Spincy68@CS.COM on wed 19 jun 02
i am doing research for an article i want to write about the place of
sculpture made from clay, and/or sculptors who work exclusively in clay.
specifically, i am looking for thoughts on the separation that seems to exist
between sculpture/sculptors in clay and other materials, i.e. metal, wood,
stone. i would appreciate any input from those on the list, either to me
personally (spincy68@cs.com) or on the list in discussion form. thanks
cynthia reynolds
Karen Shapiro on wed 19 jun 02
Hi Cynthia,
Why do I work exclusively in clay -- good question! Made me think ... I'm not sure, really, but I believe it has to do with the feel of the clay. I love the medium in all its forms. Wet clay is so sensual and malleable; it is open to being anything and allows you to play. As it dries, it becomes something else which is satisfying to work with, then it becomes a canvas with which to play in a totally different form, i.e. color. I do raku firing, so my final go around with the clay is yet another adventure.. The whole process is challenging and most satisfying. My previous "life" was as a pastry chef, with similar steps involved (forming, baking, decorating), so there is something about me which seeks these processes, I guess. Whatever the reason, my life with clay is just about as good as it gets, especially since I manage to make a living at it -- and am out of the kitchen!
Karen in Gualala
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Marcia Selsor on wed 19 jun 02
In Faenza, Italy I recently visited the home studio/museum of Carlo
Zauli, a contemporary of Peter Voulkos.
I was struck by the similar transitions that their work went through
from the 50's to the
present. Both died this year. You will find they both started as
potters. Zauli studied in the academy in Faenza, his home town. He was
blocks away from the International Ceramics museum most of his life.
Both Voulkos and Zauli evolved into great ceramic sculptors and both
included bronze in their repertoire. Zauli's study shows his moquettes
in plaster for larger works. It was inspiring to see how his sculptural
ideas developed.
If you want to look into these two contemporary artists, I think you
will be off in a good direction.
Spincy68@CS.COM wrote:
>
> i am doing research for an article i want to write about the place of
> sculpture made from clay, and/or sculptors who work exclusively in clay.
> specifically, i am looking for thoughts on the separation that seems to exist
> between sculpture/sculptors in clay and other materials, i.e. metal, wood,
> stone. i would appreciate any input from those on the list, either to me
> personally (spincy68@cs.com) or on the list in discussion form. thanks
> cynthia reynolds
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/Tuscany2002.html
Richard Jeffery on wed 19 jun 02
the first obvious thought is that working with clay is additive, wood and
stone are generally subtractive, or wood and metal as
accumulative/assemblage. you make the form, not uncover it from a larger
mass, or make it up from pieces.
apart from the directness - you can do it without tools - i suspect there is
depth to the difference that presses psychological bells [and other mixed
metaphors] somewhere. might be worth pursuing.
interesting. something to think about.
thanks
Richard
in Bournemouth on the south coast of the UK where the sun has finally put
out an appearance. crazy - 2 days ago it was 16C here, whilst in Norfolk
(east a lot - about as far as you can, and north quite a bit - above London)
it was 29C with reports of melting tarmac on some roads. Haven't seen that
since i parked up a motorcycle in the Pyrenees to have lunch - came back out
to a horizontal 'cycle with its side stand 10" into the road......
rain for the weekend, they say.....
Richard Jeffery
Web Design and Photography
www.theeleventhweb.co.uk
Bournemouth UK
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Spincy68@CS.COM
Sent: 19 June 2002 15:02
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: (ceramic) sculpture?
i am doing research for an article i want to write about the place of
sculpture made from clay, and/or sculptors who work exclusively in clay.
specifically, i am looking for thoughts on the separation that seems to
exist
between sculpture/sculptors in clay and other materials, i.e. metal, wood,
stone. i would appreciate any input from those on the list, either to me
personally (spincy68@cs.com) or on the list in discussion form. thanks
cynthia reynolds
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Mike Gordon on wed 19 jun 02
Cynthia,
I was trained to throw in college and eventually taught ceramics in h.s.
for 25yrs. soon to retire. I always teach handbuilding along with
throwing. I also do ceramic sculpture. Gargoyles, trolls, Buddah for the
garden, and fountains. If I don't throw almost daily, I get wierd. It's
an addiction. Some ideas can't be done on the wheel, so I do scuplture,
sometimes I combine the two into sculptural pots, large scale. I think
they go hand in hand.I used to work in an art bronze foundry in
Berekely,Ca. so I know the work and tools involved in metal sculpture
and bronze casting. Lots of them. Ceramics is more soothing to work in.
Loved foundry work, but it's a young mans sport. Mike Gordon, Walnut
Creek, Ca.
william schran on wed 19 jun 02
In my role as a teacher I am often asked by students about
differences between ceramic sculpture and sculpture in other media.
My reply is often simply "No real difference, we're all addressing
many of the same issues conceptually. Each material demands certain
approaches/techniques the get to the end product. Perhaps the artists
working in non-clay materials view clay as a waste material, used for
models or as an interim step to the final product because that is
how they were taught or clay is seen as a craft material."
