Erratic - The installation of the exhibition

I was incredibly fortunate to have access to the gallery ahead of the usual Sunday installation due to Reading week. The gallery was closed during this time which allowed for time to paint the wood scaffolding that was then attached to the ceiling. Because of the age of the building I needed to build a support for my clay objects. The ceilings are incredibly high (theres a 12ft ladder in the background). 

The next step was to then attach the ropes that hung from the ceiling. This was done at the same time as the scaffolding to prevent our legs from getting tired.

Each of the clay objects weighs approximately 5 kg, with 45 in the installation. The clay objects contain found rusty metal, some of which were old tools and some were so rusty it was hard to tell what their original use was.  

Susie counting my 'grips for a stone'

Despite working within the parameters of creating 222 grips for a stone, I haven't counted how many I have made so far. As I work on the project, the number starts to become irrelevant. Suzie counted 66, 45 of these were used in the exhibition, and the remaining 21 were taken back to my studio. 

Im guessing there must be close to 200 by now. Ill let you know when I do finally count them!

222 Grips for a Stone - Macrame (48-51)

#50 of 222 Grips for a Stone

#51 of 222 Grips for a Stone

I have been thinking about the definition of 'grip'. The term can have many meanings and associations.

grip ¹

n.

1.

a. A tight hold; a firm grasp: a drowning swimmer now safely in the grip of a lifeguard.

b. The pressure or strength of such a grasp: a wrestler with an unmatched grip.

c. A manner of grasping and holding: The crate afforded no comfortable grip.

2.

a. Intellectual hold; understanding: a good grip on French history.

b. Ability to function properly or well; competence: getting a grip on the new technique.

c. Mental or emotional composure: lost his grip after he was fired.

3.

a. A mechanical device that grasps and holds.

b. A part, such as a handle, that is designed to be grasped and held.

4.       A suitcase or valise.

5.        a. A stagehand who helps in shifting scenery.

b. A member of a film production crew who adjusts sets, lighting, and props and sometimes assists the cameraoperator.

#48 of 222 Grips for a Stone

#49 of 222 Grips for a Stone

222 Grips for a Stone - Metamorphosis (40-47)

"stone is the only thing in nature that constantly dies" - Frances Ponge  

The solidity, reliability and impassiveness of stone is constant, yet it is continually changing, although at a greatly reduced rate compared with human life. Despite its solidity, it is worn down by atmospheric agents such as air and water, reducing large pieces of stones into pebbles, and then finally into fine particles of sand. 

#40 of 222 Grips for a Stone
Before firing

#41 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing

Because of this Ponge believes that stone is the only thing in nature that constantly dies (73). He then considers all forms of stone (rock, pebble, sand), all represent some stage of its evolution, exist simultaneously in the world. He relates this notion of connectedness as paradise, where all conception exists (74). 

#42 of 222 Grips for a Stone
Before firing 

#45 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing 

Stone is continually changing form, yet at the same time it remains true to its original composition of minerals. In some senses you could say that stone is an illusory force in nature, having the ability to continually morph itself over time. Once it is ground down into smaller particles it has the potential to be transformed into larger stones again through sedimentary processes, or melted under extreme heat in the form of lava.

#46 of 222 Grips for a StoneBefore firing  

#47 of 222 Grips for a Stone
After firing

Because of the vast difference in materiality between the unfired and the fired clay pieces, after much discussion and consideration I have started counting the before fire and after fire as different pieces in my exploration of 222 grips for a stone. 

Interestingly, the copper wire, which contains or grips the clay before being fired, acts as another grip after firing, as the melted copper sticks the ceramics together.

Ponge, F. The Voice of Things. Herder and Herder. United States 1974.

The Thing Is - MFA Group Exhibition

NSCAD's Master of Fine Arts students are holding their annual group exhibition titled The Thing Is at the Anna Leonowens Gallery, November 17 – 28, 2015, with a public opening reception on Monday November 16 from 5:30 to 7pm.

the thing is invitation designed by Emily and Carly

This year, the group of sixteen MFA students will present work in a range of media from textiles, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, and painting to photography and digital work. This group comprises nationalities spanning Australia, China, Estonia, Japan, and Canada, including four Nova Scotian artists.

They bring with them a variety of inspirations and ways of working, influenced both by the locality of NSCAD in Halifax and by their mother cultures. Representing a diverse range of themes, which include social engagement and working across disciplines in art and craft, the exhibition 'The Thing is' promises to be one that will engage the senses and the mind.

The Thing Is
Exhibition view looking through the window from Granville Mall

My work in the show continues to explore the concept '222 Grips for a Stone'. I have set parameters within the exploration, limiting my materials to found objects, wire and glass.

Presence of Absence Series

Whilst exploring the materiality of the objects I have also been contemplating themes that continue to surface in my work, including travel and movement, place, loss and regeneration.

