Pieces of the Puzzle

Hello everyone,
  Below are a few pictures of some small pieces I've been making.  These images are of smaller pieces belonging to larger projects.  The red crow claws are carved out of wax and will be cast in bronze.  I also made press molds of monarch butterflies so that I can make an abundance of butterflies for another larger piece.  The little people are actually part of some boxes I've made that will hold some of my drawings.  So. . . .  Here's your sneak peak into my studio.

RAKU COPPER!!!!!!

EXCITING!!!  Right at the end of December, I stumbled upon the possibility that you can Raku copper metal!  I LOVE Raku, you can imagine my excitement at this discovery.  So, here's my silly story. . . I was taking a metals class this past semester as part of my minor, and the last project of the semester had to somehow incorporate enamel.  Well, I have never used enamel, but found that it is quite similar to glazing and firing a pot.  I occasionally have an obsessive personality, especially when I am learning some new technique.  Therefore, instead of doing one piece in enamel, I decided I would make a sculpture that would incorporate about 40 copper pieces.  I actually posted a picture of this sculpture in an earlier post--it's the picture of a face with a bunch of pieces protruding from the neck and forehead.  If you have never enameled before, once you have adhered the powdered enamel onto your metal surface you put it into a preheated kiln at about 1500 degrees F. for one to five minutes checking continually until the enamel is to the point you want it to be.  One thing that is really interesting is that you can fire your metal and build up layers of enamel and keep re-firing until you get the desired effect.  Also, there are three specific enamel surfaces other than simply opaque or translucent.  If you fire it quickly and take your piece out of the kiln before the enamel has matured, it has a rough colorful surface that looks like crystalized sugar, hence the name sugar enamel.  The second looks much like an orange peel glaze, so it's called orange peel enamel.  This is done by letting the enamel just start to mature and removing it before it has fully melted.  The last, obviously, is simply letting the enamel fully melt and mature in the kiln for a smooth glossy surface.  So, for my 40 pieces I couldn't possibly just enamel once.  I had to do each piece twice.  My first layer was fully matured enamel, then, in doing the second layer, I found the magic Raku Copper.  I decided that each little piece needed to have a sugar coating fading out from the base where they are attached to the sculpture.  Ok, so here's the magic--I ended up taking so many pieces in and out of the kiln at a constant pace, that I accidentally laid a few hot pieces just out of the kiln on some dry paper towels.  When I realized what I had done and lifted the piece off, I noticed, with great excitement, that I had a RAKU surface on my copper!!  So I re-fired all of my pieces AGAIN to obtain a similar surface.  This is certainly something I would love to explore more at some point.  If you are going to try this, I have a few suggestions to start.  First, I found that if the piece is over-efired, the results will not be as noticeable.  Next, I found that using a transparent enamel seems to work better than the opaque, and the sugar coating has the best results.  I have not tried this with silver.  I believe the copper is playing a role in this process much like in the ceramic Raku process.  The more I experiment, the more I will share my discoveries with you all.  Until then, happy hunting for those new exciting "Oh wow" moments.

Comments on Current Work

I will post images of pieces I am currently working on soon.  Until then, I will touch on what I've been doing with a few words.  In the past, I have made crows as part of my installations and have always had difficulty making the feet work for me.  Usually, by the time I have them the way I want they are so fragile that they just break or make it through the firing and are simply too fragile for my life style. So, BRONZE is my savior.  I have been carving my crow legs and feet out of wax which I intend to cast in the very near future.  Though a very small portion of my pieces will be bronze, I really believe it will make a huge difference in both the strength and look of certain sculptures.  This is a small, yet exciting step for me.

Teaching Philosophy

Hello Everyone,

   I've had a few people ask to see my teaching philosophy; and although it is always a work in progress, here is my current philosophy for anyone who may be interested, or in need of ideas to write their own.

ARTIST TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Anne Mormile

Art is an integral part of the human experience.  Its universal value is established in cultures throughout the world.  Consequently, art and craft need to play an essential role in the education of students.  As a teacher, I integrate critical thinking skills, design, and problem solving while focusing on the practice of art in a contemporary, as well as a historical context.  The challenges posed by an art teacher can greatly enhance a student’s ability to take those critical thinking skills and apply them to many other disciplines such as mathematics, science, and the complexities of everyday life.  Art is one of those special disciplines that challenges us in both manual dexterity and conceptual thinking. The practice of creating enables us to express our emotions, thoughts, and philosophies while requiring us to solve complex problems, keeping our minds probing and inventing.  Art can be a documentation of our history; it can be personal, healing, political, an advertisement, design, or simply a study of our environment.  My enthusiasm for my own creative process and work overflows into my excitement to share that knowledge and drive with my students.

Ceramics is a discipline in which craft is highly emphasized.  Craft is a valid and important part of the historical and contemporary ceramic world.  In my classroom, students learn the importance of both craft and function, and how it plays a role in contemporary ceramics.  However, I also feel it is equally valuable to approach ceramics as an art medium.  Clay is a material with infinite possibilities, and by introducing multiple views on the use of this medium, I believe it prompts students to reach for discoveries found outside the tradition.  

