Mentor Robert Ortbal encouraged me to limit my pallet so here are the results of my last firing. A few more pieces are on their way up in the kiln. These works come from a such a different place than my narrative pieces and although I like the results, I am less emotionally attached. They are more cerebral and this detachment has me questioning the purpose of my artmaking. The things that usually drive my work (color, produce, familiar objects) have been put aside and left me in a melancholy slump. Like taking my medicine, I know this is good for me can only hope what I've learned will feed into other work. Last week I sat in on a lecture by Martin Bresnick at the Festival of New American Music at CSUS. He is a fantastic composer and former music history instructor of mine 30 years ago at Yale. Listening to him talk about his work and hearing his lush composition for saxaphone made me miss the music making in my life and how music touches the senses in such an immediate and temporal way. That is ultimately what I want from both the process and creation of my artwork.
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| ceramic with wire, wall mount. 11.5" dia. x 8" |
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| ceramic with wire, wall mount. 9.5" x 9" x 9" |
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| ceramic, wire, and astro-turf, wall mount. 14" dia. x 8.5" |
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| ceramic, wall mount. 9" dia. x 3" |
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| ceramic, 5" x 4" x 3" |
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| ceramic, 8" x 7" x 5.5" |
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| ceramic, 8" x 7" x 5.5" |
