April 14, 2016

Two New Clay Reliefs: "On a Curve" and "Soft Angle"


On a Curve, porcelain with acrylic paint, 6 x 11 x 1/2 in.


Most of the clay reliefs I've done so far have been moderately complex in their compositions––I love working with all those different lines and planes––so I thought I'd try something a little simpler: two circles with internal arcs, on a long curve. To me it's a bit humorous, with the top circle/ball rolling down. I had a bit of a hard time figuring out the color for this piece: I began with a yellow ocher-ish color, but it really did not suit the feeling of it. It reminded me that I'd recently written about color's emotional impact in a post titled "The Emotional Resonance of Color". In it I wrote, regarding my sculpture: "The form may ask me for a certain color, or the feeling I want to achieve may demand a certain color, but it's not at all obvious." I decided to try a more warm pinkish color, echoing the bit of whimsy in the composition, and it worked much better for me. 


On a Curve detail


One circle is sunken relief and the other is raised. They both have arcs within them that are modeled in the round with the main part of the circle is flat.


On a Curve detail


Because of the large expanse on the upper part of the composition I thought I'd try using a subtly textured surface. I achieved it using wooden modeling tools and fingers. 


Soft Angle, porcelain with acrylic paint, 9 1/8 x 7 1/8 x 5/8 in.


My other recent piece goes back to a more complex structure, with several overlapping planes and different kinds of lines separating them.


Soft Angle detail


During the work process, I thought of having a curved edge on one of the shapes. Clay allows a lot of flexibility in edges....


Soft Angle detail


....and a lot of different kinds of lines––hard and soft, crisp and beveled. It is a very sensuous medium, and I love it.


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