Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton

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1 Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton FALL 2015 ART 261 Cycle 8: Surface, Form and Content ASSIGNMENTS CERAMICS III The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. Aristotle (384 BC BC) DEAR 4 level student, The assignments below are not for you! As a 4, I assume that you have mastered the basics and are refining your skills and paving your path in your art practice. The assignments below are ideas and information, designed for ceramics 1-3 and not required of you. I include them here to give you a jumping off place for your own exploration. As you pursue your ideas, you will continue to learn about the history of ceramics and further your efforts to integrate aesthetic and conceptual concerns into your work. Each semester this class focuses on a specific aspect of ceramics, the goal of which is to learn more about clay as a material, and its significance in art, design, industry and cultural history. We will be experimenting with various surface treatments this semester, exploring the integration of surface and form, and considering the impact of surface on content. Always, the emphasis will be on your work, your growth in the medium, your ability to create sound, expressive, and cohesive three dimensional forms in clay. As a 4, I have expectations as to your proficiency. If you don t already have proficiency in the following, now is the time: Glaze chemistry Origins of clay Knowledge of contemporary ceramic artists Working history of ceramics Competency in many hand-building or throwing skills Keen awareness and desire to participate in contemporary clay world Conversant with current events and issues IF you need help in any of these areas, let s work together. PLAN for SUCCESS Arrive at class on time, ready to work, with all of your supplies. Research ideas in periodicals, books or online; Keep your idea/technique/hand-out journal up to date. Plan your piece; sketch out ideas. Consider both the form and the surface. Practice good craftsmanship; your finished piece will thank you. Communicate with me. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR WORK, STAY on schedule.

2 The basics: Need a few refreshers? VOCABULARY - -CLAY SHRINKAGE and how to measure it. Watch this video. -LOADING AND FIRING A BISQUE KILN -DISCO INFERNO: FIRING A GAS KILN -CLAY AND CLAY BODIES Week 1-3, August 26/27-Sept 9/10 Orientation to studio, supply list, introduction to materials, overview of class, expectations, vocabulary. PROJECT: DON T FALL OVER!! SLAB BUILT ABSTRACTED BODY FORM Part 1: Use a slab of clay and manipulate it to create a standing torso, head or body part. The piece should be emotionally or socially/politically charged. Include many textures and areas for surface exploration, as you will use this as a test tile for slip, underglaze and glaze application. Finish this sketch as soon as possible so you can use it to experiment with surface. USE THESE SURFACE TREATMENTS: Dry engobe mix Underglaze Fabric soaked in slip Satin and gloss glazes(after bisque) Monoprint or transfer Masking Texture Oxide wash(after bisque) mishima, slip trailing PART 2: Use what you learned about slab construction to complete a more developed piece which will be due at midterm. Try tar paper templates to work out composition. MAKE A SINCERE EFFORT TO AVOID A FLAT BOTTOM! Due at Midterm

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4 PROJECT GOALS KEY VOCABULARY: slab construction, soft slab, stiff slab, plasticity, warping, shrinkage, sgrafitto, texture, slip and score, leather hard, bone dry, bisque, greenware, underglaze, slip, engobe, maquette, template, sculpture, 3 dimensionality, slab roller, abstraction, content REMEMBER: Slab thickness determines how strong or flexible your piece will be. Slab dryness determines strength, vertical possibilities and allows for carving. Over handled slabs will crack and warp WHAT IS A SLAB? A slab is flexible or stiff, a blank canvas, a building element, a wall or a curve or a blanket, or a dimensional line in space. It is ready for you to integrate form and surface. DEMONSTRATION:I will demonstrate use of slab roller, stomping, throwing on the floor with laughter, soft slab, drape mold, stiff slab, templates, fabric dipped in slip, slip on canvas, and surface treatments. CONSIDER: the issue of content in your work. The piece should refer to political or social issues, or be emotionally expressive. AVOID a flat bottom! WATCH: Jeremy Randall slab construction Pottery Video How to Make and Design a Stiff Slab Vase NOTES:

