Design from the Least Expected Things

This is my recently completed piece. It's bone dry greenware and ready for bisque fire.

The base piece (the honey comb looking thing) started out as an experiment using cardboard packaging and coating it with paper clay slip. I have not done this before and wanted to try it out to see what will happen and how it will hold up in high fire to Cone 10 reduction.

I like the shape of it and where it was going so I decided to make it more complete by adding some of my trademark organic pods.

This piece will be essentially white on white with no colored glazes. The pods have been dipped in a beaded white glaze. At Cone 10, this glaze will "bead up" and crackle, so I hope. By using paper clay, it is possible to do a one-fire from greenware directly to Cone 10 and bypassing the bisque fire. However, since I fire most of my works in a community kiln, they may not allow me to do that.

I'll post the finished piece when I have it all completed.

Southern Ice Porcelain clay in the USA

I came across the paper clay version of this clay several years ago at the Laguna Clay Company in Los Angeles. Since then, they have stopped carrying this imported clay which hails from Australia.

The USA distributor for this Southern Ice Porcelain clay is Seattle Pottery Supply in Seattle, Washington. Their website is www.SeattlePotterySupply.com.

They don't carry the paper clay version of this clay and have no plans to import it here to the US.

You already know how to make paper clay from a regular clay body from my earlier posts in this blog. S0, you are set!

From Flat Mesh to 3D - Part 3

This is my new teapot project after completing all the dippings in paper clay slip. The teapot and the base are separate pieces. I decide to build the base for the teapot to sit on and to elevate it off the ground.

It took me 19 dips over a span of 8 days in the Gault 1o paper clay slip and about the same number of dips over 4 days in the Southern Ice Porcelain paper clay slip (thin consistency) to achieve this.

I used the Southern Ice porcelain paper clay slip for the final coats because I really like the brilliant whiteness of the porcelain paper clay when it is bisqued fired to Cone 04. One of the properties of paper clay is that you can add wet paper clay (in the case, slip) to a bone dry piece with no problems at all. The piece is bone dry and ready for bisque fire.

It's a sculptural piece, a take from my earlier work titled "Empty Calories"

"Colony" Gets 2nd place

My sculpture "Colony" at the City of Brea Art Gallery "Made in California" received the 2nd place award last night at the Awards Ceremony.

Juror Sinead Finnerty-Pyne, curator from the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena selected seventy pieces of art out of approximately 500 statewide entries that included painting, sculpture, photography and installation art.

The show will run till May 6, 2011 at the City of Brea Art Gallery.

City of Brea 26th Annual Made in California Juried Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Anthony Foo is pleased to present his new ceramic sculpture, COLONY, at this year’s City of Brea 26th Annual Made in California Juried Exhibition. This exhibition runs from March 26^th thru May 6^th, 2011 at the City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea Civic & Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center, Brea, CA 92821. Phone: (714) 671-3601.

Opening reception is on Saturday, March 26^th from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. Admission is FREE.

Anthony Foo is an Orange County ceramic artist who has exhibited at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), Kellogg Art Gallery – Cal Poly Pomona, California State University Fullerton (CSUF) Grand Central Art Center, The McGroarty Art Center in Tujunga, City of Brea Art Gallery, Irvine Fine Arts Center and online Upstream People Gallery. He and his work have been written up in "Orange County Weekly," "Art to Art Palette" and "500 Raku" by Lark Crafts.

“COLONY is the newest in my paper clay and wire mesh sculptures,” says Foo.

“This piece is made up of three subunits which can be arranged in various configurations, each giving a different feel and perspective. I like working this way as it allows the piece to be manipulated thus creating a "new" sculpture. Different people will arrange the work differently and this brings in the element of interactivity to the piece.”

To arrange an interview with the artist, please call (714) 528-9304, or send an email to info@anthonyfoo.com, or visit the website at www.anthonyfoo.com.

