Artist of the Day – John Shirley

by Carole Epp | Dec 9, 2009 | Uncategorized

So nice to see and include a familiar face as well – John was part of the last Artist of the Day month (see the post here.) Always interesting to see a follow up of what the artist has done next. In John’s case – continued on making objects of exquisite beauty!

John Shirley – Artist’s Statement
My fascination with the ceramic process is a major influence in my work. I work in bone-china with soluble salts as surface treatment. These salts have a tendency to permeate the surface of the work adding subtle water colour effects and creating an ethereal quality. My aim in this work is to produce one-off pieces integrating technique and personal expression.

For more info on John’s research and technique:
2009 Ceramics Technical, no 29, ‘Exploring Local Materials in the Development of Translucent Bodies’
2008 Ceramics Technical, no 27, ‘Soluble Salts as a Surface Treatment on Bone China’

Contact John by email at:
[email protected]
his website at:
http://www.johnshirleyceramics.com
visit his blog at:
http://johnshirleyceramics.blogspot.com
or his facebook page at:
http://facebook.com/johnshirleyceramicspage

Artist of the Day – Dorcas Midkiff

by Carole Epp | Dec 8, 2009 | Uncategorized

I am constantly in awe of the range of talents and creativity that the musing readers share with me. It really is such an honor to be a part of this community! We all have so many different perspectives and histories and styles and we are all unified by this incredible material and our unique and beautiful ways of speaking through that medium. Today again is a perfect example:

And in the artist’s own words:

“I have an eclectic spirit. I love arts and crafts and will give almost anything a try…always looking for a centering to pull all my creativity together. I took my first pottery class about five years ago and found in this medium that I could bring all my other interests together.

I am primarily a self taught artist. Trial and error are my main tools. I have taken several years of pottery classes at the local community college and enjoyed work shops with artists like John Calver, Carol Gentithes, and Sid Luck. I am always amazed how different every artist is with the clay!

I can remember being into creating even before grade school. I used to build little villages of sticks and stones under the shade of an old oak tree in my grandparents back yard. My father built our home and I would sneak scraps of drywall and wood to draw or paint on, this was in the first grade. I had a standard Japanese Pagoda that I loved to draw with water and mountains and evergreens in the back ground. I remember my first project in the second grade drawing local birds on a 2’x2’ board. I still love the smell of a new box of big fat Crayola crayons. High school would find me drawing for extra points on reports, or if you needed me you should look near one of the hallway bulletin boards where I would be creating something new. I have always had something near to work on…not always producing a good piece, but always a step to learning more about myself and the media I was using. Some of my best work has come from mistakes!”

http://wondrousstrangedesigns.blogspot.com/
www.wondrousstrange.etsy.com

Artist of the Day – Cecile Kizlik

by Carole Epp | Dec 7, 2009 | Uncategorized

You all know I’m a huge fan of figurative work, especially those with social commentary so I was thrilled to find the work of Cecile Kizlik show up in my email inbox. Enjoy!

Bio: Cecile Kizlik was trained as a bookbinder and is now freelancing DTP jobs. She lives and works in France. She took up ceramics 3 years ago, and fell in love. She used to draw, but now makes figurines. She also makes functional objects which we’ll hopefully get to see someday here on musing as well.

Statement:
I make figurines out of stoneware clay. I am interested in social and identity issues. My work focuses on the way bodies and clothes give something away of someone’s personality. They act as telltale signs – sometimes misleading – of what happened to us, of our wealth, of our attempts to present or hide ourselves, of our aspirations…My sources of inspiration are archetypal characters i might see in films, books etc… as well as everyday people. I have a special interest in people who have striking features or a bold dress sense, characters with an awkward, quirky side to them. Visually, my main influences are comic books aesthetics and folk arts.

Here’s the address of the blog featuring her work: http://cecile-kizlik.blogspot.com/