More Early Ray Guns

This is a tiny gun that went to a show and sold. I'm glad I have a photo. It's one of my favorites. It's worth repeating, with a variation of course. The finish is many coats of acrylic paint.






"Artifact" is the last of the ray guns that don't stand on their own.

Que TV announcer's documentary voice:

"A CONTINUING CHAPTER IN THE SAAAA----GA OF THE SEARCH FOR A FINISH."

This finish is really an experiment in using an oxide to create the look of age. I'd seen this finish used on a piece of sculpture. The tag is there so the piece looks like an exhibit in some space museum.

I was later to discover a much better way of finishing them but on the way, I made "Cosmic Blaster".

By this time, I figured out how to make the grip so the gun stood on it's own. I searched for some kind of stand that would be invisible (the other guns had to lay on their sides and didn't stand) but had no luck in finding anything that didn't interfere with the look of the piece.

This is a larger gun. The surface of the clay is rough and fired with a copper glaze. At first, I thought it was a failure. It sat around the studio for quite a while until I discovered another finish that was applied copper. With the help of a nearly iridescent blue-green acrylic to enhance the green glaze and applied copper, the piece changed completely. "Cosmic Blaster" was shown at "Toys Designed by Artists" at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock.


A thought: Clay is an art medium for those who WANT to be in control, but can live with NOT being in control.........