The illustrations of Andrea Offermann have a unique way of showing not only exaggeration and emotion, but an interesting quality of line that enhances the animals as well as the narrative in her pieces.

Ovidio Giberga creates a dynamic contrast in his sculptural works. In this series he combined the ferocity of native North American animals with the restraint and control of dental appliances, retainers and other devices added to their teeth and open mouths.

This photograph is from a series by Gregory Colbert called Ashes and Snow. There is an intimate relationship between the animals and the people interacting with them, and the environment around them is somewhat mystical.

This fall I worked mainly in lowfire surface experiments and used terra cotta to make wall tiles. These pieces proved to be very challenging, and also informative. I learned much about different options when it comes to putting an image onto clay, including image transfer, decals, china paint, monoprinting, and stenciling. These are some of the pieces that resulted from my work at KCAI this past semester.

This wall tile was made using low relief, carving, and stenciling. The background is mason stain mixed into terra sigilata, while the water is china painted.

This higher relief tile of a jaguar utilizes both crawl glazes and lichen glazes over different stains.

This tile was made using an image transfer. I painted black slip on a xerox image of the elephant, then when the slip was dry, I wet down the paper and printed the slip onto the tile slab. The water effect was done using mason stains rubbed into a clear glaze before firing. The tile was then mounted to a wooden back that could be hung on the wall.

This piece was done using monoprinting. In this process a plaster slab is used to create the image. I drew the image first on a plaster slab using underglazes. Once it was dry, I poured wet lowfire slip over the image. The slip then re-hydrates the underglaze, and when the slip is dry it is peeled off the plaster like a print would be made. After the glaze firing I used iron oxide decals to create the floral imagry.

This tile was made using a sandblaster. Once the green and blue glaze was fired on, I created a stencil using mastick. I then sandblasted over the stencil which resisted the glazed areas.

The images on these tiles were printed using a thermofax screen. I laid the xerox image onto the screen, and ran it through a thermofax machine, which melted the black areas of the xerox allowing thickened slip to pass through and print the image. This process is very akin to screenprinting, but very compatible with ceramics. These tiles are mounted on Padua wood, which hangs on the wall.

The remaining part of the semester was spent on a more complicated project. For me this was a high relief piece that had to measure at least five inches off of the tile. This assignment allowed me to explore a little more with sculpting, and eventually, with large scale installation.

This piece, ‘Leftovers’, is based on my research of predators. It focuses on the relationship between disappearing predators and the other animals in their environments. This piece also speaks to the place of humans alongside and against predators like the lion. The wreaths around the figures are made up of hand sculpted leaves and flowers, and some slipcast animal bones and antlers. These elaborate wreaths reflect the atmosphere of a hunting lodge or baroque style wood carvings.

Here are all three pieces after the completion of wetwork:

A few Details:

And the finished piece as it was installed at the end of semester show:

These are three examples of the seven rabbits I made during the Hungary 2009 Summer Study Abroad with KCAI. Each piece was based on a character from the novel Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Each character acts as a window into the human soul, and their individual traits either help or hinder the survival of the species.

Cowslip represents cunning and deception, and he is the reason for the deaths of many innocent rabbits. The gold luster accents his deceptive nature. He is strong, and sleek in appearance, but lazy and arrogant in his demeanor.

This piece has recently been accepted to the NCECA 2010 National Student Juried Exhibition, and will be in Philadelphia in April 2010 for the NCECA Conference.

The Thorah is the Chief Rabbit of the Sandleford Warren. When warned that the warren is going to be destroyed, he does nothing, and refuses to listen. His indolence and sloth are responsible for the deaths of many.

This piece is currently on display at the KCAI Northland Campus for Continuing Education.

Nildrohane is a victim of Cowslip’s deception. She is young, beautiful, and adored by her mate Strawberry. She is taken by a snare, and lost forever to the wires. I chose to china paint viens on this particualar rabbit, emphasizing the pain the character endured. When caught by a snare, the wire lacerates the neck of the animal, causing it to bleed to death.

This piece was most recently exhibited in Los Angelas at the Free Hand Art Gallery, as part of the Craft In America Undergraduate Exhibition, Object Lessons.

PROCESS

This past summer I had the privilage of making work at the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary. Here are some images of the rabbits in process. All were made using Herend porcelain slip, which came from the Herend Porcelain Factory in Hungary.

My goal in Hungary was to learn more about slipcasting pieces, and gain experience using the translucent porcelain from Herend. I first made a clay original rabbit in Kansas City. There it was cut apart, cast in a dental alginate, and then cast in urethane rubber. I transported the rubber rabbit parts to Hungary to be cast in plaster.

This is an image of the ears being cast. I made a gang mold of two sets of ears, one set was to be open and alert, and the other set could be closed and folded. The rubber ears were first clayed up to enable the casting of one side.

Once one side of the ears is cast, the other side can be poured to complete the mold. I followed this process for the other parts of the rabbits as well. By casting their legs, ears, and bodies seperately frome eachother, I was able to attach the parts in different ways, giving each rabbit an individual pose from the original.

The body and head of the rabbits were cast seperatly from the legs and ears to simplify the mold. By doing this, the mold for the body was only five pieces.

