Gestation

I was introduced to this word in my art class in college. The instructor explained that sometimes your art needs time to be fully realized. It takes time from initial concept/idea to something tangible. This is the gestation time for your art.

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the meaning of that word. At times, ideas and the creation of the art come rather closely together. Other times, it takes a while for me to be satisfied with the end result. When I find myself stuck or at a loss for ideas, it’s time for me to take some time off from that piece, leave it aside for a while and then come back to it later.

Case in point was this new piece, titled “Symbiogenesis.” After making the wire mesh pod I was stumped as to how to finish it. I sprayed a sealant over it, which intensified the color of the fired clay which I did not care for. I preferred the brighter white of the clay so I had the piece refired. I tried some kind of attachments to the end of the pod to suggest tails or flagella, but that did not sit well with me. I toyed with the idea of a vertically mounted piece but that opened up an entirely new can of worms involved with installation and pedestals, etc. I knew I wanted something inside the cavity of the pod; that’s the entire theme of the title. I played with several ideas unsatisfactorily and finally decided to keep the image simple and clean.

This piece was over a year in the making.

The piece is 27"L x 11"D x 9"H. The outer pod is paper clay over steel mesh, fired to Cone 06. The internal spheres are homemade Black Mountain paper clay, Cone 10 reduction. No glazes were used.