Día de Muertos

After deliberating what my final project for the semester would be I came to the conclusion to cast several faces in Goldberg clay and use the wood kiln to finish fire them with an orange-tinted glaze.  The overall effect will be achieved by displaying the finished product on a piece of South American textile cloth.  Combining the fired pieces, the cloth, and the acrylic paint will produce a work that displays the tradition on the Day of the Dead.

THIS IS THE END, THE END IS NEAR, MY FRIEND

Well...
The correctional department has spoken and it seems that the prisoners being held in cellblock 361 are about to complete their mandatory sentence.  As the completion of the kiln comes to an end, an uplifting air of appreciative silence begins to form on those being released.  Detained against their will for what seems like years (more honestly weeks) the chimney has shown through the roof and the last of the soft brick nestles the behemoth arch in its final resting place.
With the kiln nearly completed there is a return to the foreign material of clay.  My hands have grown rigid in the frozen hell of the kiln pad, but my soul is still warmed to the notion of being able to sculpt full time once again.  I have overcome the adversity of working outside, laboring at a job that I once would have been paid prevailing wage.  (Which for masons is $33.00 an hour, and with ironwork coming, the average is $49.50 an hour).  However, this FREEdom of working at something I will leave for generations, makes me appreciative of the skills I gained in the past.
Peace be unto those that fire in the name of ceramics and leave no clay unmolded as those that mold before me, are reborn in the creations of the future.

Seasons of Change

Interior view of kiln and kiln shelves, Circa 2013.

Although a mighty storm loomed on the horizon,  a group of brave young ceramicists ascended on the daunting task of finishing the "Kiln."  More often then not, the kiln and its cave like structure had been seen as cursed and hexing all who touched it would immediately be transformed.  Finding that each time the person sat down to work, all creativity had been sucked from their souls, leaving shells of artists in the kilns path.

However, as the clouds aligned and the storm gathered, this brave group piled brick upon brick onto the bone like shell of the kilns interior.  Sealing in the fire dragon that slept inside.  Finally casting a sacred stone on the eternal resting place, ensured that any dark powers that resided inside would be vanquished and creativity could be restored once more.

Scarred and worn from laborious days of fighting the cursed kiln, the keystone would prove the final blow to a kiln that had gained monstrous powers since its origination.  Gaining power through morale and sacrificed souls, the ceramics class at Indiana University Southeast had regained its glory and lived to fight again another day.

Interior view of kiln with deceased kiln worker, Circa 2013.

Pictures from my first installation, Resistance, at Indiana University Southeast.  

Tools of the trade, ready to get started.

Outline of Resist.

Outline of Freedom with inverted American flag.

Panoramic photo of complete installation.

First layering of Freedom wall.

Resistance

Starting Monday, October 21st and finishing Thursday, October 24th, I poured hours and heart into what would be my first installation piece.  Donning the walls of the Space Lab at IUS, I began the piece as a reflection on the U.S. government and by the finish it was a reflection of my time in Iraq. 

Deployed as a Military Police officer I served two tours in Iraq and came to hate everything that the Iraqi people were.  Muslim, Islamic, radical, extremists... the list continued as each day we met with more and more resistance from radicals in Iraq.  This installation reflects what it meant to me to serve in Iraq, while at the same time, rethinking my position about Iraq and its people as a country.  

 Raku fired using Robin's Egg Blue, Summer 2013.

 Raku Fired using Luster, Summer 2013

"The Birth of Twins," created as a mixed medium, Summer 2013.

From Clay-body to greenware.