I have many objectives in my teaching. One of my goals is to give students the sound technical training needed to develop work while simultaneously teaching them how to formulate and articulate the ideas behind the objects they are creating.  Having strong foundation skills and a sense of design, thought, and philosophy are important components to any practice in the arts.  By sharing my knowledge of ceramics with my students, it is my hope that someday they will be able to go even further with their own explorations in the field than I have.

It is important for me to present information both with enthusiasm and in an understandable manner that promotes drive and curiosity.  A class needs to be well structured in combination with flexibility on the teachers’ part for the presentation of materials and projects.  I believe that all teachers need to be open to learning from their students, in order to evolve and grow as mentors.  It is important to listen, observe, and respond to the needs of your students.  In presenting information to a class, you must be knowledgeable of both the materials and processes you are teaching, as well as of their history.  It is important to know where an idea came from, how it has developed over time, and how it continues to develop.

Art and craft play an immense role in our world; therefore, their inclusion in education should be pursued wholeheartedly.  They nurture us while giving expression and meaning to our lives, helping us shape our innermost thoughts.  Through my teaching, I hope to inspire students to reach their own creative potential.     

Why?

In the Graduate Seminar class that the majority of the ceramic graduate class is in, there has been a lot of discussion pertaining to conceptual art.  There seems to be an abundance of lackadasical objects floating around in the artworld with pages of concept supporting the objects.  My question is, why do people spend so much time trying to prove the worth of an object they spent all of five minutes obtaining?  It just seems to me, that if you are an excellent writer, then why try to pass yourself off as an object maker?  Why not just become a theorist, or a philosopher?  And more so, why are these "artists" being supported by major contemporary museums?  

MAGDALENE GLUSZEK WORKSHOP

Hello Everyone!  Please stop by this coming Wednesday and Thursday, February 23rd and 24th, to see our visiting artist, sculptor Magda Gluszek.

She will be demonstrating both days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and she will be giving an artist talk on Wednesday night in the East Hall Classroom at 8:30 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Is Thomas kinkade an artist or a craftsman? Paint versus Clay

I have found that in the realm of ceramics, there is often a stigma attached to clay.  Outside of the people that actually work with clay, there seems to be a popular misconception that clay working can only be craft, and not fine art.  I personally believe that it is not what you use to make your work (artwork), but it is the thought, passion and ideas that lead you to make an object or image that define whether or not something is fine art, craft, or design.  That is not to say that one is better than the other (craft versus fine art); that is an entirely different debate.

Most of us know of the popular paintings of Thomas Kinkade.  Because Kinkades medium is paint, he is often advertised as an artist, but when your work becomes production is it still art?  Perhaps his first original paintings were art because he had an idea or a vision, but now, after they have been mass-produced is it still art, or is it craft? Or, is it something else?  I leave this entry as an opening into the discussion of art versus what?.  Feel free to add your two cents to this topic . . .  

The Allure of the Human Face

I find myself compelled to integrate imagery of the human face into much of my work. A persons face can act as a window into their thoughts.  I look at the physical body, or a persons face, as a shell we can often hide behind; but also as a way to express our thoughts, and emotions.  This is one reason in particular that you will often find faces emerging from sections of my work.

Layers of the Spiral

Spirals have been used symbolically throughout the ages of humanity to represent an abundance of ideas and philosophies of the human spirit, as well as representations of nature and the universe.  A spiral is probably one of the most recognized symbols throughout the world, used and manipulated for what ever purpose we choose. It can represent the the centering, layering, or abundance of one's thoughts or self, while also representing the spiral of life and existence. Perhaps there is a deeply embedded reasoning in the human psyche for our connectivity to spiral imagery.  With the questions, emotions, and ideas that drive my work, I certainly see, and feel, an appropriateness when integrating this type of symbolism.

Why the crow?

This past week I spoke on the phone with an old friend of mine that I haven't heard from in a little over a year.  We talked and laughed for a long time, and toward the end of our talk she asked me how my work was going.  I gave her the typical answer of, " Oh, it's going really well," and not much more was said, but I did tell her to take a look at my website.  She later e-mailed me and said how much she enjoyed looking at my pictures, and the typical kind, supportive words that people say to good friends.  Then, she asked me "What got you into the crows?"  This question is one that I have heard many times from various people about crows and other imagery I have used.  Crows arise in my work quite often, and I don't believe that there really is just one particular answer for me to give.  There are certain symbols that I feel connect to different people.  Crows are one of those symbols for me.  My belief is that each person views the world of symbolism differently, and for one reason or another, we make associations and connections with imagery that we can't always explain fully to others.  Crows have the gift of flight, they are believed to be one of the most intelligent species of birds, and they are as black as the darkest sky.  When you see them, they are rarely alone, and they seem very protective of their crow "families." Even their calls to each other can often have an ominous tone to them.  So, when I am searching for imagery to represent a persons spirit, or a persons thoughts, or a pattern or flow of questions mixed with the carrying of knowledge from one space and time to another, or the death of the body, and lifting of the spirit, crows often fly in and out of my thoughts.