Ink and Clay 36 at the Kellogg Art Gallery, CalPoly Pomona.

This piece, "Terra Nova", will be showcased at this year's Ink and Clay 36 juried exhibition.


The exhibit will open Thursday, March 18 and run through Saturday, May 1, 2010. The opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 21 from 3-5PM.

Kellogg Art Callery

California State Polytechnic University

3801 W. Temple Avenue,

Pomona, CA 91768

"91 works by 73 artists were selected from 600 entries. Jurors Elaine Levin (clay) and Leslie Jones (ink), juried their categories separately, applying their expertise along with their own unique perspective to selecting the work. The results reflect the high-quality and diverse nature that characterizes this show."

"When asked by what criteria will she make her choices, Elaine responded, "As a juror, I look for a fresh expression in materials and concepts. I'm interested in the thoughtful ideas stated in an original manner that reflects an artist's interests and passions. I look for what hasn't been seen before. I search for how well the object communicates an idea to the viewer. While finding the best possible aesthetic examples of work submitted, I also need to be aware of creating a balanced exhibit."

Artist Statement

This piece continues the evolution of my "Earthship" series of sculptures. The early "Earthship" pieces explores the theory of how life came to be on this Earth. There is speculation that the primordial organic elements were brought in by meteorites, thus seeding the Earth with early life forms.

What happens when this Earth becomes fully colonized and populated? This new "Earthship" is now crammed with a diversity of life forms which evolved over the eons, taking them, and hopefully, finding a new Earth, "Terra Nova."

Terra Nova, 2009

Ceramic sculpture: Sculpture paperclay, Southern Ice porcelain paperclay, Black Mountain potters clay, Black Mountain sculpture clay, "Grogzilla" sculpture clay, flashing slip, feldspar crystals, polymer clay (red), natural red seeds. Iron oxide and manganese dioxide stain on the outside of the hull structure. No glaze. High fire Cone 10 reduction. 22"H x 19"W x 10"D

Paperclay Today | Artist Symposium

Here's more information about this exciting event coming up in Laguna Beach.

Paper Clay Artists Shape’ Up Skills at Symposium

Laguna Beach Ceramics hosts the inaugural Paperclay Today Artist Symposium, featuring 15 national and international paper clay artists, on Feb. 6 and 7 at Aliso Creek Inn.

This is an invitational symposium with artists sharing their work through open and panel discussions, demonstrations, and mini-workshops. The mini, 80-minute workshops will be open to all interested ceramic students and artists.

The cost will be $40 for the first workshop and $30 for each additional workshop. There will be special pricing of $85 for the all-day session, which includes the opening session, where each artist makes a short presentation of their work, and two afternoon workshops. Lunch can be purchased on-site.

Registration will be available on-site on the days of the events, or register at www.lagunabeachceramics. com.

Presenting artists include: Joyce Centofanti (USA), Antonella Cimatti (Italy), Michele Collier (USA), Cynthia Dahlstrom (USA), Lynn Drake (USA), Melody Evans (USA), Anthony Foo (USA), Lorri Acott Fowler (USA), Rosette Gault (USA), Graham Hay (Australia), Angela Mellor (England), Rejane Mercier (Canada), Tina Neale (UK), Marcy Neiditz (USA), Charles Sherman (USA), and Erica Van Wyk (USA).

Upstream People Gallery - 12th Annual All Media Juried Online International Art Exhibition

My work received Special Recognition for this year's show. This online exhibition runs for the entire 2010 year. Enjoy!

Here's the direct link:

http://www.upstreampeoplegallery.com/exhibition/default.asp?XD=1/1/2010&AN=Foo%2C+Anthony

Juror's statement:

ANTHONY FOO of Placentia, California has some interesting works in clay. “Family Ties” shows cylindrical forms in two parts; the white ones with black ties and the black ones with white ties. The idea of black and white as a family is a good concept indeed. With crackling used appropriately in the context of a kind of life form emerging from a shell or egg form he successfully creates “Emergence” with wonderful textural effects. “Terra Nova” shows an arch formation holding various cylindrical parts. And “Seed” with its rich patterns of circular voids and overall desaturated orange patina, is magnificently striking. Also, “Home” using raku with a shiny and rich reddish tone, with rough and smooth character, is a nice grouping.

Paperclay and Portraiture

Traditional clay has long been the medium of choice in portraiture modeling. There are different ways of starting - some use a big chuck of clay and start sculpting; others form an internal head shape form and then add clay to it. Either way works. The main drawback is that in big chucks or in thick slabs, the clay gets heavy and some kind of internal support is required. The clay also tends to sag and slump under its own weight, so some waiting time is required for the clay to firm up. If you work from a solid block of clay, most teachers will tell you to hollow it out at some point in your creation process to minimize your bust blowing up in the bisque firing. Still, I've seen many heads loose part of their anatomy during the bisque fire stage as trapped air pockets or improper/uneven drying caused chunks of the work to pop off.

Paperclay certainly has several advantages here. For this project, you will be working with moist on moist techniques.

Some of the benefits of using paperclay for portraiture.

1. Reduced risk of cracking or parts of the piece blowing up, popping off during bisque fire.

2. Dries faster and more evenly than traditional clay.

3. A bit lighter after bisque. Obviously you can still use a lot of paperclay and it does gain some weight, but certainly not as heavy as a traditional clay body.

4. Tremendous greenware strength around certain areas of the face, for example, ear lobes, nose, chin.

5. Ability to repair cracks and broken pieces at the green stage with paperclay slip.

6. If the piece does dry out, it's a simple matter of spraying it with water to re-hydrate your piece without the clay crumbling on you. Keep on hydrating it until it becomes leather hard again and then continue as before.

My friend, Beverly T, who is the owner of the new doggie (see earlier post on Paperclay as SuperGlue) has been using paperclay exclusively for her portraiture figures ever since she started using it. It has worked extremely well for her and she is a total paperclay "convert."

Way to go Beverly! I've linked her website to my blog.

OC Weekly write up - All Media 2009 Juried Exhibition, Irvine Fine Arts Center

Here's the direct link to the review of this year's All Media show at the Irvine Fine Arts Center by Dave Barton from the OC Weekly. Enjoy the article.

http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-12-24/culture/all-media-2009-juried-exhibition-irvine-fine-arts-center/

paperclay | TODAY Artist Symposium, Laguna Beach, Feb.6-7, 2010

I will be participating in this first USA paperclay | TODAY Artist Symposium as a guest artist/presenter. This conference brings together artists both national and international working in paperclay.

Here are the mailers for this event.

For more information, please contact Laguna Beach Ceramics at www.lagunabeachceramics.com

Upstream People Gallery Award

These were my pieces in the 10th Annual Contemporary Art Juried Online International Art Exhibition at the Upstream People Gallery, 2008. Here's the direct link from their archives.

Enjoy the pictures!!

http://www.upstreampeoplegallery.com/gallery/view.asp?RN=10076&AN=DeFord%2C+Matt&XD=5/1/2008

Juror's Statement:

" ANTHONY FOO is an accomplished ceramicist. 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. Dealing again with the ovoid spaces, “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."