Thursday, October 16, 2014

Almost fire with a remaining spark

Imperfection
It didn't start out with the thought of imperfections and our view of how we feel about ourselves but when I was looking at the disfigured thigh and legs, the bumps on the abdomen I heard my studio mate Dayna's words "please don't throw her away" and thought that's what we do to ourselves mentally when we look at our own imperfections. 
 I wanted to make a series of sculptures I could experiment different finishes on.
 As well as tryout an assortment of armatures.
 It took several days and a few techniques before the clay was on and ready to bake. And then.
 It almost started on fire...crap it was smoking so much we were afraid it would set off the smoke alarms. Not my idea of how to get to know others in the building. I hung out the window for about 5 minutes.
 Two days down the tubes...not happy! I took it home and gave it a coat of paint.
 She looked brave standing in the brush jar, I kept looking and my thoughts stared to drift.
I was only 5 years old when I fell off the chair and into the wall nearly knocking out my front teeth. The dentist pushed them back into place not knowing he was twisting the buds of new adult teeth at ridiculous angles. For the next 40 some years I was teased by my family and attempted different ways to straighten them none of it worked. Finally a dentist took action and ground them down and capped them. I could smile without self criticism. You that know me know I was not permanently damaged by this, but rather a small spark of a thought as I worked. The thoughts moved on to all the others that don't like parts of themselves, oh the brain of a human.
I think my series will also include imperfections and who knows maybe a little bit more.