Fabric!
I discovered an easier way to print my patterns onto clay, which was very exciting! Now that I’ve run out of glazes, I’m working on some of the fabric elements while I wait for my glazes to be shipped in.
Fabric for the black and white piece
Fabric for the blue piece
The first step to the fabric elements was printing the patterns on the solid fabric. I only have two pieces started so far, so I thought I would start with those. The first piece that I am almost finished the clay elements for is the white and black piece. I decided to print that fabric first, but I also want to print the reverse of this pattern (so the white areas appear black and the black areas appear white). The blue piece seemed like it was ready to move forward, so I started to sew the fabric tentacles, or as my mom calls them “appendages”.
Once I had sewn all the fabric pieces, I made sure my steel structure was ready for them to be attached by spray painting the entire thing blue. This way there is a cohesiveness to the sculpture, and if someone really wanted to look underneath it, the underside would fit with the rest of the visual identity of the piece.
Then I attached the fabric elements using foam insulation, which will later be painted blue so it matches the rest of the sculpture. I also sewed some silk legs, so the piece looks like it has wiry, unstable legs.
Each pod stand is labeled with a number that corresponds to a ceramic pod. This way it is easy for someone else to install my work when I’m not there, which happens occasionally in exhibition installations.