I am moving along with the new designs! I spent a couple of hours yesterday sketching and researching, and I am really happy with this new dragonfly design (the bottom one). I can't wait to start carving it! It was too late last night, and I knew I would never sleep if I started, so instead I worked on yet another variation of the scarab carving I did a few months ago. This one has a background that is more interactive with the scarab itself, with a sort of Egyptian/Art Deco sort of feeling to it. I want this series of insects and wildlife carvings to reference historical art styles. Hopefully the historical inspiration will tie the series together and make them interesting.

Another bit of inspiration has been entertaining me lately, the work of nineteenth century scientist/biologist/illustrator/artist Ernst Haeckel. I discovered his work Art Forms in Nature when I was in college, and it had a big influence on my work then. I recently rediscovered his work because I found a documentary about him called Proteus. I had originally fallen in love with his illustrations on a purely aesthetic level, but this documentary taught me more about his life and influence on the world of science. He is a rather controversial figure, it seems, because of his ideas and works having to do with evolution. It's fascinating stuff! But mostly I love to look at his gorgeous drawings of Radiolaria and other sea creatures. Here is a short video with images of his work that I would like to share with you:
 

And one more thing! Thanks to atdt1991 for my new banners for the blog and the Etsy shop! They look awesome!

So, today a friend and fellow blogger has asked for his readers to show him the most beautiful things that they have created. And I have spent the better part of the morning and afternoon thinking about what that my most beautiful creation is. And this is a very difficult question, for a maker of things, I think. I started thinking about the many, many physical things I have created in my lifetime. The clay sculptures, pottery, beads, jewelry, even paintings and drawings from when I was young. And it is almost impossible for me to choose one object, it seems, as I feel as if I am playing favorites. I do believe that I make beautiful things, and I do it regularly. This inability to answer is not a lack of confidence or dismissal of myself. I have formed a business around making beautiful things, and people compliment me often and tell me that my creations make them happy, and they tell me that they are beautiful.

The studio calls today, loud and clear... so not much time to dive into art history or anything too thoughtful. Today's a good day for a mindflood. This is when I fill a post with visuals that I find interesting and let the images wash over my mind. Maybe yours too...

Ladies and Gentlemen...Boys and Girls! Gather around to see the magnificent madness that is the pottery of George E Ohr, the self proclaimed Mad Potter of Biloxi. Witness his wildy varied pottery styles and forms, no two alike, all created in the late 1800's and early 1900's, before his death in 1918.

Today I would like to write briefly about another female turn of the century potter working in the Arts and Crafts tradition, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, who had an important impact on ceramic history, and on my work in particular. She is another source of inspiration for my steampunk persona, Alycia Von Kylnfyre (that is so fun to write!) and a major source of inspiration for my work in general. In fact, the piece above, The Apotheosis of the Toiler (aka Scarab Vase), is probably the one object that seduced me into working in porcelain 

I have a big work day ahead of me, piles of bisque to glaze...so not the best time to get wrapped up in craft history, which has the ability to grab my mind and pull me into depths of research and discovery for hours and hours. It will be a good challenge for me to be consise I guess. I wanted to write a little bit about my inspiration for the Alycia Von Kylnfyre steampunk persona I have been playing with. One of the most exciting things about steampunk is character development, and the connection to history. So this week I wanted to write about historical figures in craft history that I think are great inspirations for steampunk, as well as for daily life and work. 

So, the first figure is a local one. Mary Chase Perry Stratton, founder of Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. I have written about Pewabic a bit, here and here, so I won't go too much into detail today, but I wanted to make note of a few important things I learned when reading Stratton's biography. The one thing that really struck me was her inspiration for starting Pewabic. It was an epiphany she had on the beach one day, where she discovered a government flyer encouraging citizens to use the bounty of natural resources in the States to help boost the wartime economy. She was inspired by this, and immediately wanted to work with Michigan copper (in fact the name "Pewabic" is based on a Ojibwa word for copper) Copper eventually formed the basis of what became the classic Pewabic luster glazed pottery and tile. This glaze development was uncharted territory, and she was the original ceramic alchemist, learning chemistry and the physics of kiln firing and even developing her own lines of kilns. 

I love seeing pictures of her, like the one above, in the full corseted and collared clothing of the time, firing kilns, mixing glazes, and setting tile. An amazing story, especially considering the challenges of a turn of the century woman. She is an inspiration to me, and I think of her and the drive she must have had, and wheat she accomplished, when I am feeling like I cannot do something, as an artisan and as a woman. So Mary Chase Perry Stratton is my main inspiration for my steampunk persona, I am thinking of her as a crafty superhero: part alchemist, part entrepreneur, and part artisan.

Above, a Timepiece charm in Acid Metal finish out of the kiln this morning. This is for an order, and I was really impressed with the way it turned out, so I snapped a pic of it. It is fun to start to get orders for these Steam Stones, mostly because now is the time that people start ordering them in the various finishes, and I get to see them for the first time, along with them. I love that my customers are able to envision how these might look in the finishes I have available, and are willing to take a chance and order them sight unseen.

 

So yesterday I referenced an adventure that we encountered on Saturday, and I will tell you about it today.

When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels

But I know our filthy hands can wash one another's

And not one speck will remain."

So above is the last of the Chuck's cards from the Magic the Gathering work that has been released. I showed this one on the blog when it came out, but I wanted to finish up the week and just show them all. While this one doesn't have any crazy creatures or characters, it is one of my favorites. We both have an affinity for weird pod like growing things. Much of my college work revolved around it actually. I especially love the way porcelain can take on the textures and luminosity of newly growing plant life, as well as shells, and sea creatures, and eggs.