Sculpture within a Sculpture

This piece started out with 21 individual wire mesh pods that I made from a roll of chicken wire (steel mesh hardware cloth) that can be found in any home building supply store.

Each one was dipped in Southern Ice porcelain paper clay slip until the desired thickness was achieved. It took me about 2 weeks to get the thickness I liked.

The initial process was slow as I had to wait till the slip was completely dry before the next dip was made. As the layers build up, I was able to dip about 4-6 times a day depending on the weather conditions.

The final stage of this piece was assembling the individual pods into three groupings. This allows the sculpture to be arranged into different formations, each one giving a different feel to the composition.

As the steel wire is embedded in the clay, the work was fired to Cone 06 (bisque). No glazes were used. A clear coat was sprayed on the piece to seal the surface.

What's going on?

I made several of these hand-pinched rice mixed with paperclay bowls sometime ago. The inside was coated with Southern Ice porcelain paperclay since I wanted to use the Celadon glaze.

After Cone 10 reduction, I found all my bowls had cracks in them. On the bottom of some of them, it looked like the Celadon glaze had pooled and formed a thick layer.

I was puzzled as to what happened as I had successfully used this method before. I decided to break some of them open to see what was going on inside. The bottom picture shows the culprit and the cause for the cracks.

I concluded that the Southern Ice porcelain paperclay was applied too thickly and in the high fire it contracted more than my regular paperclay and separated from the "shell."

This time around, instead of layering the Southern Ice porcelain paperclay layer by layer using the brush (this is the way I normally do it; it is a slow process but you have control over the thickness of the porcelain application), I decided to do something similar to slip casting, ie pouring my Southern Ice paperclay slip into my bone dry rice-and-paperclay bowls, wait for a while and then emptying the excess out. This resulted in too thick of an application of the Southern Ice porcelain paperclay. My experience with this porcelain paperclay is that it shrinks more than the regular paperclay and when this inner layer is too thick, it is has enough cohesion to pull/shrink away from the bottom of the bowl.

There are several ways to get around this:

1. Go back to layering the inner porcelain layer by hand with the brush method.

2. Use a thinner porcelain paperclay slip.

3. Wet down the bone dry bowl a bit so that it is not so "thirsty" and won't "suck up" the porcelain slip too quickly.

4. Do not wait too long to pour out the excess, if you are using the slip cast method.

I'm back using the #1 method as I can control how many layers of the porcelain slip I apply. I have not experimented with the other methods.

Applying Fresh Paperclay onto Bisqued Surfaces.

I decided I wanted this pagoda design on the current sculpture set I'm working on, but the pieces have already been bisqued. The base clay is Bmix and sand, and I've applied a white slip over it in the green stage.

Tracing of pagoda design onto bisqued piece with graphite paper.

Originally, I was thinking of doing a wax resist or a stencil treatment with the design. I opted for the dimensional effect I was able to achieve with my "Take Out Tea" sculpture.

The paperclay slip I use is the Southern Ice Porcelain paperclay. The slip is consistency of heavy cream and blended well to remove lumps. I use a squeeze bottle with a small nozzle - the ones you use to do slip trailing. The design is first transfered on to the bisqued piece and the slip trailing is done free hand. Successive coats are built up to achieve the desired raised effect. Since slip is mostly water, it takes several coats to accomplish this.

What I found is that if my slip is too thick, the edges then to curl and peel from the bisqued surface. Wetting it down with a fine mist from a spray bottle helps. What works better is thinning out the paperclay slip till it's about skim milk consistency and then brushing over the design with a small brush. This thin slip still contains the paper fibers in suspension and this helps to "hold" your relief design in place. Both bisqued piece and the fresh dry slip being very "thirsty" sucks the moisture out of this this watery slip extremely fast. So far, my design has not exhibited curling or peeling at the edges.

After several applications of fresh slip. You can still see the tracing of the pagoda under the slip.

The next stage is to test this application by re-firing the piece at bisque temp and see if this holds.

After the bisque firing,  my added on design held and bonded with the base layer, showing no signs of cracking or lifting off. This is very encouraging! 

