The Chalice
Musings of the Artists Mind
This one was a dual exploration in functionality and exaggerated textures. I was asked to create a large vessel for very big flower arrangement and let my insecurities of the day filter into the fear of showing imperfections in the surface, so I went to the other extreme and covered the whole sculpture with a heavy coating of slip, then attempted to work the surface as it were Van Gogh self-portrait. When it came out of the bisquing kiln, I was still uncertain and added this basic creme glaze, after a few weeks of visualizing many other colours. In retrospect, I think it would have been very interesting with a crimson glaze to my Indigo pigment glaze.
The piece definitely as a life of it’s own, as it looks quite different depending on what light shines on it. Maybe, it has some shimmer that allows it to be attractive for each individual viewer to their own personal aesthetics.
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What inspires an artist?
“All they see” is the first and most literal answer.
For me, that is literally hundreds of gallery & museum exhibits, thousands of books, and tens of thousands of images online.
Books that Inspired and Influenced my Experimentation:
When asked where to start a book collections, I almost always recommend these art bibles: Janson’s “History of Art” OR Phaidon’s “The Art Book” Both give a nice overview with good pictures. Once you’ve discovered what you are attracted to there most, you can then dig deeper into that area.
These are perhaps the most accessible influences, but the truth is that my influences run deep through thousands of books and works I’ve seen & read. If you have the time, you are free to visit my GoodReads library to see a fraction of the books I’ve read. These are the ones I remember, that is. Or you can visit the ever growing collection on my Pinterest account.
