Lynne in Studio-Making a Press Mold-New Design

In addition to loving making vases & pottery with clay, I also love to sculpt in clay. I've made alot of relief sculptures over the years.....they take time....I usually work on them for a period of 2-3 days before I'm satisfied with the end product.
Once happy with it, I pour plaster over it, allow it to set up and, when the mold is mature, I then have an image I can press wet clay into and utilize on whatever clay form seems to call for it.
This particular design is completed within an oval shape and I intend to use it on a large lamp base which will be raku fired.
It'll take a bit of time to see if the whole concept will be successful or not as it is a rather large addition for attaching, but I'm excited about it!
Will blog about its progress as time moves along. Finished lamp base w/new design should be complete in a couple of weeks.
You can see images of the mold making process by clicking on the following link. If you like the content of my Facebook Fan page, I invite you to become a "Fan" by clicking on the Fan button there!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paonia-CO/Raku4u-by-Shekinah-Clay/328036630436?ref=mf

Wonder-Full items in Clay!

ETSY is a terrific online sales site and they offer a feature called "Treasuries" that any member can contribute. A Treasury highlights the work of 12 different artists and I find that composing one is a delightful endeavor of its own!

I created one composed of items by different artists......all of whom work in clay. I always marvel at the unique approach each takes with their work! It's fun to view and I welcome you to take a peek! It will only be "up" for three days.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=50381

Signature Piece

Of all I do in clay, this particular form is the one I consider my "signature piece". It is completely hand built using slab construction & if you watch my slide show for a moment, you'll see a pic of me working on one in my home studio. In addition to it's inherent beauty, I do hold a visual artist's copyright on this form because of it's unique nature.

There are many steps involved in the creation of this form I call a "sculpture vessel" (though my pet name for it is a "swoopie"!). First, a fairly large amount of clay is made into a consistent width slab using my slab roller equipment then it is placed in a form I made to "slump" the clay into a generalized domed form. From there, when it is just the right amount of hardness, I cut it apart, then reassemble it using a scoring and slip technique. Much time is spent refining edges. Each one of these forms I make are one of a kind, tho they are similar in overall shape.

I enjoy making them because I love the rhythmic beauty that results in each one's defining edges. In some cases, the sculpture vessel is completed with only a colorful palette of glazes, allowing the sculpture itself to take dominance. With others, I use the sculpture as a "blank canvas" to hold an image I find beautiful and compelling. The vessel pictured here is embellished by the stylized galloping horse which I originally drew. In addition, it holds a copper wire spiral, a turquoise colored metal feather and a variety of fibers which I felt complimented the form. I love working with mixed media.....putting things together in ways that are uniquely my own is a great deal of fun for this artist!

When Life Gets Hectic...

"All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness". ~Eckhart Tolle

....and, for me, when life gets hectic and there's alot on my mind there's no greater place for me than my studio. More specifcally, there's no greater place than having my hands in clay. Something about the creative process is a soothing balm....very much like an ethereal connection outside of myself. Yesterday, I was in the studio throwing pots on the wheel and all of life's concerns were suspended for a time.....my awareness focused on the silky feel of the clay spinning on the wheel, the form that took shape under my hands. I am not a "production" potter.....I never try to produce the same thing twice.......rather, I set out to "throw a pot" and in the making of it, I simply allow it to "become" what it seems to want to BE......guess this is the reason I tell my hubby "I have 'new kids' in the studio"!

From a place of "inner stillness" emerges a new creation.....

The Artist's Impulse.....

"He can only obey the apparently alien impulse within him and follow where it leads, sensing that his work is greater than himself, and wields a power which is not his and which he cannot command." Carl Jung

I've been asked many times "where do you get your ideas?"

Call it impulse, call it revelation, call it dreaming, call it the artist's "BREATH"......it is as NATURAL to me as breathing....and I've often purposely used a double negative to describe this....."an artist can't NOT make art"....for, indeed, it does seem a work greater than oneself, it's on the inside and must come out. Perhaps a form of communication, expression and, for me, a path of supreme adventure. The making of art, the ideas,.... the conceptions transforming into reality bring a satisfaction deep and enduring.

Clay.....a primordial medium

What is it about clay? What's the "hook"?

I've enjoyed expression in so many mediums in the past....first pencil drawings as a child and later paints: acrylic, watercolor and oil....then pastels. For a time I made jewelry pieces on a bead loom, made purses, belts and wallets from latigo leather and used a backstrap loom to make my own fiber wall pieces. But, quite later in life for me, about 14 years ago, I returned to college to get my Master's Degree in Art Education and I took a ceramics class as an elective my first semester.....

I knew......I knew the first moment on the wheel.....that I'd come "home" so to speak....to the medium of core passion for me. So much so that I immediately included Ceramics as a double emphasis in my Master's program.

Something about clay....the sensuous touch/feel of the malliable material.....the sense of awe and wonderment as I take "mud" and create a 3-dimensional object......it seems to stretch across time/space and connect me with peoples around the globe. Present cultures, past cultures......blend together as I'm in "the zone" with my hands in clay. For me, it is a very profound experience which nearly defys a complete definition......

I've had the priviledge of teaching ceramics at both High School and College levels and have witnessed the magic moment when some of my students are swept up in this same kind of inexplicable connection.....falling in love.....and making a life-long relationship with the medium of clay........