Finally, Project 3

Final Photos of Projects 1 & 2

Artist Statements for Final Ceramic Projects

Growing Up -Amber R. Novack

In a tree that is central to the campus for art students, where it is surrounded by two art buildings and the library, is a series of insects and cocoons or chrysalises. These caterpillars are pre-cocoon, some cocoons are sealed, still going through the transformation and some have already torn through and left, transformed. We all go through a transformation from childhood to adulthood in life; some slowly and some much more quickly than others. Some of us leave parts of our childhood behind when we grow up, and some of us take much of it with us. Some of us also have items that we may see long after growing up that bring us back to a time of childhood. These insects have done this in a place where all ages of college students pass, both the young new freshmen and the experienced master's students. Trees represent life in various cultures, as this tree holds children at different stages of transformation.

Food for Thought -Amber R. Novack

Around the world, societies have different staples for food in their basic diets. The norm for American society as a whole in fast food chains is hamburgers, or beef, derived from cows. Many people would not blink at this food source, but in India, cows are sacred, and to even think of eating such a thing is horrific. Insects are also a staple food in many societies in Africa, Asia, Middle and South America. To even think of eating bugs in Western European and American societies is unthinkable. Why do some foods transcend culture, but others do not? What associations are given to certain creatures that humans obtain nourishment from? Depending on the background of the viewer, the associations of one animal for food and an insect for food may be very different, or actually the same.

Untitled (Gaelic and American Idiom Bowls) -Amber R. Novack

There are phrases used everyday by people of various cultures to describe different situations in not so many words, which we call idioms. Growing up with Irish culture being a big part of my background, I recognize many Irish and American idioms. People who are not a part of a certain cultures would not recognize or relate to certain phrases, while others who are a part of that culture will. Included are three phrases I heard growing up both from Irish culture in Gaelic and from American culture in English, brought together on bowls.

(Photos to follow critiques on pieces so they may be photographed in their intended display setting.)

A little bit of progress goes a long way...

This is the bug I made my plaster mold from. Notice how the porcelain slip cast one is a tiny bit smaller? Clay shrinks a tiny bit! That's why my first slip cast bowl cracked, cuz I left it in too long and it shrinked around the under cut. With my bug, it has no undercuts, so I can leave it in the mold. :)


I'm happy to say that none of my cocoons or caterpillars blew up! They have all been bisque fired, and are now ready to be glazed. I just hope that there are enough stilts for me to use, because I want to dip these guys in glaze.
Slip cast bowls and a couple bugs ready to be bisque fired. Those are Judi's awesome owls on the right!
Project 3: thrown on the wheel. I made a series of variously sized bowls which each have a saying on them from either American culture in English or Irish culture in Gaelic. Goin' back to my roots. :)
There's some more thrown bowls.

Pictures from the beginning of this past week...

Slip cast bowls

My first successful bowl thrown on the wheel this summer :)

Wet clay arches to be recycled after throwing on the wheel. When they dried more I kneaded them into clay balls without bubbles ready to be thrown again.

The process for slip casting involves a plaster mold of the object you want to recreate. This is one drying.

This is my bug mold drying. I will post pictures of the bugs once I take some of them :)

My first slip cast bowl cracked because I left it overnight. I learned that if something has an undercut, then you can't leave it in the mold because when clay dries, it shrinks a bit.

Nomadism & global villages

This week's article delt again with the topic of postmodern and altermodern ideas. The article was very similar to the one last week, but has some interesting quotes. Alain Badiou had some very interesting things to say that the author quoted, that I'd like to quote here:

“We must live in our global village, let nature do its work, affirm its natural rights everywhere. For things have nature that must be respected... The market economy, for example, must find its balance, between some unfortunately inevitable millionaires and the unfortunately innumerable poor, just as we should respect the balance between hedgehogs and snails.”

I respect this idea because we often are in our own 'global village' where our cultures and common lingo and dress and thoughts and ideas are the norm and are respected. When we happen upon other global villages or people from ones very different from our own, we often as a society forget to have respect for those 'others' and be open minded about their ideas, beliefs, etc.

I think that's one of the ideas my second piece is about. I'm planning on putting cast insects into cast bowls and filling the insects with rice much like stuffed peppers, and setting a table as if this is dinner, and bringing to light the idea of what is food, what can we eat, what is eaten in other cultures... and would you eat it? I'm very interested in this type of exchange between viewers. I want to glaze most of the insects if not all of them that Eleanor's green glaze so they will be reminiscent of stuffed peppers.

Getting back to the article, there is a section that has an interesting quote:

“175 million people on the planet living in voluntary exile; about 10 million more every year; professional nomadism increasingly commonplace; unprecedented circulation of goods and services; the formation of transnational political entities...”

I find this idea (as I mentioned in a previous post) of nomadism very interesting, and in relation to what is being said here I feel that when we leave our homes to live in new places and grow to encompass ideas and ways from numerous we are in a way becoming cultural nomads- we are voluntary also because we choose to not really fit into a cookie-cutter replica of a person from a specific culture. It reminds me of specific dog breeds, but then there are mixed breeds who do not fit into one specific breed. I feel that since we are all really immigrants from other cultures combined, we are like those mutts and like those voluntary nomads- and I quite enjoy that that is what is happening.

