29 September 2011

holding pattern + radar sightings

I'm waiting for the kiln to fire ... again.  And I'll be waiting through today and tomorrow as well.  I love the idea of steel metal clay, I really do.  But the reality of it's limitations pretty much assures this will be a very rare component in my work.  Yesterday I tried Hadar's speedier firing technique which, I'm pleased to say, worked.  Considering I've got 100 grams of steel metal clay components to be fired ...


And this is all I can fire at one time ...


... it's going to take me a while.  If you've read Hadar's instructions for loading the fire box, you'll notice I'm taking some liberties.  I'm basing my quantity decision on two things - the dimensions of my kiln, which is fairly deep, and the shape of my fire box, which mirrors the shape of the kiln and can be situated well within the heating elements.  It worked yesterday ... really hoping it works again today.

So while I'm waiting, I'm doing a bit of multi-tasking.  Yesterday I washed all the windows and screens in my house - never done that before.  Pretty amazing this morning with the sun streaming through relatively streak free clean windows ... clean windows, what a concept.  I've also been collecting some new finds to share when I had some time ... got some time, so here's my recent radar sightings.

What I'm listening to right now ... Peter Gabriel's always a good choice for a creative boost.  That man just exudes creativity, plus I always love what he wears - this suit really reminds of of Studio Rundholz.


An image that's inspiring me, from Volga Linen.  I love the way these coverings are stitched ... raw edges, heavy thread, long stitches, plus the colors are gorgeous ...



We're big David Byrne fans.  Dave's in charge of keeping up with his new projects and this one looks pretty dern cool.  Ahhhh, David Byrne , always a good one for challenging one's perspective.
We have this DVD otw ...



I could totally rock this look by Sula Clothing ...


And if I could be in Woodstock, NY on October 15th, I'd be at Galerie BMG for sure to meet up with one of our favorite artists, Kamil Vojnar.  We met Kamil in Saint Remy de Provence last year and purchased one of his smaller pieces.  His work is photo collage - minimal, somewhat haunting yet exquisite.


Okay, I think that's it for now.  Back to ... I don't know ... back to waiting.  I'll keep you posted.

l i g a - kvk

5 comments:

  1. You inspired me to get off my duff to work with the white bronze yesterday. Two test pieces, perfect. Full load waiting to cool enough to handle. I started with the short fire method and am thinking of ways to be able to stack the pieces in layers. Because this single layer buisiness is just too inefficient. I'd love to know how the way you placed your pieces works out. Its the way I do regular bronze and it's always been fine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I see how Volga linen and Sola inspire. Such beautiful colors, the make and style, call out to something inside us--they invoke such a beautiful primitiveness. I feel that every time I go arrowhead hunting. These objects the native peoples used for survival--made from sometimes such beautiful stone, intricately (and beautifully)chipped and shaped. Let me tell you, those ancient tools for survival, to me are such wonderful, treasured art.
    vickie in kc

    ReplyDelete
  3. Raw and minimal but refined describes so much of what's in the natural world. Add primitive tools and techniques and that's how I like to approach my work. I must have been an artisan in past lives - pots, stone carving, metalworking - is it strange to be in the 21st century and mimicking prehistoric cultures? Nope, I don't think so.

    LeAnn - good luck with your firings. So far mine have all turned out perfect. Got another experiment in the kiln now. Will share the results here......

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmmm...nice post with lots of lovely inspiration, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Lesley! I do love the search for inspiration, especially when I find some!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.