Molds were also made of each individual leg, so that the legs could be altered in the wet state to accomidate different poses.  Here you see the hind legs of the rabbit being set up for the next piece of the mold to be poured.

Here are some images of the rabbits in wetwork. After the assembly of the legs, body, and ears, the pieces are sculpted as individuals, and given different poses. Herend porcelain slip is pink before firing, and after the bisque, it turns white.

Many rabbits had parts that would have fallen or slumped in the wet state. I used clay and foam supports to hold them up while the wetwork was completed. Each rabbit dried on a plaster slab, which slowly drew moisture from the clay.

After the bisque firing, the rabbits were each sanded, and smoothed. Then, each rabbit was painted or sprayed with slips and glazes for the glaze firing. After the glaze firing some rabbits were china painted, or lustered and then fired to a lower temperature.

My experiences in Hungary were nothing short of life-changing. The pieces I made there are pieces that I can never make again. Each rabbit is a character that I know and love,  and realizing them in clay has made all the difference to me as an artist.

Denise Romecki’s works have an incredible attention to small details. Within in the tree on the rhino’s back is a whole world, with miniature rivers and forests.

Pamela Earnshaw Kelley’s primates have a unique human quality. The way they interact with the table’s surface creates a lifelike weight.

Romantic landscape paintings by Fredrick Edwin Church have helped me identify more with the powers of nature. These very large pieces make the viewer sense their own insignificance in the face of the unknown, and uncivilized.

Tanya Brett creates a very interesting worked surface on the various animals she makes. Her application of simple oxides to emphasize the subtle variations of her surface creates a beautiful contrast. Her influence from her own drawing background also makes her pieces unique.

Russel Wrankle’s pieces often combine the animal form with a vessel. He also uses small hints at animal anatomy, and an interest in the animals role in history.

Brian Hollingworth is a sculptor in the UK. He often gets commissions like this one for gardens. I enjoy the monumental quality that his pieces have once he casts them in bronze, while his ceramic forms have a more siplistic appearance.

Lorenzo Bernini first made an impression on me on a trip to Italy, where I was able to see his marble sculptures up close. I find the transition between a hard medium and a soft, fleshy appearance to be something I aspire to in my own work.

Paul Day’s use of depth in his tile pieces is amazing. The way he uses varying degrees of relief to create illusory space within a flat tile, is something I am currently aspiring to in my tile pieces.

Adrian Arleo’s figurative work is intriguing to me because of the way she combines surface texture with form and concept. The visual patterns created by the surface texture often enhance and change the way the form appears.

These are Tang Dynasty horse sculptures from China. The animal form is stylized in these pieces creating a beautifully unique view of the Chinese horse.

Roxanne Jackson’s animal figures often reflect an ambiguous nature. The hyenas especially show an intense gaze, combined with a subtle naturalistic surface.

Katie Parker’s focus on medieval hunting scenes and illuminated manuscripts is a very interesting combination. I also enjoy her combination of slipcast and altered animal forms, china paint, and elaborate decal patterns.

Kelly Connole’s rabbits are one of my favorites. These pieces are often installed in very large groups across an open floorspace. They take on a very humanistic appearance in large groups, their tiny human hands instead of paws seperate them from the animal world.

John  Byrds animal sculptures are usually small, however, they have a very strong presence. I especially enjoy his pieces that reflect animal anatomy and structure. Many of them create a contrast between stark white porcelain and vibrant colors.

Chinese pottery from the Song Dynasty often emphasizes aspects of nature. This plum blossom vase creates a flowing pattern of leaves that curve to emphasize the form. The black and white scraffito creates contrast and a sense of movement. I am interested in portraying classic, and oriental flower patterns in my own work. Oriental floral patterns are also very stylized and their linework is a good way to lead the viewer’s eye around a piece.

Beth Cavener Stitcher’s very large animals in clay were my first exposure to clay sculpure. Her large scale building techniques, as well as surface treatments, and subtle exaggerations of the animal form are a constant obsession for me. The way she has pushed the boundaries between the animal form and human mind is stunning.

Nick Mackman is an artist that I recently discovered among the many current ceramic sculptors who study mostly the animal form. She draws inspiration from her work as a rhino keeper and her experiences on safari. I especially enjoy her use of hair and wires as well as stains to produce a very realistic and unique animal portrait. She chooses to portray animals as one might portray a person. Each piece has its own feelings, and its own personality.

Hannah Souffer is a printmaker and illustrator. Her pieces all use different natural elements collaged with rich patterns and textures. Her compositions bring the animals to life, and create a very unique contrast between the elements of form and pattern.

These are both woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai. His prints have always been interesting to me because of the way he depicts nature. His use of color, detail, and composition create images of nature that are both classic and timeless.

Jean Baptiste Oudry was a French rococo painter. His subjects most often included animals of all kinds, especially hunting scenes. He is one of the few painters in the 18th century to focus only on animals within his most powerful pieces. I particularly enjoy the way he represents the predatorial animals, with graceful but powerful gesture, and intense expression.

Mary Louise Mclaughlin was a china painter and studio potter in Cincinatti, Ohio in the 1800’s. After seeing French Ceramics that were china painted, she perfected the technique for herself, and wrote several books about the china painting process. Only when she began throwing the pieces she painted on, like the one above, did she create the perfect balance between surface and form.