Seeing The Forest Through The Trees...Part Two

This first half of 2010, I have discovered two great ways to push a clay plaster finish to the next level. Back to the roots of art...painting and sculpture.

Adding, reducing, adding, fussing, and more. It's really about developing a languege with the material you are using.

For this particular finish, it was important to also develop an artistic dialogue with the great outdoors. Trees are close to me, in all their forms. There is a sense of vastness one feels when they are surrounded by trees, high up in the canopy. I looked at these walls more as forms than of vertical surfaces. The clay spoke and I tried to listen. A connection to the outdoor space was knocking at my door.

Scratching into the plaster allowed me to capture the texture going on outside and unify. I built up the plaster thickness to about 1/2"..and my arms sure got a nice workout. To first "find my line", I used a pencil to draw in. Oops ok, I made a mistake. I simply took a damp sponge and wiped the pencil marks right off the wall. Then I started scraping into it.

"Don't try this at home kids"...I watched chucks of material fall off the steel painters knife, ready to be added in another place if needed. Fears of delamination, product failure ran through my head for a moment.

....I "gouged away". Innovation is best started in the comfort of your own space.

"First learn the rules, and then push them."

Simply add water and a patient hand.

Then came the second technique: painting

American Clay's Lime Putty just came out and I had to give it a try. In this case, I wanted to enhance all the texture I just created. All those deep crevices were practically screaming for MORE CHARCOAL LIME WATER! After wetting the wall, I used a thick brush to apply the tinted wash, then chased it with a mild solution of penetrating sealer. It almost acted like a glaze to slightly extend the working time, especially since the wall was slightly damp.

What a difference! The space evolved and so did my artistic skills.

Welcome Summer 2010!

"The lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. To see them, you need only look at the work clearly - without judgement, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes. Ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen, the way a good parent listens to a child." from Art & Fear page 36.