Monday, November 30, 2009

Shipwreck: Oedipus? Jason Argonautica?


Oedipus (ship)wrecks: the obvious pun. Jason after the Argo's mast has crushed his skull and his men have dumped his body overboard to drift and sink and wash up anywhere but where they are. Tainted heroes, taboo-breakers, adventurers beyond the pale: after the fall, what use the fiery spark? Salt-sea renewal? Salt and sand refinement? Set aside my own mythologizing here. What story would you tell?

(Yes, my feet did get wet with this sequence. I love how the foam rushes through the eyehole here. I have another shot where the foam looks comical or diabolical; I can't quite decide.)

The Moon-Goddess, Horned


Fall 2009: sculpture mix, glazed with multiple layers of transparent brown, stormy blue, and celadon. I feel pretty good; I was aiming at these effects, but she's far more lovely than I anticipated. The Moon Goddess, Horned: believe it, believe her.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Bayhenge: More Views from the Kayak






I have heard the Berkeley Pier used to reach a mile out to the deep water channel for ferry service to San Francisco, but I've also heard tales of sea-druids and rites of passage . . . .

Kitchen Mermaid



Summer 2009: Sculpture mix, glazed with stormy blue and celadon; pirate medallion.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Watch the Eyes: Bird and Mask








November 22, 2009: Van Damme State Park, Mendocino, CA

This bird was immediately interested in the mask, and it followed me about the beach from shingle to drift pile to shingle again. If I moved away from the mask, this bird went--as you can see--right for the eyes. I can't say I'd want to have washed up unconscious on this beach, though an eye may be a small price for survival in such cold waters.

Mask: The Drowned Man.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Bayhenge




Kayaking; Thanksgiving Day, 2009.

The Drowned Man: Sequence I (Revised)














November 22, 2009: Van Damme State Park, Mendocino, CA

Mask: Sculpture mix, cobalt carbonate oxide & satin white glaze.
Sand and shingle beach; sea foam.

(Yes, my feet got wet; should have put on the wetsuit boots, but when I walked away from the truck, camera and mask in hand, I hadn't realized I'd be standing in the surf.)

Friday, November 20, 2009

The King of Atlantis





Fall 2009: Sculpture mix (glazed with Transparent Brown, Stormy Blue, & Celadon), copper wire, and hemp.