New Works, New Directions

The never-ending and oppressive heat here in my little corner of the Sierra foothills has had an unexpected silver lining it seems.

My small studio is actually an enclosed portion of my home's wrap-around porch. Its on the back, so its about 7 feet off the ground, and faces south west. That means the worst of the sun's death rays beat down on it in summer and make it pretty much uninhabitable unless you're a wasp.

The upshot is that I've been forced out of my studio the last 12 weeks or so and growing increasingly frustrated at my inability to create. Then, in July, ahead of a workshop my clay supplier was hosting, I was asked to kick the tires on their version of paper clay.

I decided this was a perfect combinations of ingredients for me to play at sculpting. I would not need a large work area, the "mess" could be contained easily and water requirements were minimal.
In other words, I could work inside my home, plopped in front of the Big Screen, under the AC vent. I've always considered sculpting to be like sketching, and I approach it the same way. 

The paper clay has allowed me to try things I wouldn't do with typical stoneware or porcelain, because it has both strength and a certain amount of flexibility even when dry. It withstands both cone 10 firings and my single-firing raku technique.

I'm still locked out of the studio for a few more days - until the heat breaks - but I'm not so frustrated anymore.

Check my Etsy shop for currently available works. Oh! And here's a fun video of the process for you too!