when profit is nowhere in sight. I always tell him how inspiring he is for anyone who has doubted the ability to live as an artist. Never once has my brother forced himself to sit in a cubicle or sell himself to a corporation because he felt he had to. He followed what he wanted and made sure that he succeeded. 

I’ll admit that I am a biased little sister, but I know talent and drive and also what it takes to be an artist. 

His work is on ianreynold.com so you guys should check him out.

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Critique 2 went way better than the first. I am pleased with my grade and the correlating feedback from the professors. After feeling hopelessly unprepared for critique one, not knowing what to expect, I was determined to make sure that the next one would be much different. I felt extremely more confident and sure of my work and where I want it to go and I think I expressed that as clearly as I can being 50% of the way through.

I am very pleased that the strongest area evaluated was originality. I am aware that my technical proficiency as well as use of formal elements needs improvement. But the fact that my project stands out as original, personal, and creative motivates me further to make it that much more special. 

As I am using terra cotta rather than stoneware and sladbuilding instead of throwing this semester, I am still experimenting with the differences between clay bodies and technique. This is not an excuse, but it is true that I am still not as comfortable with all it as I am with stoneware, which I’ve been using for the past 7 years. This being said, glazing methods are altered as well and this has a huge impact on where I go next. 

Chance and I have recently discussed color palette and glazes and have decided to start mixing and testing glazes this Sunday morning. I am excited and nervous for this process because there is much trial and error to come; none of these glazes exist in our studio yet so I have a lot to make. This process will take quite some time, but if I can have the color palette decided and glazes chosen and made by the end of the semester, I truly believe I will be 80% finished as hoped for. 

The scale of the sun will be 26″ around and I don’t worry that it will overwhelm the figures because it will be raised above them and hopefully create interest in scale.  

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In preparation for my next critique this Thursday, I wanted to write out a more solidified artist statement of where I am at. 

After critique 1 I took a lot of time to step back from my physical work and do some introspection to figure out what inspires me to make the forms I am making and what they mean to me. 

My main sources of inspiration for my art are nature, my family; specifically my uncle mike who allowed me to take a trip to Australia a couple of summers ago and opened my eyes to my last and strongest source of inspiration for my current project, Aboriginal art.

I did some research on Aboriginal art and found that it is the longest surviving artistic expression in the world. Their art was used to tell and retell ancient stories and carry on symbols of their culture. I liked the idea of interpreting their art style to tell my own short history within my art. 

I created these 5 panels, faces, and triangles and aligned them in a figure-like structure to represent my 5 immediate family members. Obviously, this is a very loose, abstracted interpretation showing how each individual is made of a similar structure, uniting us as family. 

I used shield-like forms to represent how my family protects, shields, and supports me. They are my tribe and as the youngest, are responsible for shaping the way I am.

I used dot-art, a famous trademark of aboriginal paintings, within my pieces to show difference in family members by use of face paint as the Aboriginal did. There are tribal symbols and generally more paint is used on the faces of men.

I have also begun the second part of my series which will be 4 carved panels representing the 4 seasons of chicago that I grew up spending in nature. I want to again use the abstracted, aboriginal style of landscapes to show each seasons influence on my life.

The last part will include a large circular form with concentric ridges and rafia, an Aboriginal hay-like string, to represent the central sun. As it is the center of our world itself, it has always been the part of mine that brings energy and happiness into my days. I have been told I love the sun so much, that I am like a plant that only needs water and sunlight to thrive. 

Lastly, if time allows, I would love to create my own didgeridoo, the Aboriginal ceremonial instrument, to commemorate my Uncle Mike, who brought our family together in a way that no one else could and introduced me to this culture that is influencing me so much. 

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My Uncle Mike is and will always be one of the greatest men the world has ever known. Growing up, my cousins and I looked to him as the great wizard because he really could make anything happen. He was a world traveler, a wonderful writer and story teller with the biggest booming voice anyone had ever heard, and he treated each one of his 18 nieces and nephews as his own and spoiled the heck out of us. Every year for Christmas, he made sure to go by the China truck and pick us all the weirdest, sometimes dangerous, and coolest gifts. But the last Christmas he shared with us, he gave us the best gifts. Uncle Mike wrote up 18 individualized letters of acceptance from fictional (or existing) people according to our interests and personalities. He wrote mine from the standpoint of Australian art collectors, comparing my work to that of aboriginal artifacts. And despite knowing that I wasn't actually being asked to work for the New Zealand museum of natural artifacts I was so flattered and inspired. That summer my uncle helped me fulfill my dream of traveling Australia. Being the extraordinary man he was, he had plenty of buds that were willing to put me up for some time. Because of this I got to spend time with some of my uncle mikes best friends and relive adventures that he had taken when he was my age. I traveled and camped and went to museums where I saw the most original aboriginal art I could. And during the most magical, unbelievable trip of my life, I also received the worst news I would ever hear: my uncle mike had died unexpectedly. From that point on, all I could do was live out the rest of the trip as he would have wanted me to. I did everything for him, always with his face in mind. He inspired me all my life to be the greatest anything I wanted to be and I'm now realizing how much he is influencing my art. I want to make this all for him. I want to make something great and extraordinary and original just like he made everything. He noticed my affection for aboriginal art before I even did and pretty much gave me a letter telling me I was good enough to make the art that I so much enjoyed.

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“From Afar” was my first wall relief triptych. Wanting to focus more on texture and organic design, I found myself creating the first piece on the left. When I took a step back I realized it resembled some kind of life form, like an amoeba or some kind of infestation. I felt like it had to grow and change, leading me to create the next 2 panels in a progression or transformation of the first. I loved how they all related but had significant qualities that differed from the next. 

Looking back at this piece a year later, I see its influence on my current direction of art. Like the Aboriginal work I admire, there is organic use of circular repetition within the texture of these panels giving it depth, complexity and interest. There is also a sense of a story going on, as abstract as it might be. These three pieces are related by growth and progress; both of the art forms themselves as well as myself as an artist.

Right now, I want to pinpoint the narrative I’m trying to tell through my current art.

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So I’ve found myself endlessly drawn to Aboriginal art and I’m trying to understand why. As I search through Tumblr to find inspiration, I’m consistently reblogging the same types of work: abstract landscapes, mainly of Aboriginal dream art. I just love the imperfect repetition. I love how organic every shape is, and how it doesn’t all make sense as to how the artist chose where to place each one. I feel like the artists produced these works based on intuition, and what belonged to their subconscious, dreamlike state of mind. To me the art feels natural and unstructured, flowing through the artist. I can relate to this style because I rely heavily on my intuition to decide where to make the next mark.

But Aboriginal art, as abstract as it can get, generally tells a story. Many pieces include people, fish, animals, and sometimes weapons all included within a landscape type background. Their use of earthy tones and then strikingly bright color gives the art a more mythical feeling, especially that of the dream art category. 

So what then, is the story I am trying to portray? Why do I enjoy the process of subtracting clay away from a slab and then re-adding it to make something new? Why am I drawn to the earthy red terra cotta clay? Why am I making wall relief sculpture panels that all relate to one another?

When answering these questions I think of certain influential parts of my life:

-my love for and need to be immersed in nature

-my family 

-Uncle Mike and Australian Aboriginal art

-my lifelong reliance on my intuition and trusting my instincts

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Yuyuya Nampitjinpa                                          Untitled                                                                            Papunya Tula Artists For more Aboriginal art follow McCullochandMcCulloch

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Dreamtime Sisters // COLLEEN WALLACE NUNGARI (Aboriginal Art) 2010

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“Ngayuku ngura - My country” by Tjungkara Ken