Freeform Friday: Organic inspiration. Natural sculpture. Pods.

Hi. My name is Jenny and I am a pod person. 

No! Not THAT kind... this kind:

Mystery pods from my collection, including the essential acorn and something cypress. 

Eucalyptus, lotus, magnolia, Something from San Diego, milkweed. My personal collection... 

Its no secret that I find continual inspiration in Nature. Both the world around me, the turn of the seasons, the tiniest details. I have been in love with pods, leaves, fronds... as long as I can remember. ( And comparable water treasures: shells, seaweed etc.)

I discovered the work of Karl Blossfeldt in my college years. He was a German photographer, sculptor, teacher, and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany. He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as, Urformen der Kunst. He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the way in which plants grow. He believed that 'the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure.' (Thanks Wiki) 

Image credit: Soul Catcher Studio

Medley of images from ASX

Very early piece of mine. Stoneware, maybe mid 90's. Influence seems obvious. 

Sculptural pods. A variety of finishes: smoke fired, glazed, reduction fired... All are handheld.

In the cyclical nature of things, I feel like making pods again. But I am in a different place now, and want to make small pods. Wearable pods, one of a kind carved pods, rustic stoneware pods... 

(This is where I am supposed to show you the pods I am sculpting. Oops. They are all still in my head. I tease you with all the pretty pictures, but I have been immersed in teaching clay camp and not in sculpting mode lately. Stay tuned!)

So I will grow these plans, nurture this idea - and hope to harvest the pods in time for Beadfest. (Too many plant metaphors?) Off to the studio with me... 

What is your favorite "old is new again" inspiration? What motif do you return to, time and time again? Talk to me! 

Jenny
www.jdaviesreazor.com

Blossfeldt books on Amazon: Many are reasonable priced and a treasure trove of beauty, awe, inspiration! 

Seeds of Inspiration

http://www.angielewin.co.uk

I am currently at the mercy of two major infatuations which are gradually becoming intertwined - an intense and deepening devotion to all things clay and a love of botanical life in its seed dispersal phase. The image above is by one of my favourite artists, engraver and illustrator Angie Lewin who uses plants and their habitats as inspiration for her designs.

In my last post I unveiled my first pieces of ceramic work and as I've continued working with clay I've come to realise that it can be an incredibly relaxing and therapeutic medium to work in particularly when used sculpturally. In theory metal clay can be used this way but it doesn't have the plasticity of ceramic clay and dries out very quickly...not to mention the fact that it's expensive and the finished pieces would be very heavy. Rather than just transfer my bronze clay work straight into ceramic I wanted to try and develop some new ideas and this extra time is enabling me to do just that.

So were does the botanical element come in..? Well since I have no previous experience or expertise in sculpting or modelling I was looking for something fairly simple to start with and turned to one of my favourite forms - the seed pods of the Physalis or Chinese lantern...

Physalis

These have a beautiful, slightly ethereal equality so I thought I'd try and recreate one as a pendant. Mine morphed slightly into a Physalis/pumpkin hybrid but I like it never-the-less and just loved the process involved in the making.

Well this one sold and I had custom order so earlier this week I set about making another. This one hasn't been fired yet and as you can see it's developed a bit of a sexier shape...

Putting this aside to dry I started to think about how I could develop this further and began playing with a piece of clay - elongating the form and then adding some decoration...

I really like it - It has a lovely tactile feel and I'm really excited to see how It will be transformed with different glazes.

Now my head is bursting with ideas for a series of botanically inspired pieces so off I went to do a little online research and gather up some suitable specimens. And heavens, there are just so many beautiful things out there to choose from - mother nature really is the best when it comes to designing for form and function isn't she....

Sarracenia

Does this next one remind you of anything...?

Abrus

Lotus

Milkweed

I had a go at one more yesterday - a  bit more delicate in design and probably better suited to a stronger clay but it's all good practice...

 

So I hope you like this little insight into my inspiration - somehow I think there will be a few of these designs germinating pretty quickly so I hope you like them! If you know of any plants with interesting seed heads or pods do let me know.

Lesley

The Gossiping Goddess

Freeform Friday - Organic

... from Merriam Webster:  Organic 3a  : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms...

...from Albert Einstein: "Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. "

Today's post is inspired by nature, and organic texture. I am focussing on texture this month; my friend Cooky Schock and I are doing a collaborative year long exchange on our shared blog at Coast 2 Coast Creative. And natural textures are my absolute favorite. Mother Nature was truly an  inspired artist when she created marvels like sea urchins, tree bark, and seed pods! Oh seed pods... 

Eucalyptus pods from San Diego.

I use these frequently, one of my fav motifs. And such different designs, such diversity! They remind me of Medieval quatrefoils. 

Ocean and sea themed found objects in my studio. 

Plant and pod pieces gathered in my studio.

SO for this Freeform Friday I decided to make some molds. Positive and negative; and share some of my organic inspirations. These type of elements have been used to make impressions since early man was texturing clay pots. (Makes the pots less slippery when wet...) No one can fuss about copying, since we are all inspired by similar items. You can't copyright a peach pit! The trick is using them in your own creative way...

Polymer texture plates pulled from the original objects. When cured these can be texture press plates as is - a "negative" of the original. I will use them in both earthenware clay and polymer.
 L to R: peach pit, acorn cap, star anise, magnolia pod, poppy pod.

Ocean pieces and their "negative" polymer pieces. The sea urchin had to be taped back together for the picture...

When I make molds of my hand carved ceramic pieces, I cast them in plaster. That process ruins the original, as it is forcibly taken from the mold when set. For more fragile objects I have started using various brands of RTV. This "room temperature vulcanizing" mold material is so fabulous! ( I have used Micro Mark's and Alley Goop) Simply mix equal parts, press, set aside. Fifteen minutes or so - there you are! I cast my cured polymer pieces to have a flexible version of my new texture vocabulary. 

With the brain coral and seed pod shown above - I used the RTV on the polymer "negative" - resulting in a RTV "positive" that replicated the item's direct texture. Pressed in design? Raised up design? I can do either... And for one more positive image... I used black polymer to make positive stamps from these three RTV molds. The ideas I am having of that star anise pod! ( far right) pressed into clay, glaze pooling in the design... yummy. And poppy pod earrings? Sweet!

Many of my fellow artists at AJE are also inspired by organic textures. Leaves, sea urchins, shells... in porcelain, stoneware, bronze and copper... Feel free to browse! 

L to R: Kristi Bowman, Lesley Watt, Karen Totten, Diana Ptaszynski, Kristi, Lesley, Diana.

Until next time...

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com