5 Weeks 3-5 September 9/10-Sept 23/24 PROJECT: OOOOH!! Pinch me!! RESEARCH FORMS OF CONTAINMENT! BRING IN PHOTOS OR DRAWINGS! Using pinching technique, make a container; BUT, not a round pot. The piece must contain something, or represent an abstraction of containment, or be a literal container, etc What contains things or concepts in your experience? Consider your head, architecture, a vessel, a shell, dreams, a piece of paper. PAY attention to how the clay changes as it dries, and which stages work best for different finishing techniques LILLY ZUCKERMAN S technique: From a block of clay, I slowly and methodically pinch the form. No clay is added and very little clay is trimmed away encompassing many changes of state, from the uncomplicated lump, heavy with potential, through precarious and fluid chaos, and ending with the form.

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7 PROJECT GOALS Key Vocabulary: Pinching, plasticity, translucency, symbolism, fragility, banding wheel, volume, interior space, content, REMEMBER: Learn about the limits of the material; loosen your approach to the material; work without a plan. React to the density, texture and moisture of the clay. WHT PINCH?? Allows for freedom and spontaneity, teaches control, no size limt. DEMONSTRATION: plasticity tests, clay body tests, pinching various forms CONSIDER: The fragility of your work, watch for unsupported or protected features that might break off, note the bottom of your piece and its contact with the table. Is it interesting? What does containment mean? How do the images above represent containment? WATCH :Alexandra ENGELFRIET, Finger to Thumb:A Thousand Marks of Pinching Artists Clay Studio of Missoula for ideas NOTES:

8 Weeks 5-8 September 23/24-October 14/15(MIDTERM CRITIQUE) Oh the coil! A study in history and potential. And peril. While visiting the CRC or PAM, choose an historical pot or sculpture or find an image online. Look at lots and lots of historic vessel forms, pre Print out a photo of your choice with information about it, including date, culture, function, artist, material (if this info is available), and dimensions. Carefully examine the piece, and describe it. Pay attention to texture, color, composition. For example: This chalice is an example of Pyrgos ware, one of the earliest forms of Cretan pottery. Possibly bce. It is low fire, unglazed, local clay with an embossed pattern. There appears to be a single ear shaped handle and it tapers to a narrow waist between to evenly balanced conical forms. 10 x 5 Do a contour drawing of your choice, about 12 high. Or create a profile of your choice in photoshop. Using coil construction, build your piece as an accurate interpretation of the original, to scale(that means at least 12 ) but applying your own surface or alterations to make the piece yours

9 PROJECT GOALS KEY VOCABULARY: coil construction, sculpture, 3 dimensionality, extruder, abstraction, content, historical representation, political context, banding wheel, profile template. REMEMBER: coil contruction takes care and watchfulness. Wait until the lower section is set up enough to safely add more coils. Don t try to add wet coils to dry or leather hard coils. Don t let the piece get away form you. Choose the right thickness coil for the scale of your piece. Slip and score!!! WHAT IS A SLAB? A coil can be hand rolled or extruded. It is a versatile construction technique. DEMONSTRATION: I will demonstrate coil construction. CONSIDER: the issue of historical content in your work. HOWEVER, the piece should refer to contemporary political or social issues. WATCH: African Pottery Forming and Firing (impressive coil building!) historical sources: or or NOTES: Week 8, OCTOBER 14/15

10 MIDTERM CRITIQUE!! POTLUCK!! take-home midterm test due at beginning of class good study tips: The slab built, pinched and coil built projects are due. Week 9, October 21 "Clay and wheel, they teach us." HAMADA Shoji WATCH: youtube s Learnclay channel videos are good for beginners. Weeks 10-13, October 28/29-November 18/19 Practice practice practice Save one for Raku too! PLEASE work on developing forms with grace and interest look at all of the functional pots in your life! What makes them well designed? HOMEWORK: Bring to class images of pots that you like. Show them to me, explin why you think they are successful. Week 14(Thanksgiving), November 25 Trimming Week 15-16, December 2/3-9/20 Presentations, Glazing, Raku firing Give a short presentation about an artist, period of ceramic history, or ceramic technology. I NEED TO APPROVE YOUR CHOICE. FINAL CRITIQUE, December 16/17 This syllabus may be altered at my discretion. I will not do so without talking to you first.

