End of the Semester

The Fall semester just flew by this year! Needless to say, I am wicked stressed and busy.

There's been lots of kiln sign-up drama which has put me behind schedule. I'm finishing up my 4th Unit for my professor. I'm making four piglets instead of another calf because of the time crunch. I'm not feeling the piglets as much and I feel like I'm rushing which is not exactly making great work.

For my own sanity I'll just list what's left to do in one week:

- Finish building 2 more piglets

-Underglaze two calfs

-Underglaze one piglet

-Fire the underglaze kiln

-Repair 3 broken calves

-Paint 3 calves

-Repair the chicks with broken legs

-Cover up repairs on chicks

-Repair the recent calf's broken leg

-Photograph everything in the photo room

The repair to the most recent calf might be more extensive. I fired her last night along with someone else's work who's piece blew up. It sounded like fireworks going off in the kiln. So, not excited to open the kiln tomorrow. I also have a presentation to put together for my seminar class and a draft of my letter of intent for grad school. All the other work I have to do will have to be done in January. Firing and underglazing the piglets and photographing them. Then putting together my application to grad school and the Windgate scholarship.

Calf #6

Just finished yesterday!

Apologies for the shaky video. Still learning how to use the camera.

Piglet #2

Just finished yesterday!

Trying out the video camera my little brother got me.

I was nominated as a representative of my school for the Windgate Grant!

In other words, I passed the first step and I get to apply for the national competition. They award $15,000 to 8 or 9 (?) emerging artists in their senior year of completeing a BFA.

So excited!

Crits Mess with Your Brain

I had a group critique of my work in my Senior class on Monday. (We mainly focused on my newest piece that I haven't photographed yet.) Generally, they go well for me and I get good feedback that is both positive and helpful in ways I can improve.

Mondays critique, however, has left me very frustrated and stalled in jumping into my next piece. I didn't get any positive feedback. Well, that's not true, the attempted negative feedback was actually good because the piece was disturbing people. One person said it made them feel very sad and another said it made her think of rape (she said this in a disgusted way) so, good in that respect.

They really focused on the anatomy of the piece and that was very frustrating for me because my goal is not to have a perfect replica of a cow (or chick or piglet, etc). The head IS too big and I do struggle with the head/body proportions. My advisor initially told me a few months ago that it actually worked for the pieces but she flip flopped on this during crit. She also flipped her opinion of their thinness. She said that it was piling too much on. I personally like it, I think it connotes suffering and makes the piece awkward and uncomfortable. I want to look at the piece, it's interesting to me in a macabre, staring at a car accident sort of way.

So the question is: is it too much that people will ignore the piece entirely or is it "too much" in a way that keeps peoples attention?

I wish I could get more feedback than just her and this very small group of 4 people.

Now I don't know what to make next or how to portray it. I was going to do a lighter gentler piece as a break from the more heavy pieces. Which I think is a good idea so people don't get fatigued by always looking at sad, painful pieces. But how light do I go? I was going to do two calfs nuzzling, with tags in their ears to connote their exploitation/oppression. But is it too light? Are people just going to go "awwww, cute." Should I make them skinny, bones showing, or not?

My other idea is one laying with her back to the ground, writhing with her legs apart (picture a dog begging for a belly rub). So do I make her really skinny or not?

My advisor told someone else during his crit that he didn't need to do anything we suggested but to go with what he felt was appropriate. The crit was just feedback and nothing more. We are to choose whether or not we want to implement the advice.

I suppose it's good that it got me thinking. My work depends on public response, not whether they like it. I just want people to be curious and talk about it. So if it weren't a crit would people still look at the work? That I don't know. So the crits really aren't that helpful. I NEED to set up a small show and actively watch to see how people respond.

Calf #4

So, the studio space issue has been straightened out. One of the other wonderful Seniors graciously traded spots with me. So now it's back to work! This past week I finally finished up my 4th calf. A little behind schedule but hopefully there will be no more interruptions.

I had a lot of trouble getting her back together with the the cracking and repairs. So here's to hoping she doesn't fall apart in the kiln!

Why I Make What I Make

The simple fact is that I love animals. I was born into a home that liked animals and grew up with them throughout my entire life. Once I was old enough, I started volunteering my time to care for birds at a rehab center. Eventually all of the jobs I had as a teen and young adult revolved around animal care. I was also enormously influenced by my 2^nd grade teacher who took us on hikes, built a birdfeeder outside our classroom window and made a community garden with us. She taught us to respect nature and animals. I also love learning, whether on my own or in school. This combination eventually lead me to become vegan for ethical reasons. That’s basically the short and quick version.

My love for animals isn’t the kind of love that I melt over every baby animal that crosses my path. I respect them as beings that value their lives and have their own desires and free will. I don’t see any difference between eating a dog and eating a cow for instance but most people in this country would because it’s a social norm.

My two skills have been the ability to work with animals and make things decently as an artist. I decided to pursue art instead of becoming a veterinary doctor because I didn’t want to participate in a severely flawed system that views animals as objects. I wanted to do something to advocate for animals and to help make change. It’s a very lofty goal to want change a cultural view and I know I’ll never achieve it en masse. But I am contributing and that’s better than not doing any thing at all. If enough people have that attitude, change will slowly but surely happen.

So, I make animals to bring awareness to their suffering and plight. Most people have never seen the animals that they consume or use for their by-products (of milk and eggs and skin, etc). I want to bring the presence of those animals into people’s awareness. Granted they are only representations of those animals but these substitutions still promote thought about the animal. I try to create the animal with a certain emotional expression via the face and through it’s gesture that will evoke questioning and empathy.

My work is fairly literal. I make a calf and I am referring to a calf. If it looks like it is in pain then that is how it is responding to its circumstance. I want to convey what that calf is feeling and what might be the cause of its suffering. I’m trying to work out what my method of working is, whether I’m a formalist, metaphorical, conceptual or narrative artist. I’m thinking I work conceptually or narratively. I’m leaning towards narrative because the animal’s life is the most important thing about my work. I want their stories told and their emotions shared and empathically experienced. But I need their presence to do that, I can’t convey their suffering as concept by itself because then it looses its advocacy.

ETA: After doing some research on other artists that fit into each of those categories, I’m discovering that I am probably more of a conceptual artist. We’ll see what my professor says tomorrow I suppose.

Update

I had initially intended on this blog being a stand in for a website to show my work. I think it would be beneficial to show you what I'm working on during the process and to flush out some ideas for myself.

I posted my recent work below. I will be focusing primarily on sculpture for at least the following year. I will, however, be posting some pottery that I recently finished. I'm hoping to get that up to sell on Etsy soon. I'll let you know when!

Calf # 3

This is the 3rd sculpture of my Senior Thesis project that I finished in July. She is supposed to have a companion that I should be starting next. She is about 2 and half feet tall and long. Terra cotta and synthetic Barnard/Blackbird blend, unfired in these images. For larger images, follow the link.

Calf # 2

This is my second sculpture for my Senior Thesis project. She was finished last fall and is a little over 3 feet long. Terra cotta and synthetic Barnard/Blackbird blend, unfired in this image. For larger images, follow the link.

Calf # 1

I finished this sculpture last fall. She is the start of my Senior Thesis project on the exploitation of dairy calves and cows. Terra cotta, about 3 feet tall and 3 feet long. Unfired in these images. For larger images, follow the link.

Lady

I finally finished this sculpture this winter. She is about 2 feet tall and 3 feet long. Terra cotta, fired to cone 06, painted with acrylic and matte medium.

For larger images, follow the link.