The unreal artist

Posted on July 21, 2017July 23, 2017 Posted in artistryTagged Aesthetics, art, artist skill, artistic, artistry, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle artist, Kathy McGonigle, kathy McGonigle art teacher, kathy McGonigle potter, kathystoneware, real artist, who is a real artistLeave a comment

There it was again, another discussion of how to determine what a ‘real’ artist was. Shaking my head in utter dismay, I read a plethora of back and forth positions in the online blog. Oh so long ago, I had been introduced to this topic, had no idea what the term ‘real’ artist meant, and hadn’t found it necessary to evaluate whether I was real or unreal. But there it was again and still being discussed, so this morning I began to wonder why this real vs whatever-other-type-of-artist discussion exists and persists. To quote an awesome woman whose name escapes me, “can’t we all be fabulous?” Is a ‘real’ artist more authentic or true in some manner, maybe in skill, or in number of ideas, or simply in their prolific outpouring of repurposed and/or aesthetically pleasing matter? Could it be that the ‘unreal’ artist accrues lower than a certain level of occupational income, such as van Gogh during his lifetime? Or, is it some other distinction that drives this seeded vs seedless rye discussion?

What I can’t figure out is, who has the time and energy to bother with this distinction? Aren’t artists too busy making art?

Extruded execution

Posted on May 21, 2017 Posted in clay, hand buildingTagged Ceramic, clay coil, hand building, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle artist, Kathy McGonigle, kathy McGonigle artist, kathy McGonigle potter, kathystoneware, pottery, stoneware

So I decided to give my North Star 4″ extruder a workout this week, building two large 20lb. coil stoneware planters. I actually made the bases for the planters last week, using coils as well, then ‘threw’ each base on the wheel to smooth out what would eventually be the interior surface. I left the bases lightly covered in plastic on plaster bats for several days to get leather-hard.

The first leather-hard base was placed on the banding wheel, then scored and slipped, ready to receive the first coil. As each coil row was added, I used a wooden modeling tool to blend one row of coil with the next, then smoothed the outer sides with a small plastic rib.

The process was repeated until I had added several rows of coils and gradually widened the form to a final upper diameter of 17″. Since my extruder is installed right next to the work table, the process of cranking out coils, application, and building the form went quickly and efficiently.

Selecting just the right coil-sized die was essential for quick work, and keeping a bucket beneath the extruder made cleanup a lot easier.

Halfway through the building process I stopped building to allow the coils to set up, wedged more clay for the upper half of the form, and made some decorative tiles to later affix to the outside of the planter.

After the full height of the form was reached, I added one more coil row, this time using a slightly greater width coil to serve as the planet’s rim.

Lastly, I added some decorative surface patterns and attached the decorative tiles I had made earlier. The planter on the right below is shown further along in the drying process, and after the base was smoothed with a damp sponge.

When pottery moves in

Posted on May 6, 2017May 6, 2017 Posted in clay, pottery, wheel throwingTagged art, artistry, ceramics, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, Kathy McGonigle art, kathy McGonigle artwork, kathy McGonigle pottery, kathystoneware, pottery, Sato salon Organics, wheel throwingLeave a comment

Little corked jugs are curious forms. They nestle into any space and seem perfectly willing to take up permanent residence there. A case in point: some of these little guys have been on display for sale at SATO Salon Organics for a while and recently we figured out that they look so comfortable in their spot on the shelf that they avoid moving day. So, they’ll soon be placed in a new location at the salon, but my guess is that they’ll settle in comfortably once again.

“Inspiration is for amateurs…”

Posted on May 5, 2017May 5, 2017 Posted in artistryTagged amatuers, art, artistic, artistry, chuck close, chuck close inspiration, confidence, Inspiration, inspiration is for amateurs, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, kathystoneware, Making art, talentLeave a comment

That Chuck Close quote is my go-to saying, especially as a high school art teacher, but also as my personal artistic mantra. While I haven’t experienced Close’s seemingly life-long non-stop prolific profusion of ideas, I’ve encountered blinks of time when I believed ‘inspiration’ had eluded me.

When I look back on those snippets of idleness, I realize what appeared to be a lack of inspiration was in reality a form of quasi self-doubt. So I was curious to figure out how that doubt took up residence in my thought process in the first place. Why at times in my life, was there even the hint of a notion that I wouldn’t make art?

Well, that question brings me to another point, one I share with my art students all the time, specifically the difference between product and process. Usually it goes like this: I ask my students to identify themselves as either a product or process person. The product people tend to focus on the end result throughout their art-making, while the process people travel from one possibility to another, never wanting to finish. As an art teacher, this distinction of contrasts between product and process helps me tremendously to understand my students’ motivations as they engage in art making, and the preliminary product/process discussion also establishes a basis for dialogue when we talk about their approach to their work. Of note, I’ve rarely seen a student, who identifies as a process person, ever struggle to get going, although I’ve had countless long conversations with students, who identify as product people, to help get them started. More often than not, I’ve discovered through these conversations that the product person believes getting started requires them to have the finished work in mind; in a concept-driven art course, this rigidity of thought impedes the emergence of creative energy at the outset. The process person meanwhile, is off and running, allowing their creative energy to take them somewhere, anywhere. This brings me back to my question: why at times in my life, was there even the hint of a notion that I wouldn’t make art?