Found clay object
shino glaze, wrapped with copper wire and steel handle
#36 of 222 Grips for a Stone 

The clay object (found in the clay recycling room) represents a sped up version of the natural geological occurrences in nature. It contains a sense of place, and is energised by fire and sensitised by touch.

Found clay object,
wrapped with steel wire, melted copper and glass
#37 of 222 Grips for a Stone

 Human occupation is a layering process on the landscape. The wire alludes to the impact of white settlement: roads, mapping and fences. At the same time it is reminiscent of women work, knitting and embroidery which uses line to create their own surfaces.

"The thread, or line transforms into traces, and surfaces are brought into being. At the same time the transformation of traces into threads also dissolves the surface" ~ Tim Ingold

Wire protects the stone, inhabiting the liminal space at the boundary of the object. It holds the stone together, but at the same time things are slipping through its grasp.

Found clay, railroad spike, glaze, steel wire
#38 of 222 Grips for a Stone

Glass has a materiality that under heat, or through time it will liquify which enables it to slip through the grasp of the wire. But at the same time it begins to also grasp the wire. Which embodies a continuous state of being.

Found clay object
nail and chain
#39 of 222 Grips for a Stone

The found objects have material, political and cultural resonances. 

The Presence of Absence, aligns with an extensive tradition of assemblage art that continues through to the work of Louise Bourgeois.

“To Bourgeois, assemblage is an act of ‘restoring…and rebuilding…it is a coming to terms with things…a work of love’ (it is a) a peaceful existence, not like carving, which she sees as an ‘attack on things' (Bernadac & Obrist 1998p.142-143)”

For more information on the exhibition, visit the NSCAD MFA blog. 

Teachers Assistant: Introduction to Ceramics

As part of the MFA program at NSCAD I have the opportunity to be a Teachers Assistant. This is to observe and experience teaching in the classroom. 

The MFA program is geared towards teaching as an opportunity after graduation and there is also the opportunity to propose and teach your own course.

This semester I am the teachers assistant for the Introduction to Ceramics Class. The class is focusing on hand building and one of the first assignments was to build a wig of clay that would be large enough to fit the students head.

Below are some of the wigs before being fired to bisque firing (first firing). 

Some have been painted with coloured underglazes, which will remain that colour during the firing. 

The class is taught by internationally renown Neil Forrest. Neil divides his time teaching in Nova Scotia and Scandinavia and specialises in large scale ceramics. He is particularly interested in the built environment and how ceramic sculptures interact with architecture.

Completed Basket Rings displayed within Ceramics

Basket Rings. Photography: Christina Arsenault

A couple of months ago I shared with you the beginnings of a new series of work: baskets that are woven in metal and attached to rings, and more information on the concept behind these pieces can be found here. 

Pioneer Landscapes. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Initially they were designed to be displayed within the context of larger blocks of clay. (Further information on this concept can be found here). 

Salt of the Earth 1. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Salt of the Earth 2. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Although I also like them displayed without the ceramic pieces and just in the engraved pebbles that support them, as seen in the top image.

In the studio: Salt of the Earth ceramics

Following weeks in the studio in which all my ceramic experiments seemed to disintegrate I decided to change direction and work with a more substantial and solid approach to my work, aiming to create bowls that appear to be carved from rock hewn from the earth.

Working with porcelain and oxides, my intention was to create bowls that represented layered strata of rock.

Salt of the Earth #1

Due to the extreme thickness of the slabs (about 20 x 20 x 30 cm) the slabs would require a couple of weeks to completely dry before the firing process could take place. 

Of course, I chose to rush this process and subsequently had a disaster where an entire kiln load of my work exploded because I tried to fire it too quickly.

A subsequent firing where the kiln was programmed to dry the clay for 24 hours before the firing process begun was much more successful and the results can be seen in Salt of the Earth #1 and #2.

Although there was some cracking in these pieces (probably due to the porcelain clay body rather than the firing process), I think it adds to the work and the idea of erosion. The pieces were fired once, skipping the bisque firing, in a reduction atmosphere. I really like how carbon has been trapped in the clay, turning it from pure white to a delicious grey. 

Salt of the Earth #2

Displayed with the ceramic landscape bowls are my Basket rings.

In the studio: making clay and casting moulds

I have been learning to make my own clays from scratch. This is a very exciting development because I generally buy my clays in big blocks that are ready to use. So far I have made a white porcelain clay for throwing and a white porcelain slip that both fire to cone 6.

Mixing the clay bodies

 I have also been creating complex (for me anyway!) four piece moulds of food tins.

Four piece mould of a small tin of tuna.

Four piece mould of a larger tin that contained ravioli - I think. 

The tins are a confutation of my exploration of the themes of pioneers. I am particularly interested in the notions of isolation, communication and what the first settlers were reduced to eat in new and inhospitable countries.

Watch this space as my ideas progress. Exciting! :)