11 Realism vs. Abstraction: Some Things to Consider The following quotes are from Art Fundamentals, Theory and Practice, Ocvirk, Bone, Stinson, & Wigg It is interesting that the wholly abstract quality of music is so easily accepted, but art as abstraction (except as pure ornamentation, as in wallpaper) is more difficult to accept. Abstraction is simply a matter of alteration and reshuffling of priorities in order to convey the artist s intent and/or feelings more effectively. Genuine art does not limit itself to superficial appearances, but tries to reveal that which lies deeper. It takes delight in pure invention and adventure. There is very little excuse for judging a work of art solely on the basis of visual accuracy. It is possible to develop vision that looks through the encrustations of fashion and fad, into the underlying formal structure. Art is not primarily intended to be informative. Information is the province of symbols such as words in literature or numbers in math. Art is primarily experiential. Artists are under no obligation to narrate (tell a story). Art that places chief emphasis on accuracy of description is repetitive rather than creative. When students understand that art does not function primarily to describe things naturalistically, their chances of realizing their own artistic goals will be more closely realized. The formal devices of design soon become instinctive tools of expression, giving the ability to conceive or imagine form in an original way. A painting or sculpture can be thought of as the record or expression of an artists experience, from the age and place in which the artist lives. The subject (of a work of art) is merely the stimulus to creativity. Public vision is unfortunately often conditioned to be object-minded, satisfied only with art that has an obvious basis of recognition. The observer must learn to look for the expression of a work of art rather than just the recognizable associations. ² The Issue of Abstraction: Some Things Consider "Reality has always been far too small for the human imagination." - Jacqueline Ford Morie Throughout history around the world most artwork has freely expressed the wonderful potential of human imagination, using abstraction and symbolism to empower specific narratives. In all cultures children start out as artists, creating abstract imagery intuitively and spontaneously. This inclination will always continue naturally unless it is subverted or discouraged. In our Western culture the Classical humanism of ancient Greece and Rome celebrated the idealized perfection of the human form, and encouraged pictorial realism in all art. The emergence of Christian humanism of the late Middle Ages led to the revival of Classical humanism and pictorial realism during the Italian Renaissance, backed up by the full power of the Catholic Church. With these two pinnacles of Western civilization setting such powerful precedent, it is little wonder that abstraction has struggled to find its place in Western art, especially in the perception of the general public. Abstraction in art can simply be defined as the alteration or interpretation of a subject to suit the artists needs or intent, and under that definition almost all art is abstracted from reality to

12 some extent. The copying of reality without interpretation or abstraction is a matter of rendering skill and involves little creativity or imagination. Nonobjective abstraction refers to completely abstract artworks with no overall objective or recognizable content. This type of artwork demands a lot from the viewer. When we view pictorial realism in art our response can be completely passive. All we have to do is stand there and let the imagery deliver its message, which doesn t require much imagination or initiative on our part. This is not to malign realistic pictorial art, but our enjoyment and understanding of realistic imagery depend on the artist s rendering skill and our familiarity with the pictorial information, rather than our willingness to actively use our intellect and imagination. Abstract art is appreciated on a different level, and places much more responsibility on the viewer in order to actively experience the work. The appreciation of abstract art can increase with education and experience, but neither are necessary. The minimum requirement is a keen eye and an open mind. A comparison with music can clarify all this. Non-objective abstraction in visual art is like instrumental music. To say that realistic pictorial art is somehow more valid or effective than abstract art is just like saying that music that tells a story with words is more acceptable than instrumental music. A piece of instrumental music is an abstract composition of musical form: pitch, tone, volume, duration, repetition, rhythm, unity and variety experienced through sound. A nonobjective artwork is an abstract composition of visual form: line, shape, volume, space, value, color, pattern, texture, repetition, rhythm, unity and variety experienced through sight.