And there was the answer. These days I revel in my creative process and, in the spirit of Chuck Close, I just get to work.

Back to making mugs

Posted on April 30, 2017April 30, 2017 Posted in wheel throwingTagged ceramics, clay, home studio, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle artwork, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, kathy McGonigle artist, kathy McGonigle artwork, kathy McGonigle pottery, kathystoneware, potter, potters wheel, pottery, Sato salon Organics, studio, wheel throwing, wheel thrown potteryLeave a comment

I hadn’t thrown any mugs in over a year, because there were bins-full in the kiln shed. My niece had gone through the bins a few months ago to bring with her to Sato Salon Organics, an all-organic salon where she works, and where my pottery and mixed media pieces are displayed and offered for sale. Some of the mugs she left with that day were for use in the salon, for customers to enjoy a cup of coffee while they waited, while other mugs (and various pottery) were designated specifically for sale. Last week my niece called to say someone liked one of the coffee-designated mugs, and wanted to know if I would throw a new set for her. So yesterday,for the first time in over a year, I was throwing mugs.

I threw a dozen stoneware mugs, half in white and the rest in speckled brown. After trimming and attaching the handles to the white stoneware mugs, I trimmed the speckled brown ones and wedged up some clay for more handles. Now, I’ll go out to my studio and finish the rest today. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed throwing and ‘handle-ing’ mugs.

Altered wheel-thrown form

Posted on April 21, 2017April 22, 2017 Posted in pottery, wheel throwingTagged altered form, altered wheel thrown form, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, Kathy McGonigle art, kathy McGonigle art teacher, kathy McGonigle artist, kathy McGonigle potter, kathy McGonigle pottery, kathystoneware, potter, potters wheel, pottery, pottery studio, wheel throwing, wheel thrown form, wheel thrown potteryLeave a comment

After seeing a wheel-thrown altered pot on Pinterest, I wanted to try making a few. I threw a form on the wheel with about 4lbs -5lbs of Standard white stoneware clay and after each form was leather hard, used a needle tool to mark the four corners of where the cuts would be created. A fettling knife was used to cut out a little square and then stamped with one of my home-made clay stamps. Then I used the needle tool again to mark 8 holes – 4 holes outside the cut shape and 4 holes, one in each corner of the little cut out square. I made sure the holes were large enough to allow for passing twine through after firing shrinkage. Then I replaced the cut-out shape into each wheel-thrown form and allowed the clay to dry. After bisque firing, I applied underglaze to the cut-out shapes on both forms and when they were dry, applied a coat of wax resist. I also applied wax resist inside the openings created with the needle tool to prevent the glazes from accidentally getting ‘brushed’ into those 8 holes. Next, I applied underglaze to the pot rim and base (shown on left), allowed it to dry and applied clear transparent glaze over the whole pot surface. For the pot on the right, I used Amaco Textured Tan glaze very loosely and unevenly applied. After glaze firing at cone 5, I used garden twine to ‘tie’ the shapes to each form. This was clearly an exercise in procedure and now I’m stoked to try variations on this idea of an altered wheel-thrown form.

Making a hand-built milk can

Posted on April 2, 2017April 22, 2017 Posted in hand buildingTagged art, art studio, artistry, ceramics, clay, hand building, home studio, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathleen Mcgoniglr artist, Kathy McGonigle, Kathy McGonigle art, kathy McGonigle art teacher, kathy McGonigle artist, kathy McGonigle potter, kathy McGonigle pottery, kathysoneware, kathystoneware, milk can, potter, pottery, slab, slab building, slab building tutorial, slab roller, studio

Constructing a large slab-built milk-can requires a bit of planning and plenty of work space. Using bristol board sheets to construct a mock-up of the overall form and I then took it apart to use the pieces for templates. The large slab roller in work made quick work of rolling the largest template shape, which was roughly 30″ by 17″ – for the barrel of the milk can. For transport, I rolled the 15 lb. slab within heavy canvas and plastic sheeting, then placed it inside a rolling suitcase to bring it to my home studio. Once in the studio, I unrolled the soft slab to allow it to set up a bit.

Once the slab was no longer soft, I draped it over a 5 gallon bucket and a wheel bat placed at either end, with heavy canvas between the clay and the supporting structure to allow the clay to set up in a large arc without sticking to the bucket and bats.

The slab sat like this for several hours, checked on from time to time, to determine when it was strong enough to hold its own weight. Once it was strong enough, I stood it up and began to form the cylinder for the barrel of the can. While the large slab had been setting up, I had rolled a smaller slab for the base of the can and let it firm up on a plaster bat, so when the barrel of the can was ready, I attached it to the base and positioned the form on a masonite board.

