New Sculpture - Tribella familiea

Well, the progress was slow but the pace was steady. I finally finished up this piece and had it photographed just before the holidays. (Thank you Charlie Cummings for the wonderful photos!) 

Tribella familiae
earthenware, cast glass, steel, found objects
20" x 10" x 11"
2011



I'm excited about this piece. It presented a lot of technical challenges that I slowly hammered my way through. (clay shrinkage to account for, found objects to add, glass to cast, and then recast, etc)



As with any new sculpture, I can see places I'd like to develop further in the next piece, but that's what keeps the work exciting. Growth and change. And there's been a lot of that going on around here lately. Our "baby" is almost 15 months old and he keeps his Mama on her toes! Sometimes juggling everything feels like a 3-ring circus, but I'm learning to embrace the chaos and relish studio time.


Cheers to a New Year!
Meagan

"Silver Lining" - newest mixed media sculpture

There are always challenges with new work.

Aesthetic challenges. (Does that look too much like an alien head?) Technical challenges. (Did this piece really take me 16 firings!?) Conceptual challenges. (How can I express the ideas in my head?)

But you've just gotta push through and make your work. What's that saying? "The answers for your next piece are always found in your last?" Or something like that.

I did finally finish up the new, experimental sculpture I was working on for the Arrowmont Instructor Exhibition. A week late (Karen, thank you for the generous extension!) but better late than never. And it arrived before the Opening. whew!

But here it is. I'm still planning on investigating this form and developing the concept, so this is really just a starting point. It's a small piece - about the size of a grapefruit. I plan to increase the scale with the next one too.

Silver Lining, Earthenware, fused and slumped glass. 4 1/2" x 6" x 4 1/2".

Here's the Artist Statement that goes along with this piece:

"It’s 3:00am. Or is it 4:00?

I was just drifting off when I heard his small cry pierce through the walls. He must be hungry again. Already? I check the clock once more, but my brain is too cloudy to register the red numbers glowing back at me. Pulling my exhausted body out of bed, I pause briefly, take a deep breath, and walk to the nursery.

We settle into our worn, green velour chair. His small head rests in the crook of my arm. I fight to keep my eyes open. My mind wanders. I am filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

Then, there’s a brief, silent pause.

He looks up at me with a tiny grin, and I can feel the silver lining."

Looking forward to the next round of challenges - personal, professional or otherwise!
Meagan

NCECA and The Sunshine State

Lately, there are three reasons why I'm glad I live in Florida:

1.) It's been warm, sunny, and gorgeous since mid-February (think blue skies, azaleas, camellias, jasmine, Japanese magnolias, etc)

2.) No state income tax (and April 18 is quickly approaching)

3.) The Sunshine State is hosting its first NCECA Conference (National Council on Education of Ceramic Arts) and I'm going to be one of the 5000+ ceramic people descending on Tampa/St Petersburg next week!

Tampa/St. Pete is just 1.5 hours from us and where my sister-in-law calls home, so we'll be able to stay with family. That's right. I'll have Cooper in tow. (Thank you ergo baby carrier!) My Little Man is just 5 months old, so it would be tough to travel far for a conference. And even tougher to leave him at home for 4 days. (That's a lot of milk to pump!)

I am definitely looking forward to seeing folks and talking clay, cones, and kilns again! That part of my brain feels a bit rusty after of months of conversations that focus on diaper changes and spit up.

As a Florida resident and UF Alum, I do wish I would have been able to take advantage of more of the NCECA exhibition opportunities that came my way. But I had to make my peace with that back when I was pregnant and deciding on maternity leave. I know Cooper isn't built of clay, glass, or steel, but I still believe he's the best thing I've ever made!

So, come on down to The Sunshine State! We hope to see you at NCECA next week.

Cheers!
Meagan

Thoughts on Time and Tranistion

Here we are. The end of March 2011. The past year has been a blur of inspiration, excitement, and change.

I finished a post-baccalaureate ceramics program at The University of Florida, went to my first NCECA conference in Philadelphia, spent a month in Montana as a resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula, taught a workshop at Arrowmont, took a class with Michael Sherrill at Penland, oh, and had a baby!!

(Ceramic Wall Mosaic at Penland School of Crafts)

My head is spinning! I feel like I have hardly had a moment to process some of the ideas that started forming last March. March of 2010.

I still have boxes of work from traveling and teaching I haven’t even unpacked. (And if you know me, that totally goes against my ultra-organized way of life. Those packed boxes are driving me crazy!)

(Test tiles I made while at The Clay Studio of Missoula that are still waiting to be unpacked!)

The bottom line is that my experiences from the past 365+ days have me itching to make some changes in my work.

What changes? I’m not exactly sure yet. Do I switch to cone 6? Try a new clay body – porcelain or white earthenware? What new, exciting glaze recipes can I find? Do I continue to make wall sculpture? Slabs or extruded forms? How can I incorporate more cast glass? Oh, oh, and that mold making, resin-casting technique John Byrd demoed at Penland still has me thinking.

I imagine the changes I make will be gradual. As a new mother, the world I lived in for 30 years is now different. My perspective and experiences are forever altered. Even time has new meaning.

So, as I slowly sort through these ideas, I also wonder what I will be thinking next Spring as I watch the azaleas bloom, Cooper toddling alongside.

(Photo by my wonderful father-in-law during Cooper's first beach trip.)

The 30-Minute Challenge

The Challenge, should you choose to accept it – set a timer for 30 minutes and GET TO WORK!

Focus. Forget Facebook. Ignore email. Avoid the dishes and laundry. You will be surprised just how much you can get done when you get to doin’ it!

This is how my days go. Cooper (aka our 5-month old Cat-Nap-King) is content to sleep for 30 minutes 3-5 times a day. I used to think that a 30-minute blurp of time was hardly worth going out to the studio. Now, not-so-much. Those 1800 seconds are precious, precious time!

So, give it a try. Maybe you have kids and have experienced the child enforced 30-minute Challenge first hand. Or maybe you just need that extra little boost to get things going.

I’d love to hear about what you were able to accomplish in half an hour.

Is your timer going?

Meagan

Thank you Summer

No, not the season. (Though many of you in the cold, snowy North may be desperately looking forward to warmer weather.)

I'm talking about my Summer Best View video monitor. (Don't worry, I'm not going to turn all mommy-blog on you either.) Thanks to you and two 30-minute naps today I was able to finish up some work and get the kiln loaded.

You read that right! My kiln is firing. When I went to write the details down in my kiln log, I could hardly believe the last time I fired was October - just 8 days before Cooper was born!

That monitor truly is amazing! Firing the kiln again feels like such a huge accomplishment. And I must say, I am proud of myself!

Cheers!
Meagan