After the bisque firing, the graphite tracing burns off. The freshly applied paperclay slip is bonded onto the piece.

Paperclay and Inclusions - Part 2.

© 2009 by Anthony Foo.

The advantages of Paperclay continues.

In Part 1, I talked about the various organic materials that can be incorporated/kneaded into paperclay to create interesting and random textures. Another advantage of the paper fibers in paperclay is its ability to coat and adhere to various materials that ordinary clay will not. The paper fibers will "grab" on to the irregularities of the surface to be coated and hence form a foundation for the clay to stay on.

In my sculptures, I've used paperclay to coat steel mesh (hardware cloth aka chicken wire), cotton twine, thin reeds, flowers,  twigs. etc. The paperclay I've used is the sculpture body paperclay from Aardvark (IMCO in Sacramento is the manufacturer) and the Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay, imported from Australia by Laguna Clay Company in Los Angeles. Laguna Clay Company has stopped carrying the Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay, probably because of its cost.

Both types of paperclay will can be used with the above mentioned materials.  The paperclay slip is made to a "heavy cream" consistency for the brushing method.

When I first start out, I usually brush it on with a soft fan brush, liberally loaded with the paperclay slip. This can be messy work so spread out old newspapers for easy of clean up after. It's slow work here as you need to let the first coat dry completely before the next application. It may not look like much but you are already coating your object with the paper pulp fibers.

I prefer brushing to dipping because I can control the coverage of the details. You may prefer the dipping method if the object to be coated is small enough to fit into your bucket of paperclay slip. Shake off the excess slip and let dry. The first few coats will be slow going until you have built up several coats. From here, it goes pretty fast as the fresh paperclay slip will stick on to the bone dry paperclay coat extremely well. This is actually the fun part and I enjoy this time the most. You can literally see the layers build up.

If you are using the dipping method, it's best at this point to thin out your paperclay slip a bit or else you will have to much slip adhering to your object with each dip. The dipping method is faster but if you are not careful, it will cover up/obliterate the details you have on your object. You can also use a combination of brushing and dipping. Whatever works for you to get to the desired thickness of coverage and still show the details.

In this discussion, I'll use my sculpture "Trapped" to show the different stages in the coating technique. The piece is bisqued fired only. The bamboo reeds and cotton twine burns out; the steel mesh is still encapsulated within the paperclay coating.

The sculpture could probably go to Cone 3 or 5 with the steel wire embedded in it, but since I'm using a community kiln, I'd rather not risk damaging the kiln. 

Initial forming stage - Materials used here are chicken wire, bamboo reeds, cotton twine.

After first coat of paperclay slip, brush technique, drying in the sun.

After 2nd day of coating. There must have been approx. 15 coats already here. I lost count!

Final stage. I'm happy with the coverage and thickness of the paperclay slip over the entire structure. The build up of coverage is anywhere from 3/16" to 1/4" thick.

Couple's Bowls, 2009.

This set of hand pinched bowls were made from one ball of the Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay, divided into two and the bowls made from them, hence the name. Presented as a wedding gift.

Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay, mixed with rice. The rice burns out during the bisque fire and leaves the texture. Celadon glaze on inside, no glaze on outside. 

Approx. 4"D x 4"H

2nd Annual TeaSet Exhibition.

Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA.

2nd Annual Tea Set Exhibition.

March 2009.

Work in progress - greenware.

Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay.

Slab and hand built.

A take on the familiar take out boxes from Chinese restaurants.

My intention is to high fire to Cone 10 without any glazes on the outside. Perhaps a white glaze on the inside to make it somewhat "functional". It's more of a sculptural set.

The final work should be ready in a couple of weeks, barring any accidents or problems.

Stay tuned...

Paperclay On Different Surfaces

This was the start of my piece titled "Trapped". The initial forms were made from chicken wire (galvanized steel mesh), wood reeds and thick cotton twine (left picture).

