Inside and Out

The inside of my pieces has always been just as important to me as the outside. I want to make sure that anyone looking into the interior sees "art", not just smooth boring sides.

Of course, some of my pieces are functional so having nooks and crannies or strands of clay winding throughout doesn't work. But still, I try to make it a piece that can stand alone without veggies or fruit or flowers!

The piece to the left (Recycle Rewind) is an example of how important I view the inside of my art. The view you're looking at is from the side. Below, right, is a shot of the piece looking down at the inside. I have flutes, the strands drape over the outside over the edge into the interior to carry the eyes on a journey.

It's kind of hard to tell much from my photos, but it really is a pretty creation. It's one of my favorites... but it now resides in someone's home other than mine! The new owner was very enamored of the piece and I know it's sitting somewhere in a place of honor. I share the story of Recycle Rewind on my website if you're interested in learning more about it.

I've been in the studio for the first time in about a week and oh is it wonderful to have my fingernails all clayed up again! I keep them short, but still the clay slips under the edges. In fact, that's one of the first things I look at when a female tells me she wants to take classes -- her fingernails. It's difficult to work with clay if you have long fingernails. Not impossible, but certainly most will be smoothing those crescent impressions off the clay frequently.

But I digress... this isn't about fingernails... Well, it wasn't my intention to write about fingernails!

I just created two new pieces and while I was shaping I started musing about my penchant for spoofing up the insides of my pieces. Some of them have flutes that hold water and cut flowers or plants if desired. Some are designed around the interior --- I start with an idea for the inside and the outside just happens.

I think of my work as clay art or ceramic art more so than pottery given that much of it really is a cross between sculpture and pottery. I still remember the first piece I ever made back in high school. It was a tower with hands reaching out of crevices.

I wish I still had it, not sure where it ended up. I do have one piece I made in Governor's Honors (art of course). We were tasked with creating something from a wet three-holed brick. I made a dragon. Hmmm... I need to take a photo of that and share, don't I?

Sometimes when I share on here I manage to travel all over the place, don't I? Ah well, hopefully you're able to follow my mind as it flips from subject to subject. I've seen people shake their head as I talk sometimes, trying to figure out how I jumped from one topic to the next... and I've had to explain the logic of my jumps! See, I jumped again ;-)

OK, time to get back to the studio. I just came up to grab something to drink and check the weather. It's pretty bad on the north end of Atlanta and I wanted to see how much time I had before I had to close up shop. The studio sits in the midst of a lot of trees and I don't like being out there in a lightening storm. I much prefer my nice sturdy brick home!