Spirit of Angels, 12-19-16

I have completed my last painting for 2016, Spirit of Angels.  I started this painting last winter.  It was the first large spirit painting I tried and I was never satisfied with it.  So I pulled it out this week and worked on it some more and I am more satisfied with it.  It seems an appropriate piece with which to end the year!  

Spirit of Angels, 30"x40", Mixed Media on raw canvas with cheese cloth, acrylic, pastel, ink, prints.

Deines Show Announcement, 12-14-16

I just received the announcement/invitation to my solo show at the Deines Cultural Center from January 13-February 18th, 2017.  Thought I would share it and the poster advertising my show.

Postcard invitation from the Deines Center in Russell, KS.

This is the poster for the solo show.  Thanks to Shannon, Director of the gallery and to her assistant, Kristen, for the awesome design!

Spirit of Summer Dreams, 2016

I completed this piece in March, but never got a photo of it to get it posted.  So the day after our first SNOW, I'm posting Spirit of Summer Dreams!  :D  Maybe it will bring a little warmth to these cold winter days.  15"x30" Acrylic.  I hope it gives you the feeling of looking up through the branches and leaves of a big old tree, with the sun shining through the branches, sparkling and touching one with its warmth in the cool shade of the tree.

Spirit of Summer Dreams

Spirit of the Raven--Bringing The Light Out of the Darkness

I just finished a piece that has been sitting in my art room for about 8 months!  I had the background completed and really liked it, even though it is very different from most of my backgrounds.  I just wasn't sure what I wanted to put in the center of the painting.  I'm glad I waited and took my time.  

By now, if you have looked through any of my past work, you know that I love Native American Lore and have used the stories for the basis for some of my pieces.  This is one of those paintings.  It is based on the story that the Raven is black so that he could fly into the Darkness and bring the Light out to the People.  The story is lovely and is told in various ways in many of the different nations.  

Here is the 'Spirit of the Raven--Bringing The Light Out of the Darkness', 24"x24", mixed media--acrylic, white gel pen, white pastel--on stretched canvas.

Frame Making!

I am making floating frames for my larger canvases for the first time.  I am learning to use my mitre saw and a hand held router.  It has been a longer process than I anticipated, but I am on the downhill slope now.  i have finished all the cutting and routing and sanding and today I started gluing and nailing the frames together.  I bought myself a brad nailer a few months ago and it is the absolute BEST!  I had always tried to hold my frame on the edge of my canvas while holding the tack and hammering it in.  The brad nailer is like a miracle!  It also helps that my husband bought me framing clamps last year for Christmas and they work SO GREAT!  I love them.  Easy and accurate.  Here are a couple photos of my efforts. I'll keep you updated as I continue to work on these large frames.

My last 3' routed strip.  Notice the pile of sawdust to the side!

This is the completed wood pieces that have been cut to size on the mitre saw, routed, and sanded ready to be put together.

Here I am all decked out in safety paraphernalia and SAWDUST!  Who knew?

Frames glued and nailed together.

Many of my completed frames, with mesonite backing, painted, with canvases glued and then nailed into the frames.

The rest of the big frames.  It feels REALLY good to be finished with them.  Now to wrap them in bubble wrap to await delivery to the galleries!  YEA!

Graphic Tray, 10-2016

I am experimenting with different ways to use the underglazes on my thin ceramic pieces.  I have never used bright colors until this summer and have never tried any graphic painting techniques with the glazes.  So this is all new territory for me.  I like this and am looking forward to trying some more designs.

Top of 18" hand built, VERY thin ceramic square tray with graphic design on top surface.

Bottom of hand built tray pictured above.

Cone Vessel Tripod Sculpture 10-2016

I set up the tripod for the cone vessel today and I'm pleased with the outcome.  I think I would like to do a series of these with different shapes hanging from the center.  I need to finesse the tying a little more, but other than that, I like the way it looks.  

15" Primitive Cone Vessel, hand built ceramics, raw white clay with red clay engobe (liquid clay) with texture carved into the engobe (technique known as sgraffito), lavender glaze inside.  Tripod is made out of Maple branches with twigs and leaves still attached.  Hemp twine was ued to fasten the branches together and to hang the pot.

Closer view of the cone vessel hanging within the tripod.

R.O.A.R. Art Competition, Russell, KS 10-16-16

I entered my very first art competition this last week at the R.O.A.R. Art Show in Russell, KS at the 4-H building on the east end of town.  This is a huge show of artists from all over the state of Kansas and some neighboring states.  I entered my large primitive vessel that I just picked up from the Shafer gallery in Great Bend and also took along my little pod pot since I could enter two pieces for the same price as one.  And lo and behold, the little pod pot WON  Honorable Mention in the Ceramic Division!!!!!!!!  I was so excited, especially because the first and second place pieces were very large thrown pieces of pottery.  I was very honored that my little hand built sculpture was recognized!!!  I titled the piece 'Cradled'.

I also want to mention that eight members of the Artists at Large group from Great Bend, of which I am a member, entered pieces in this show and six of the eight members won awards and one member sold a painting for $500.  We were VERY excited that we made a good representation!!!!!!

5" pod pot cradled in a found piece of wood with natural tripod base, title card from the show and the Honorable Mention (third place) ribbon.

More Spirit Plates

I just pulled the pieces out of the last kiln firing of the fall.  I am pleased with all of them and especially excited about the use of the glaze on the Spirit plates and the possibilities for the new cone shaped vessel.  Wish I could keep working for another couple months, but need to start framing my 2D pieces and getting the details completed for the solo show in January, 2017 at the Deines Cultural Center in Russell, KS--OPENING on Jan. 13th from 5-7.  Hope you enjoy these last pieces.

8" Spirit plates, front and back.

