Kelly Carter

3′x4′ oil on panel 

Little oil study on wood

Just throwing some of my work on here, it feels dull with only some writing and photos.

Something I especially found interesting in chapter 5 was the comparison of art language in the respect of progression. Artist push limits making things not considered “art” which in turn later becomes art. ready made, non-representation, some installations for example. This work that is though of as bastardizing art becomes the norm or accepted. The same thing happens with language in how it evolves from one generation to the next, and some would say the evolution is devolving in nature but that is reality. Afrikaans is one of the newest excepted languages and is essentially a devolved version of dutch and a mix if other influences.

So this will be the chapter 2 post. “ Note one thing well: you must think through colour, have imagination in it. If you don’t have imagination, your colour will never be beautiful”- Gustave Moreau. As a fan of Moreau and especially his later work I had to add my thoughts on this one. I guess it reminds me of the tendency to paint trees all brown and its leaves all green. You have to skew how you see color to actually paint a good looking tree, so now you have a good looking tree. But once you use your imagination a bit you can use color to add something to a good looking tree to make it a unique beautiful tree. 

In regard to chapter 4 of chromophobia. So far I found this the most interesting chapter. “Colour turns out to be a kind of touchstone of reality” This is especially seen today with need to saturate the ever living crap out of photos. Social media has led to this manipulation being commonplace. Our eye is drawn to these vivid, dramatic, larger than life colors found in oversaturated photos, perhaps it is a way to better capture real life in a photo by adding another complexity level to is just a snippet of real life. 

So I am a little out of order here but this will be about chapter 3. “ “colour is everywhere: around and in and of us, a part of everything we see every day in our every waking moment” I do feel there is merit to this quote but  It does make me think of one thing. color is very dependant on who is looking at it as to how important it is. The author and artists are trained to look for the subtle nuances of color. That makes me think what is the difference in how I as an artist appreciate color compared to someone who doesn't ever think about its importance. 

So now I know you can talk about white for way longer that I thought possible. I did find merit in the notion that white can be oppressive and intimidating. I have found in my own work that staring at white 4′x4′ white panel makes me physically anxious. In order to combat this I tend to paint a canvas a base color, mostly black to feel less intimidated.  

I am pretty happy with the outcomes of the clouds and fishing flies. Some problems did arise with the firing of the black causing weird bubbles and fuzzy edges. In hindsight I would most likely not have glazed the outside of the cup. with this particular bowl I also learned to  reattach a broken off piece successfully. 

After learning how to draw on the plaster slab with the colored clay, I was able to thinly draw these fishing flies in a delicate manner. To make them easily come of I did multiple pours with the background color in an approximated circle. I felt they were pretty successful. One problem I did face with these pieces was by using the color slip on the outside the next layer of casting slip dried very slowly and nonuniform. 

After firstly favoring the small bowls for a function I wanted, I think I made a mistake in how much the wares would shrink....wish I used the middle bowls. In my need to make a landscape I layered slip with muted color on the plaster slap to make chunks of clouds. The only problem I ran into was that my first few were too thin. After adding considerably more slip of the blue to surround the clouds I was able to get them off of the slap without destroying them. 

Being unfamiliar with clay and or slip, I used the first few pieces as a test bed. I would pour the colored slip first into the mold then layer in pours of other colors, this kind of gave me a feel for what the slip wanted to do and how it moves. I favored pouring the slip just to the rim but not over in the tumblers, I favored the clean edges it made. 

The mold process went smoothly. From my previous experience with molds as compared to this go round, I found actually weighing out the ingredients in the mold very helpful and culminating in a better end product. In preparation I have been thinking of the decoration for the pieces and I want to in a way incorporate my obsession with landscapes into usage of the colored clay.  

The aspect of seeing Roberts business along with the work was an interesting and practical view. The gobstopper pieces especially interest me they were all beautiful, mine turned into big ugly disasters. Also amazing were the swirl pieces, making me wonder how he was able to do it without the colors blending and becoming muddy. 

After checking out the work of Peter Pincus...wow just wow the craftsmanship is especially mind boggling. The forms are all very interesting and complex, and to top it all off the color choices are harmonious and used in a way as to make identifiable series of related pieces. 

I love all of Lydia Johnson's work! The color and use of pattern is fun and interesting. I especially enjoyed seeing the progression and level of craftsmanship really progress from her my earlier work on instagram to her newest posted work