After wrapping the form in plastic sheeting so it wouldn’t get too dry, I began to roll and cut the slabs for the upper sections of the milk can using the bristol board templates.

After forming the upper sections of the can I placed each part on a plaster bat to set up. Getting these sections leather hard didn’t take too long, because the warm sun and gentle breeze on the back patio provided the perfect drying environment.

After the upper sections were firm enough, I attached them to the barrel, and added a coil to the joint of each upper section, then a handle on either side.

Wrapping the lower portion of the can in plastic allowed the upper section to dry a bit more so some fine tuning of the form’s surface could be dealt with at a later time. Lastly, I took some measurements to record the amount of shrinkage at leather hard -and later at bisque and glaze- since I’d never made this form before.

The potter’s manicure

Posted on March 18, 2017March 25, 2017 Posted in clay, pottery, wheel throwingTagged clay, dyring effects of clay, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, Kathy McGonigle art, kathy McGonigle art teacher, kathystoneware, potter's hands, potters wheel, pottery, pottery studio, wheel throwing, wheel thrown potteryLeave a comment

All my life my hands have been relegated to the unadorned among us. Oh the toenails saw some lacquer in the summertime, don’t get me wrong, but my hands always found themselves in too much water, sawdust, grout, or reduced by length and banned from polish due to someone’s rules and regulations.

From the dress code in high school to similar restrictions as a nurse in a Catholic hospital, my nail polish went underground, inside my shoes. A later career change to teaching art kept my nails short and color-free as practicality won over vanity. I could count on less than two hands the number of professional manicures I’ve had. Once, when I returned home with a French manicure for a special occasion, the eye rolls from my daughters confirmed my suspicions that painted digits weren’t ‘me’.

Today during the day I still teach art, although it’s all digital – graphic and web design- but I’m a potter at night, on weekends, and holidays. Potter’s hands take a lot of abuse from having their hands in water, not to mention the sanding effect of the grout in the clay, and the incredible drying effect of stoneware on the skin. So, to keep my hands ready to wedge pounds of clay, plunge into buckets of water, and grind over grog-filled stoneware on the potter’s wheel, today I follow my own rules and regulations about short fingernail length and polish-free nails.

PVC Photo booth

Posted on March 4, 2017April 18, 2017 Posted in pottery, studio, wheel throwingTagged art, artistry, ceramics, clay, clay studio, craft, home photo booth, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, kathy McGonigle pottery, photo booth, pottery, PVC, PVC photo booth, studioLeave a comment

Setting up the photo booth was easy once I saw that post about using PVC pipe to create the structure.

Using my chop saw made quick work of cutting the pipe to the dimensions I needed; the 3-way fittings and elbows worked great to not only build the box but to make it stable. I draped a few yards of muslin over the top and sides, then stood a piece of matt board at the back. I ran a roll of tracing paper across the ‘floor’ of the booth and up and over the matt board – folded the paper over the top of the board to hold it securely in place, then left the paper uncut on the roll in the front of the booth so it could easily be replaced as needed. With a lamp placed outside the muslin ‘wall’ I was ready to shoot some pottery images. The whole task took about 20 minutes from start to finish. An added benefit is that the PVC is very lightweight which will make it easy to move and quick to disassemble and reassemble should I ever need to do so.

Form

Posted on March 4, 2017April 22, 2017 Posted in wheel throwingTagged art, art form, Kathleen mcgonigle, kathleen McGonigle art teacher, kathleen McGonigle artist, kathleen McGonigle artwork, kathleen McGonigle potter, Kathy McGonigle, Kathy McGonigle art, kathy McGonigle artist, kathy McGonigle artwork, kathy McGonigle potter, kathy McGonigle pottery, kathystoneware, mask, mask formLeave a comment

Working on the potter’s wheel naturally leads matter toward cylindrical forms, while the creation of utilitarian objects that interact with the human form require a conformity to a certain proportion. Slab work, combined with wheel thrown work, invites variety as the two methods of building interact with one another. But it all comes down to one thing; I am constantly evaluating the nature of form everywhere everyday.

A geometric shadow washed over an organic human form (a form that contains circular and spherical geometry) demands analysis as well as investigation. What possibilities are inherent in this intersection of parallelograms temporarily floating over organic/geometrical composition?

‘Little mask’ is tiny at just over 5″ tall, yet commands attention. There’s some compelling visual force when you’re in the presence of that tiny facial representation. Emphasis though isolation perhaps explains some of the draw, but no matter where this mask has been displayed over the decades, the result is the same powerful visual energy. It makes me ponder the possibilities that can be unearthed in creating tiny forms that can harness that sense of powerful visual presence.

Forms require consideration from multiple angles, as well as how the inside complements the outside, in addition to how light and shadow interact overall. Those endless possibilities…