So after much ado about…well nothing. I’ve come to the conclusion that an artist must bridge the gap between artistic voice and consumerism. Much of my college career was spent creating a voice, creating “my” style. I found my style steeped in conceptual thought. I modeled my work after ideas pushed by modern artists. (Thanks Art 21 for showing me the elite, the commissioned and seasoned) I wanted my work to stir up thought provoking ideas from viewers. I wanted my work to be viewed as if it were made up of a thousand words. I believe I achieved that in a sense. It certainly got talked about…but not bought.
Xenocentrism…who would have thought no one had a concept of what this is exactly. It’s quite the pun in that sense.
Case in point: A glimpse into my senior thesis work from college:
Babies made “creepy” out of context from the entire installation
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| Work simply too large to place on the wall in the comfort of anyone’s home |
I’m not saying that for an artist to feel accomplished their work must get sold. After all some artists are made more famous by what they haven’t sold; that which instead travels from show to show across the world. My work is a far cry from that status without a master’s degree at least.
So in order for me to feel accomplished I must some how bridge the gap between artistic voice and consumerism….so why not capitalize on what’s at the current peak of consumerism and something dear to my heart….coffeeeeeee.
Coffee mugs have quickly become another way of displaying self-identity after the 2000’s buzz on coffee culture. People want their daily brew and they want it in a cup that says something about themselves. So I let my wheels begin to turn.
So allow me to digress and explain the beginning of this evolution from voice to consumerism. In 2010 I returned to UL for my certification in Art Ed. Ms. Lynne Bustle suggested I take one more studio class so that I would be very prepared to teach youngsters many forms of art. All I needed was printmaking. One semester of this in my undergrad and I may have double majored….life has its way of skipping over details. Any who, printmaking became my friend..suddenly all those years of seemingly pain staking drawing paid off. Suddenly I loved the fact that I could make multiples of one thing. Linoleum was like subtractive sculpture…you had to think about the details…and I loved the challenge…I loved the potential for detail. I finished Printmaking with an A and shortly after I stopped having access to “drawing” multiples. Little did I know that this technique would surface again.
Fast forward to fall 2010. I am working at Pottery Alley teaching wheel and sculpture and my boss Susannah asks if I would like to help her with a production pottery line. The Super Cooper 5k Run needs 70 trophy mugs all with stamps on them that read “1st place Women’s, 2nd Place Men’s, 3rd place Kid’s, etc.” I decide to use my plaster casting skills to make stamps. I stamp letter stamps for each word into a bed of wet clay and then cast these imprints in plaster. The result is a positive stamp of the words I need. Problem is the recess isn’t deep enough, but the stamps make due for our first bout with production pottery.
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| Super Cooper Mugs 2010 |
Its not until now Sept 2011, after having invested in 30 linoleum blocks and a cutting tool for printing blocks on paper that I’ve discovered the multipurpose use of linoleum blocks. One: the cut stamps can be rolled up with ink to create a negative image of the stamp and Two: the cut stamps can be rolled in a slab of clay to create a positive of the cut stamp. The positive clay image can be used as appliqué on clay ware or by itself as a work of art, coaster, ornament or magnet. Thus birthed the idea of pop culture imagery on coffee mugs.
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| Example of one of my recently carved stamps printed on newsprint...a trial run to see if I like the image |
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| The cut linoleum block itself |
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| The stamp printed on a stark white mini thrown ceramic vase |
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| The real Gusto- the "Sookie" Stamp printed on one of my thrown mugs Thats all for now folks! |
Look for an upcoming blog on the Process of Lino Block Prints on Ceramic Ware
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