Snake on a Plate

So here's the finished product of the snake plate. It is now hanging on the wall in the entryway.

When I pass it, I think about what I've learned lately about snakes and the Southwest.

It seems that snakes have a mixed reputation among the native people and I haven't come to understand it fully yet. It depends upon which group you're talking to.

Recently, I went to an Indian Market at the Arizona State Museum and while there, asked a Navajo artist about snakes in art.

The news wasn't good. I gather that snakes are not well thought of.

I was reading Halo of the Sun and the author writes that while learning Navajo rug weaving, she put a snake into the first rug she wove. There was much worrying about the fact that it could bring her bad luck. When she placed two roadrunners above the snake at the top of the rug, it seemed to neutralize or at least keep the snake in check.

I also read in the same book about the custom of weaving a pathway with an opening design along the side of a rug to 'free' the design and release it to be used again.

Now, the design of my snake is within many lines and bars. So I'm hoping that will keep it held inbounds and that it can only reside there and not find a pathway out. It cannot call other snakes in. There is much to learn here.

We'll see.

Oh, and by the way. Never speak to a snake.

More Tile in the Works

While I was doing the Robot Tiles, I made a dyptic using clay to sculp plant life as if it were being seen through windows. I applied black underglaze to the outter rims to frame the image. It was all I could do to keep from painting the whole thing and then and wiping off the underglaze on the sculptures.

Must remember to do this again. Reference post on Making Two.


Anyway

I'm really anxious to see how these turn out. The photo is of the greenware.

Clay Frames

Clay doesn't have to be the main thing in a piece of artwork. Some time ago, I tried making frames for some two-dimensional work I had done. I made the first small picture in a class-setting dealing with tile and slab-rolled clay. It is a quick watercolor sketch I made in Hawaii.

Constructing of the first frame includes creating a small raised frame in the back of the piece to accommodate the glass, the work and a backing. This piece has only tape holding the backing on, since it is a very small and lightweight. A peak similar to the one on the front located at the center top is repeated on the back to provide a hanging place using a small nail. In the place of tape on a larger work, holes could be made in the clay and, after firing, small nails or mounting triangles could secure the backing. Some expeimenting would need to be done to account for shrinkage.


The second sketch was done in Guam and is an abstraction of an incredible panorama of beach, headland and surf that could be seen from the crest of a road. It is from memory. I painted it as if viewed from a window with a curtain of fabric drawn back. It's called "Room with a View".

In this case, I built into the design a way of hanging the work by extending the frame, making holes in the extensions, threading and anchoring the multiple threads with knots at the bottom. It is also unglazed on the back and sealed with tape. This method of hanging opens all kinds of possibilities for interesting materials that become part of the design relating to the frame or the work it contains: Cording, leather, wire, rope, wood, reed, etc.

"Let Them Hang"

This is a new show at Highline College, runs from January 8 to January 31, 2007.


I have two wall pieces in this show which is located in the library and will have work that is related in some way to literature. What a fine idea. I love the combination of words and clay. The first piece, entitled, "Snow Queen" is about a foot tall and is made of terra cotta with white glaze brushed over areas of the clay.



The second piece was originally called "Dilemma", but I renamed it "Hamlet" for the literature link. Hamlet did have a dilemma after all.

However, after I photographed the work for my records, I'm thinking I should have called it "Dracula".