What happens in the process of creating art? How do the technical, thematic, visual, emotional, intellectual aspects tumble over one another in the process of bringing something from an idea into a tangible expression?
The sculpture, Shattered, didn’t start out as a particularly profound piece of art, but it took one of my most painful moments as an artist to turn it into a signature piece. More of that story here. I have participated in the Southern Hands Artists Studio Tour (SHAST) for several years. This year, a group […]
Drawing dancers in their tutus, and the layers and layers of translucent tulle has always been a challenge for me … Trying to sculpt this in clay, … that was a technical challenge I had never been brave enough to attempt.
Painlike a knife.I’m afraid to movelest I force it deeper. As years have gone by since since the passing of my father, I have begun to understand just how complicated my relationship was with him. In many ways, as I was growing up, I saw him as the perfect father — faithful to his wife, […]
I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of the process of making cups and mugs. However, people keep telling me how much they love the mug that I use for my coffee at work. It’s a simple design, but with a deep brown and red glaze that interacted nicely with the little bit […]
I sat down in the studio the other day, with no specific image in my head, other than the desire to create a figure. I started working from a life drawing I drew recently, and the pose with the tilted head began to emerge. As I refined the figure, I saw her, tilting her head […]
I have spent a great deal of time pondering the process of attaching a title to a piece. I wrote a post some time ago, bemoaning the title of “Untitled” which people sometimes use, and talking about the significance of a title as it becomes an integral part of the work, giving us a window […]
There is something very ancient, even primal, about working with ceramics and the process of earth and fire. As much as I appreciate the advent of computerized controls on modern electric kilns and the ability to precisely control the firing profile, with the resulting high degree of predictability in the outcome of one’s work, I […]
Well, I made it. Sixty. Not surprisingly, my Facebook page filled pretty quickly with birthday wishes from around the world. Most were short, but some reflected people’s memories and wishes. Sara Ying was one of the fellow artists who left me a photo: What particularly moved me about this image, aside from the fact that […]
On the suggestion of one of my respected artist friends, I found a copy of The Creative Call, and I have started working my way through it. I’m already finding some really helpful content in the first few chapters (such as, the discipline of the “artist’s daybook” or journal). However there is an underlying thread which is bothering me… […]
There is a meme on the Deviant Art web site where I spend a lot of time, called “Draw it Again”. The idea is simply to take a piece of art (drawing) which you did in the past, and draw it again. The purpose is to show how you … have matured as an artist.
Several weeks ago, I went on a retreat with our OM Arts team. We spent four days, bringing together a couple dozen members of our team, some of whom had not had face time together in many months. We worked through a number of different activities, exercises, spent free times, meals together — the kinds […]
Have you ever had the feeling of waves washing over your head? Sometimes what you really need is a hand from a friend to grab on to. One of the things I have always found challenging is drawing water and waves. You’d think from the number of times we’ve seen waves, either live or in […]