Do You Like My Tie?

Aquaman:
sculpture mix; green house-paint;
leather cord; and abalone shell.


Cover shot for that book of poetry I haven’t quite written yet . . . .

Old Clay: Moving Forward

Kelp and Wire: Old Art

Lines Upon Lines

Fresh Kelp Needed

 The Merman:
chicken-wire (1996)
and kelp (2015).

Clay: Glazing and Trimming

Body parts, tails, nonfunctional whale-oracrina, faces of various sizes, potbellied merman, and bowls:

Goofing with Clay: Mythomarine

Wet clay.

Transformation almost complete --from man to fish --

Merman: body-armored against the cold sea.

Bookend: A nod to Moby Dick.

Update: Wire and Kelp

I like watching the aging process with this fellow.
Merman --
Wire figure: 1996.
Kelped: 2015.

Drought

Merman in wire and kelp:
a few weeks out of the sea.

Kelp and Wire: The Merman

Merman figure: chicken wire (1996);
kelp (2015).

Doran Beach, Bodega Bay.

Revisiting: The Merman's Head

The Merman's Head:
sculpture mix;
copper carbonite oxide;
matte white glaze.

This must have been the third of the four or five full-sized heads I have sculpted.

A Twist In Time

Wire art: two pieces, four shots.   I made these one weekend in 1996 at a point in my life between grad school and the rest of it when I didn't think I'd be teaching again.  An octopus and a merman, among others, came out of that angst.  Maybe my first move toward sculpture besides carving pumpkins, decorating Easter eggs, whittling sticks, and playing with random play-doh since childhood.

Clay came later.

Foreground: The Pict

Background: The Merman's Head.

Alternative titles: Not Hadrian; Deep in Thought; or The Painted Man's Grasp.

Aegir: Copper and Clay

Reprise: Aqua-Matt in Clay

Self-Portrait #47:
sculpture mix; green and shino glazing.
Summer 2008.

I just had a good quick swim session.  Feeling slightly connected to my aquatic self.

Mateo: Three Faces (Naked, Hoplite, Diver)

Mateo in Morning Light.

As with living humans, that light can show nakedly the signs and emblems of age.

I think I did a fair job of capturing some of me at fifty, though in other ways this piece is a younger me and/or not me quite at all.  (If that's confusing, that's the Gemini coming through.)

Piece sculpted in a Self-Portrait Class: Summer 2011.

I've posted shots of this figure in the past on this blog.  

Hit the "Mateo" label-link below to see the other shots and commentary, if you'd like.

Mateo as Hoplite / Greek Warrior.

I use the helmet as a visual aid, seriously and/or humorously, when teaching Homer's epics or any of the Greek tragedies.

Mateo: Free Diver.

That's an old mask from the '80s.  Note the side ports for greater range of vision while diving.

This particular mask I picked up and gave to my father to encourage him to swim laps.  He didn't like the feel of standard swim goggles, so I suggested such a mask.  When he didn't pick one up for himself, I made a gift of this one.  I don't think he ever used it more than once or twice, at best.

Mateo: sculpture mix; denim glazing, poured over and mostly wiped off.

For the record, I'm not crazy about the end results here, but making this piece -- the largest single clay piece I've ever made -- has taught me much, not least about envisioning outcomes and artistic control.   The pallor is slightly disturbing, and the shininess of the blue seems just a bit too much.  I am not sure what I had expected or imagined when I glazed the piece.  And yet, Mateo strikes me as a very undersea  fellow, as a merfolk stand-in, which seems quite suitable too.