Decision time today

Ceramic projects near completion when pieces are glazed and fired; with sculptural objects, the decision is sometimes to glaze or not to glaze.  And then the question becomes how to display the finished product: context is a word that is bandied about.

Having several off days to experiment with displays and think and discuss has been a real positive.  This mid-project pause (and reflect, experiment, ask questions) that comes naturally when you work on art just 22 hours a week could turn out to be a real PLUS.

Easy not to decide and leave things unfinished – just start a new project – but we won’t be doing that anymore.  Pictures should hit my website soon.  (artofbart.ca)

25 year Jumps

Our son turns 25 today.  Got me thinking about all that has gone on during the last 25 years.  I've also started wondering about all the things that might happen in the next 25 years.  That thinking back and forward itself is interesting ... I don't often move that deeply into the past or future.  HMMMMmmmm  art project?

A Wrap and a re-start

I've decided to run my small kiln without waiting to fill it.  A new way of thinking for me.  Rational: filling means quantity - sometimes without the quality.  And waiting means losing momentum.

One more piece to make for the enough is enough project:  a negative space piece - I'll make two to experiment with "spacing" and also with trim.  And then I'm onto relearning the wheel and wheel throwing.  I see a lot of cylinders coming up.

Sart continued ...

A good first day start to this project.  Sketching is a bit light, but there were sketches and ideas before I began.  I am so 3-d :)

I'm thinking that there will be value in looking at, well, values ... so today I'm exploring something very similar, just with a different, much darker, clay body.  I'm documenting as I go but will  save the "public" photos  for finished work.

Making letters is very timing consuming.


I'm really liking starting the day with pen and paper

Enough is enough!

Is one allowed to make art just for oneself?  Is it still referred to as art?  Sart?  self-indulgent art?

I think any project that makes you smile is enough ... smiley art Sart?

The simple project I have in mind: "Enough is enough".  Fits nicely with other things I'm working on in other areas right now.  The whole day ahead of me ...

clean studio - clean start

Spent today putting away a project carefully - don't want to lose important information that came out of it ... ceramic coins.  And then I took a palm sander to some sad paintings I made in my first and second years ... nice clean supports ... right down to the masonite.  Cleaning up a en-caustic mistake required much more effort (torch and palm sander and lots of sanding paper!)  Super cool results though.  Finally a long needed mopping - nice to have a clean studio!

The Purpose of Art

"The purpose of our art practice is to sharpen both our outward vision and our inner knowing. We want to discover ways to express the shared truth of the human experience in this moment and space."  Cat Bennett writing in Making Art a Practice.