Article Responses for Today

In response to today’s articles and discussions, I found the idea of margins in relation to our courses here at New Paltz an interesting idea. Especially to this course, we have margins or slight guidelines in ceramics to provide a jumping point for work, but at the same time each assignment is outlined in a vague way to help provide slight margins so that each assignment isn’t too vague. Personally, I feel the need for freedom for exploration in my own work as a graduate student, but at the same time I can appreciate a challenge or problem to address in each assignment so that it isn’t too vague for me to come up with a concept to explore on the fly.

On another note, I really enjoyed John Byrd’s piece “Simple Anatomy, Slow Burn”. It was really interesting, and I really appreciate work that shows mastery of a skill or medium but at the same time is able to combine other mediums or materials to create a cohesive piece. I especially enjoyed the connection to nature Byrd presents in this piece, as I enjoy having a connection to or reference to nature in many of my own work.

Also, in reference to the altermodernism article; I really enjoy the thought and concept of a ‘nomadic artist’. Being myself one who uses a variety of mediums for each of my works, I don’t really feel comfortable saying I am just an illustrator, sculptor, etc. I feel that I could really embrace the notion of being a nomadic artist. Having never heard that term before, I think I would like to learn more about this term and notion.

Progress Thus Far

I've taken photos of my progress thus far.
This was a starting point for my caterpillars. The hole at the ends of these objects was meant for hanging. This starting point reminded me of a solid, fat sausage! But after some time, it began to take shape. Once I liked how it basically looked, I took my fettling knife and did a little dissection by slicing the backs open, then using a wire tool to scoop out all of the 'innards'. Lastly, sealing it up smoothly for a nice, hollow piece that wasn't too heavy. Holes were punctured for air release.
I really like how smooth they are. They are in position to begin making their cocoons, which I also made. I love how infantile and fragile they feel in my hands, even though they are multiple times their original size.
These are the ones I've made so far. Some of them are leather hard, some are still very wet. Some of the cocoons are sealed (like the form on the inside hasn't matured yet) and some have begun to open and reveal the mature form inside.

This is a close up of one of the cocoons. I plan to have them all glazed in opaque pale color (off white or grayish, I'm not sure yet). I just want them to be plain to start. Coming out of the opened cocoons I want to have unexpected things coming out of them. That I want to be a surprise, so I wont tell you what yet. :)

This is a tree I was thinking of using for the site. Hanging from various heights, I wanted it to be something you might happen upon and be surprised to see. I was thinking about the expected and unexpected in evolution and transformation. We always expect the same thing to come out of a cocoon, just like some parents expect their child to grow up to be a picture they have in their mind of someone they would want to associate with or wished they could be. Often, as we know, we do not grow up as our parents thought. I want my piece to voice that unexpected surprise, where you think you are going to see something and then see something completely different, whether it be a good or bad surprise. Expect the unexpected. I love those kind of surprises.


In other news, here are some test tiles! (Mine and Karen's are on the same board.) Jen, Karen and I all made slip this morning (after some drill bit difficulties) and feel that it came out great! The slip felt WONDERFUL on your fingers. So silky! :)

And that's about it for now in the 'progress' category.

Response to the Kwon article & presentation

I thought we had a really great discussion about this article today, and I was REALLY interested to see the video presented about the tree. Reading the article, I found myself looking up different artists to see the works that they were discussing. I loved how the tree was moved so carefully to preserve the organisms. I feel like that might be a really interesting project for the classroom. Taking a piece of a dead tree and having a terrarium and just watching as time passes how things can grow and multiply can be very beautiful. It is a mixture of science and art that I really love to try and talk about sometimes in my own work with the beauty of nature and things found in nature that we don't always stop to look at and think about.

Article Response: Amber & Karen's article titled "Craft's Horizons"

The author of this article explored the question about what we see or take as craft today. He gave us numerous names of people who may fall into the category of craft, and we explored a few. What do you think? Do they fall into the category of 'craft'?

-Rings by Sevan Bicakci-

Also, the author suggests that various artists use craftsman and other people to produce their art, but then only the "artist" themselves are credited. What do you think about this?

(made by Bond Street firm Bentley and Skinner)

Roni Horn's "Pink Tons"

(manufactured for her by the German firm Schott)

Charles Ray's "Hinoki"
(exact replica of a fallen tree, fashioned by a team of wood carvers in Osaka)

And how about industry?

The author states:
"Without these craftspeople, the global economy would be in even more trouble than it already is."

The works at the link are by artists who are embracing production and it's benefits. (Object Factory). To us, this show is a note of optimism, like the author states in the last paragraph.

Fair Trade is not about charity, but about giving a fair deal to marginalized third world producers.

Global Gallery is a non-profit, volunteer operated, marketplace in the Short North that promotes fair-trade and cultural awareness. Fair Trade products and handicrafts from around the world in our store help provide each artisan with a fair wage to support their families.

Still haven't figured out how to reorder things in a slideshow, but here it is! ^_^




This slideshow shows work I showed in class and a couple more. I enjoy meticulous drawings, exploring nature and relationships between various species of insects in my work. I also have my final ceramic work from last summer, where I feel I learned a lot about ceramics but have so much more room to grow. I prefer to create objects and things which may or may not be functional and which represent what I find to be beautiful and interesting in nature and the world that surrounds us. I enjoy carrying themes, and underlying messages in works.

Hi! This is my very first, brand spanking new blog. Enjoy!