Bill
Marcia Selsor on wed 19 jun 02
> Cynthia,
I am always doing tests for surfaces. I love throwing and do it often but I become
intriqued with surface, pattern, form which I incorporate into architectural
pieces. I also throw segments for my larger sculptural pieces.
I studied with Bill Daley in Phila. and there was no distinction made between the
ceramic direction of sculptural or wheel thrown work.
However, the sculpture dept. profs were extreme snobs.
I also worked with Nick Vergette in my graduate program at SIU Carbondale back in
70-73. He died in 73. He was the first artist to get a 1% for art award for a Fed.
building in memphis and I assisted him (with many others). I worked on the plaster
forms that would later be cast in bronze.
I think clay sculptors deal with a lot of technical issues that other materials do
not have to consider.
I know that there are many issues in many materials but clay worked seem to stick
to clay on the whole.
Marcia
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Kathy Forer on wed 19 jun 02
On 6/19/02 4:43 PM, "william schran" wrote:
> Perhaps the artists
> working in non-clay materials view clay as a waste material, used for
> models or as an interim step to the final product because that is
> how they were taught or clay is seen as a craft material.
As a longtime sculptor, whose identification as a "clay artist" has only
just become surprisingly apparent, I would concur with this statement. Add
the influence of the modernist movement of early twentieth century art,
where "directness' of materials became a paramount goal, and clay becomes
for the sculptor a substance halfway between process and object.
As for the "separation" of working in various materials, except for the
exceptional purist, someone trained as a sculptor may have a less formal
approach to clay than a ceramicist, as the clay is still as much means as
end. I've carved stone and wood, and each piece of it has unique
characteristics. Bronze, steel and wood tend to be more consistent
throughout. It's also possible to carve clay to some extent. Though
liveliest and best when mud and modeled, clay allows for a range of
approaches as it changes state.
Art schools don't teach or even generally have access to glazes, though they
will often have kilns, so fired work is often left raw, as "studies," or
'cold-finished' in an impromptu, often painterly manner.
Collage also changes things. Fired pieces of clay may be combined as parts
into a greater construction. Drawing is a big influence as well.
It's a little different in art school today, but when I was coming up, and
in recent western tradition, the figure was studied by modeling on a metal
armature in either plastiline or water-based clay, to be eventually cast in
plaster. Finally, artists working directly in water-based clay brought the
modeling home to its origins, back to where the desire had been forged;
accommodations were made, analyses and syntheses generated.
Clay is a wonderful material. If sculpture seeks to both transcend and
embody its substance, physically and formally, clay is a very challenging
medium, with no end to the artisanry involved.
The main difference in approach is probably in a base concept though, which
I believe is different for the ceramicist and the artist. Given a fist-sized
ball of clay, a potter would, most likely, unconsciously form a bowl or
vessel. A sculptor would tend to shape figurative or abstract elements.
Kathy Forer
WHAT A WONDERFUL LIST!
I've been lurking a short while but didn't want to add my rat (apparently
they're "cat-sized" now in downtown Manhattan), ferret (a la Doonesbury
today, why do so many homeowners associations ban clothesline drying?) and
pit-bull asides (if a dog is fighting and you can't stop it, grab it by the
tail, if it has one!) as my first post. And 100,000 pots is simply too many!
I am thrilled with the knowledge and direct approach of this list. I have
learned, thanks to the archive, how to curb mold on paperclay, peroxide
seems better than bleach. And how to wrap wooden skewer armatures in
newspaper to allow for clay contraction. I'm sure I'll have many questions
to follow and am always happy to share whatever I may have gleaned.
Janet Kaiser on thu 20 jun 02
> specifically, i am looking for thoughts on the separation that seems
to exist
> between sculpture/sculptors in clay and other materials, i.e. metal,
wood,
> stone.
I think you will find that most clay sculptors will also cast in metal
at some stage of their careers or given half a chance. Top ceramic
sculptors are often forced into casting by galleries, buyers,
collectors, etc. because a bronze is seen as being the better
investment, especially for institutions and public art.
That apart, clay and maybe papiere mache are in a category of their
own. Wood, metal, stone... Well there is no pardon is there? One whack
and off with her nose or his fig leaf... Clay, on the other hand is so
forgiving... Add a little, remove a lot, prod, poke, ease, manipulate,
mould, meld, extrude, scratch, scrap, model, whack... Then bash it all
up and start again... Clay is additive art. All other media are mostly
the opposite.
There is also an immediacy with clay that the poor old stone sculptor
will never experience. Chip-chip-chip... Tedious!
Janet Kaiser - who only ever conquered one piece of soap stone, but
whose ceramic sculpture was actually stolen once from a house full of
far more important art..!
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd
Home of The International Potters' Path
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth LL52 0EA : GB-Wales
Telephone: ++44 (0)1766-523570
URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
postbox@the-coa.org.uk
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