8" Spirit plates, top side only.

Sculpted face, raw red clay with turquoise glaze wiped off.

Sculpted face, raw white clay with turquoise glaze around edges.

15" tall raw white clay cone shaped vessel with red engobe (liquid clay) over outside, carved through to show underlying white clay (sgraffito), raw white clay embellishments around top edge and lavender glaze inside.  This piece will hang from the center of a 7' tall Maple branch tripod.   

Spirit Plates, 9-24-16

I wanted to try to use the glaze in the same way I use the paint for the backgrounds of my Spirit paintings, and IT WORKED!  I am VERY excited at the possibilities that this presents.  The experiment was done on a hand built dinner plate and hand built bread plate.  They are VERY thin and slightly irregular.  I think a set of these would be really fun.

Dinner plate in Spirit painting style.

Bread plate in Spirit painting style.

New Experiments, 9-24-16

I have been working on more experiments with the clay and glazes.  I am excited with the results and the possibilities for more series and sculptures.  Here is a preview of the pieces that came out of the kiln this week.

Doily laid on pot and glazed over it.  This turned out very nice.  About a 12" bowl, this is the under side of the bowl.

This is the same bowl, yellow glaze on the inside with the doily dipped in glaze and laid on the inside on the side of the bowl.  It is a fairly good print, but like the outside 'stenciled' look better.

I took my regular bowl shape and fluted the edges and tried overlaying a second glaze over the first then texturing the glaze with a regular ceramic tool.  I was not sure how it would work, but I like the affect.  This is the inside of the bowl, approximately 12" across.

This is the side view of the flower bowl.

Mishima bowl, red clay with white clay over texture and then the surface is scraped to leave a smooth surface, but white clay in the depressed texture and the red clay showing through .  The inside of the bowl is just burnished red clay, no glaze.  This is one of my favorite bowls.

The outside of the mishima bowl.  Love this piece.  Approximately 8" across.

Large pod pot with geometric texture on one side and my grandmother's lace curtain texture on the bottom side.  Approximately 12" across.  Glaze is inlaid in the textures, then wiped off.

Geometric side of the large pod pot pictured above.

Small pod approximately 8" across with pine needle texture with glaze in textured areas.  The holes will have small branches/sticks through them and then hang from those sticks.

Very small VERY THIN sculpture, displayed on vertebrae, approximately 2-3" across.

Red clay face with textured surface inlaid with glaze.  Title is 'Spirit of Strength'.  The concept is that almost everyone carries around some scars whether they are visible or not.  The experiences that caused the scars make us stronger and who we are.  So many people do not see those scars, only the surface of who we are.  I wanted to show more.

White clay face with textured surface inlaid with glaze.  Part of the series, 'Spirit of Strength'.

Coral and Pink bowls 9-14-16

I've been experimenting with new colors for my shell like bowls as well as using a different process.  So far everything is turning out great.  This post shows a new coral color that is neither too orange nor too pastel.  The second bowl is a nice rich pink.  Both glazes are put on the WET clay right after I make the bowl.  Then after I bisque the piece, the inside of the pot is already glazed and the stain I use for the outside of the bowl wipes right off the inside like it does when you wash a dish.  That saves so much time and mess.  So far I'm really pleased with the outcome.  I'm also trying some new textures.

Coral bowl, 9" across, with heavy lace texture with black iron oxide stain wiped off.

Pink bowl, 12" across, with geometric texture and black iron oxide stain wiped off.

Geometric texture on 12" bowl with black iron oxide stain wiped off.

Ceramic Face Sculptures, 9-4-16

I am working on my ceramic sculptures for my solo show at the Deines Cultural Center in Russell, KS in January, 2017.  Although I will have many of my thin bowls displayed on wood, I will have many other sculptural pieces.  Here is the beginning of that work.

Life sized face in white raw clay with red raw clay leaves surrounding the face. 'Spirit of Fall'

Life sized white raw clay face with red raw clay hair. 'Spirit of Water'.

Life sized raw red clay face on 18" hemisphere surrounded by raw white clay leaves.

Tiny hand built sculpture approximately 2.5" across displayed on found wood.

Tiny hand built ceramic sculpture approximately 4" tall by 1.5" wide displayed on found wood.

Extremely thin, about the thickness of 140lb weight watercolor paper,  ceramic pod pot, raw white clay with black iron oxide stain displayed on found wood.  Pod is approximately 6" across.

Shafer Gallery Masquerade Ball, 9-2-16

The Shafer Gallery on the Barton County Community College campus near Great Bend, KS held their first annual Masquerade Ball on Friday, September 2nd, 2016.  The event was the opening for the Friends and Acquaintances Art Show featuring the Artists at Large art group from Great Bend, of which I am a member.

Each of the Artists at Large group were allowed three pieces of art in the show.  Many other artists were part of the show filling seven or eight rooms in the gallery.  I felt very honored as my large ceramic bowl displayed on found wood, was featured in the first room just inside the entrance in the center of the room.  It was the first thing you noticed upon entering the room.  I was amazed and so very pleased.  My 'Spirit of Anger' was also in the first room.  

The decorations, featuring a life sized tree with leaves that lit up, table decorations, drapes from the ceiling, live band, wonderful food with wine, and some people in costume and others in masks made for an exciting and wonderful evening.

All dressed up with fancy mask standing beside my large ceramic hand built bowl displayed on wood.

Lighted tree and crowd enjoying the festivities.

Ceiling decorations.

Table decorations and food table.

Bev Simonson, founder of the Artists at Large group, in front of poster featuring all the members of the group with her alcohol pastel painting on the right of the photo.

My red hand built ceramic bowl displayed on found wood.  

My 'Spirit of Anger' mixed media, 12x18" hanging in the first room of the show.