Ellen Shankin

 

Ellen Shankin
This is a short "get to know her"  video.

Everyday Ellen dedicates herself to her work whether it be altering pots from the day before or working on  a series and trying to transform a ball of clay into what she pictures in her mind. I like how she described what a series of work is to her, she describes it as throwing a pitcher and looking at it and saying "I would like that belly a little bigger or lower",  doing that and looking at it after it is sitting there.. That belly is too low and trying again. I like her passion she puts into each pot. she recollects when she was younger that all she wanted to do was  "play" in the clay.

Ellen said most of the time in her work she will alter a pot from a round form to a square, rectangle or oval form. She likes alter the form. she described making the same teapot over and over again and people asking her why she was still making the same old teapot. she responded by saying there is just something about it that I can't stop making it.

I love the way she glazes her pots. It makes them look so rustic and appealing to me.

Ron Mueck

Making the Baby

     As I was flipping through Pintrest  I came across one of Ron Mueck's sculptures and was instantly intrigued. I love how each of his pieces are very realistic even though they are giant size or very small. He is so detailed in his work,for example he makes sure that if the sculpture needs goose bumps he gives them to them. 

As I watched this time lapsed video I was pleasantly surprised that after he sculpted the baby he then makes a mold for it. it was very interesting for me because I have been making molds for my installation piece, not on this scale but it has been a next don't do that because it doesn't work that well kind of adventure. his mold was done over very many steps. He used a fiberglass cast system from what I can tell. There is commentary in the back ground but it is very soft and it is hard to understand what is being said. 

The picture on the right is Woman with Sticks.he give every detail from the strain in her arms to the determination on her face. She almost looks as though she will fall over backwards from strain. Ron has a lot more sculptures and they should be checked out.  

MIke Dodd: Potter



     As I watched this video on Mike Dodd, he really talks about how he action of making pottery. He explains that he believes a pot is a bit of the person who made it whether it be the shape they chose or the color or even where they chose to get their product for their pots they clay and glazes. it comes from within themselves where they have lived how they were raised. even though it might not be that evident to potter or the buyer all of these factors go in to a pot. He tells us about some of his tools that he has a small children's toy that was a meat tenderizer, paddles that he made, and anal flushes that were bought is Russia he uses now as a slip trailer. He wants his decoration to catch the glazes that he puts on his pots. he makes it a point to say that several times in this video. it is interesting to me that he is always doing something with his hands even if he is not throwing a pot he is making a new tool for decoration on those pots I like how he tries to buy his materials from places that he has lived it shows how much thought he puts into not just his pots, glazes and decorations but the environment around him too.

Richard Notkin

Richard Notkin a little bit on what his art is about.

I like this video. It tells you about Richard and why he makes his tea pots, tile installations with a focus on war and destruction. while on some of his outlooks I do not agree with I do like that he cares about what he does.

Richard Notkin talks about slip casting.

In this interesting video he shows how he slip casts and why he does it.
It was great. I like that even though he might only be replicating a piece five times he will still make a mold for it. They are very intricate teapots. and would take a long time to replicate by sculpting by hand.

Faceting: A different way to try.

A New Twist On Faceting


I watched this little video on a different way to facet a bowl. I liked how he did the facets first then stretched the thick cylinder into a bowl. It seemed easy to try. So I did......After a few hours and several pounds of clay later the thing that was hardest for me was not pulling the facet through the rim and not touching the outside to pull or give it more shape. I think that it is because I am used to doing things in a certain order and a certain way.  All I can do is what my first pottery teacher told my more often than not...CUT IT OFF WEDGE IT UP DO IT AGAIN.