The Southern Ice Porcelain Paperclay slip was brushed on, layer by layer to build up a sufficiently thick coating. Each layer was allowed to dry before a new coat was applied.  The initial progress was slow, but as the layers built up, it became easier and faster with successive layers. In the end, it was a matter of deciding how thick was thick enough to show all the details I wanted to show (right picture).

I decided to make a hollow sphere (representing the world) from the same clay, drew in the major continents and islands on it freehand, and using the paperclay slip, build up the land mass to give it some topographical texture.

The piece was fired (as separate pieces) at Cone 04 (bisque temp). The wood reeds and cotton twine burnt away. The steel mesh is still within the clay.  A light pearlescent acrylic wash was applied over the raised surfaces of the world to subtly contrast it against the white clay. No glazes are used.

"What is caught in the trap?" In Asia, this kind of trap is used to catch fish. At first glance, it looks like a white ball has been caught. On closer inspection, we can make out that it is the world; our world. The choice of using this very white clay is deliberate. In Eastern culture, white has an ominous meaning.

Add What to Paperclay?

This tea set was completely hand built, including the Japanese style tea pot. Although not a potter, I find these pinch forms a pleasure to make. It would have been definitely faster doing it on the wheel, however I find the wheel imparts a very mechanical, sterile feel to a piece.

The texture on the cups and teapot was obtained by mixing in left over cooked brown rice in the clay and then forming the pinch forms. The rice burns away during the bisque firing leaving the voids.

To make it "functional" (it's usable, but I regard it as a sculptural piece), the inside of the vessels were coated with regular paperclay and then a thin layer of Southern Ice porcelain paperclay was applied over the paperclay. The porcelain paperclay was added to provide a white background for the celadon glaze to "pop". An iron oxide wash was applied to the outside of the set. The piece is high fired to Cone 10.

The presentation tray is actually a scrap piece of iron railroad tie plate that I found near the railroad tracks in my area. I thought it would make a most unusual complement to the piece. Heavy as heck, though!

Ceramic sculptor Anthony Foo wins award at 23rd Annual “Made in California” exhibit.

May 31st, 2008.

The City of Brea Art Gallery's 23rd Annual "Made in California" Juried Exhibition awarded ceramic sculptor Anthony Foo a cash prize for this "Earthship 1" and "Within Us" sculptures.

I'm thrilled to have my pieces recognized with their different stories: "Earthship 1" explores how life came to be on Earth, while "Within Us" portrays a rough exterior protecting the soft interior within us. It is fulfilling for me to see the patrons connecting with the sculptures."

Many of the artists and patrons did not know what "paperclay" was, so for me it was part educating and promoting my medium of choice. Many of them were totally fascinated by the heavily textured pod with white crystals popping out randomly in the "Within Us" sculpture. One viewer thought I had painstakingly put each and every one in! Each pod was hand formed (pinch form). Since the form stands on essentially a point, I had to make a scaffolding (out of paperclay) to keep the pods in place during bisque and high fire. My intent was to see partially through the two outer pods into the center white pod. The tear is deliberate. 

I decided to use a metal base (a solid block of aluminum, textured with a pein hammer) to give contrast to the naturalness of the clay. As an added benefit, the whole assembly will rotate around the axis of the support rod so I can change the perspective of the piece (when I feel like it).

The "shell" of "Earthship 1" was originally made out of the heavy grogged clay, aptly called "Grogzilla", but I found out it did not have the green strength to keep its shape. I wanted a heavy texture for the outside of the pod. Paperclay saved the day; I made the shape, allowed it to dry and then added wet paperclay onto the dry paperclay shell  - wet to dry joins - to create the roughness. The brown pods were of Black Mountain sculpture clay, each one made and set aside till past leather hard and then joined to the inside of the shell with more wet paperclay. The white tentacles of Southern Ice porcelain paperclay (natural color of the clay) were formed uniquely for each pod. It is a high fire - Cone 10 - piece. The tentacles were later attached following a numbering system I set up for each pod.

I enjoy using the different clay bodies the way they are, exploiting their natural colors and textures to create the feel and mood of the piece.

To read more about "Earthship 1" please click, www.anthonyfoo.com/Earthship1.htm

To read more about "Within Us", please click, www.anthonyfoo.com/Within.htm

One Lifetime, 2008

Sculpture paperclay,
“Grogzilla” sculpture clay,
Black Mountain sculpture clay,
Southern Ice Porcelain paperclay.
Iron oxide, Cobalt oxide, Beaded White glaze.

High fire - Cone 10
24”H x 11”W x 8”D

“One LifeTime” continues my “Spirit Vessel” series. This piece was completed a couple of weeks ago (May 19, 2008) and I'm really excited the way it came out. Everything came out the way I had hoped for. Firing to Cone 10 is always very stressful for the piece and I was extremely pleased the final composition was very close to my original drawings I made.

The two pieces were fired separately in the bisque and high fire stage. I built a scaffolding out of paperclay to support the internal coil structure. The two pieces were then assembled afterwards. The coil structure actually pivots on the lip of the outer pod like a pendulum  - a planned effect/interest for the piece.

I used the Beaded White glaze on the Southern Ice porcelain paperclay coil struture and it did what it was supposed to do  - it cracked and beaded beautifully and added so much more interest and texture if I had just left it plain and unglazed.

To read more about "One Life Time", please click, www.anthonyfoo.com/OneLifeTime/htm

Special Recognition for Anthony Foo’s Ceramic Works

I'm really honored to have my pieces receive "Special Recognition" at the Upstream People Gallery “10th Annual Contemporary Art International Online Juried Art Exhibition. My works: “Daily Assault", "Empty Calories", and "Last Boat Out” were chosen from approximately 250 entries.  (Links to all my exhibited works: “Daily Assault” “Last Boat Out” “Empty Calories” “Landed” “Where Have All The Forests Gone?”)

“Foo is an accomplished ceramicist,” said Larry Bradshaw, curator of the show and professor of art. “All of his pieces are strong and significant in today’s contemporary ceramic art. “Daily Assault” is a dramatization of the effects of a daily bombardment. “Empty Calories” interestingly handles the idea of poor nourishment in some of our food choices today. Another striking piece is “Forest Gone”. And “Last Boat Out” continues with his play upon the circular element."

This piece which is the 4th in my "Earthship" series has become my favorite piece. I fell in love with the shape of the hull and started a series of them. This may be the last one I make so I decided to change the title of the piece to "Last Boat Out."

It actually has a very poignant story behind it. I have a close Vietnamese friend who shared with me how he and his family got out of Vietnam during the refugee crisis. Malaysia was one of the "processing" countries in the region who accepted these "boat people." To cross from Vietnam to the east coast of Malaysia, they would have to battle rough seas, starvation and avoid the pirates plying in that area. 

This piece depicts this courageous and perilous journey. The boat is crammed with people (pods); everyone carrying their worldly possessions (the silvery acrylic wash), hoping to make it to a better place. It makes me appreciate what we have here in America. Things that we cannot and must not take for granted - Freedom, and the desire of people to seek it, no matter what the cost.

"Empty Calories" was an impromptu creation. I had left over steel mesh from another project so I decided to see if I can make a tea set (for the Tea Set exhibition at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, April 2008) out of the scraps. 

I first created the metal sculpture, figured out how to join the various pieces of the tea pot. The tea pot and cups are double walled. The metal sculpture was then dipped into thin Southern Ice porcelain paperclay slip and allowed to dry.

Successive dippings were required to build up to the desired thickness. It is fired to Cone 04, with no glazes. The metal mesh is still inside the sculpture. The title of the piece came to me at the last moment, and I think it's very aptly named. After all, tea (without sugar or milk) does not have any calories!

To view more of my works, please visit my website, www.anthonyfoo.com
Upstream People Gallery, www.upstreampeoplegallery.com