Category Archives: shards

Face it – this clay don’t need no kiln

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faces

One thing is for sure – the number of faces that came into the workshops on Sunday and Monday were a lot fewer than the number of faces that went out. The energetic and enthusiastic workshoppers must have created hundreds of little air-dry clay people – and not just human faces – there were 3-D molds, insects, cats, and one persona that looked like creepy Chucky (that one became our mascot).

chuckie

The object was to explore ways to use no-fire clay – to make original and iconic clay face shards and other dimensional components without the need of firing in a kiln.

We concentrated on four areas:

  1. How to make reverse press molds with both two-part silicone and with air dry clay
  2. How to use the molds with various kinds of air-dry clay to make a dimensional object
  3. How to finish the surface of the dried clay faces with walnut ink and metallics
  4. How to use those finished components in mixed media projects

The key to success is to embrace the imperfections inherent in the air-dry clay – those cracks and irregularities give the pieces the illusion of heritage and a wabi-sabi touch of imperfect beauty. You can see what I mean from our video – every picture tells a story, every little face has a secret history – hopefully not Chucky’s:

 

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Kintsugi and Boro – fusion and inspiration

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Celebrating the imperfect, the time-worn, and the re-invented resonates deeply with me, probably because I am a combination of all of those things. That’s why the Japanese arts of Boro and Kintsugi are so appealing. Boro, a Japanese word meaning “tattered rags,” describes lovingly patched and repaired cotton bedding and clothing used much longer than the normal expected life cycle.

Boro is enjoying a revival among fiber artists who treasure its indigo blue color and melange of textures and subtle patterns. In fact, the Fiber Artists of San Antonio are offering a Boro workshop taught by Mary Ruth Smith in July.

A Japanese houshold Boro textile

Linked to Boro by concept is Kintsugi, meaning “mended with gold.” It refers particularly to the Japanese method for repairing broken ceramics with a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum.

The Kintsugi process usually results in something more beautiful than the original.

The Kintsugi process usually results in something more beautiful than the original.

Both Boro and Kintsugi are interwoven with the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which means “to find beauty in broken things or old things. ” See why I like this stuff so much?

So today at the Studio, I was putting away materials from our Citrasolve and altered paper collage workshop, and I started thinking about torn paper scraps (Boro) mended with gold (Kintsugi). I printed out the word “kintsugi” and began arranging Boro-like tatters of paper (they would probably have been dumped in the trash) onto 8×10″ pieces of archival mat board.

Then, inspired by the gold veins of Kintsugi, I “mended” the spaces between the scraps with gold leaf. It was amazing how fast time flew – I created five of these collages in about four hours. They almost pieced themselves together.

Here are the five collages – #3 is my favorite because it looks most “Boro-like.” These pieces are destined for the Beacon Hill Art Walk this Sunday, but when I come home from Boston, I’m going to continue to explore the idea of gold-mended tatters and the beauty of imperfection and re-invention.

Mended with Gold #1 Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #1
Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #2 Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #2
Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #3 Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #3
Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #4 Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #4
Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #5 Lyn Belisle 2016

Mended with Gold #5
Lyn Belisle 2016

 

 

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Little shardz

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Mama Didn’t Tell – earthenware assemblage, Lyn Belisle, 2016

I love working in clay, making little pieces that become parts of a whole. When people ask me what my favorite medium is, earthenware is right up there because it’s my first love. In the 70’s, I learned handbuilding and production pottery with Tracy Dotson, (miss you, Tracy). He told me to stick to painting! But I still love making small clay shards that tell a story all by themselves of as part of an assemblage.

Last night after getting ready for Monika’s Trunk Show (today, 11-3, Studio, be there!), I started finishing some small pieces that can be used as components in assemblage or just as little mysterious bits of clay to frame or put in your pocket for a lucky charm. They are tagged as “Shardz” because my little alphabet stamp set didn’t have two S’s. I kinda like “Shardz.” I’ll have these at the Studio on a regular basis starting today. Priced from $4-$12, they invite you to pick one for yourself to use in mysterious ways! Hope to see you today at Monika’s Sale!

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Framed “Shardz” – looks just like a Pre-columbian relic!

sz6 sz2  sz3 sz5

Lighter look for SHARDS?

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What do you think? Do you like the lighter look? Everything else is the same except the color scheme. I think it’s easier to read. Maybe it was because I was working with so much white during Wednesday’s workshop, but this seems to be a nice change. Let me know.

OK, back to work — have a wonderful weekend, and stay dry in those predicted thunderstorms!

strawhatdetail

 

 

Fun with faces

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A package of Face Shards from my Estsy show ready to ship to California

A package of Face Shards from my Etsy shop ready to ship to California

I was getting an Etsy order out this morning for five Rune and Relic Face Shards, and thought about how much fun these little faces are to make. You can use them for so many things – Spirit Dolls, ornaments, pins and pendants – anyway, I thought I’d re-post a SHARDS link to a very simple tutorial on mold-making and faces that I did for a workshop a couple of years ago. This tutorial recommends a two-part product called MegaMold that you can order online from Cool Tools (this site also has a bunch of very nifty pre-made molds). Michael’s has something similar called Amazing Mold Putty for about $20 – use your 40% coupon!

moldstuffThis mold-making project would be great fun to do over the holidays with kids – and you can get air-dry clay at Michael’s or Jo-Ann’s – it’s very inexpensive, doesn’t need a kiln, and isn’t discouragingly messy. I like the one called Model Magic. It comes in tubs and also in small packages, in different colors. So plan some time to make some faces!

Also, I’m re-posting this link to the Angel Face Gift Tags I designed several years ago just in case you need some last-minute gift-wrapping help. You can print these out and stick them on a packing wrapped in brown paper and tied with raffia, and it will look all Martha-Stewarty – honest!

gifttags

 

 

 

 

I’m headed to Boston for just a few days for a quick visit  – back soon! Keep out of trouble and go make something creative!

Curious evolution of a work on canvas

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dissofmem2Where do art ideas come from? Darned if I know – Here’s a piece that invented itself from 12 clay face slabs I made last week just because I didn’t want to throw away too-dry clay. The piece is called “Dissolution of Remembrance” because forgetting the names of objects and misplacing small items worries me, and I know I’m not alone in that.

I used these unplanned clay pieces to address this worry through an art piece. I arranged the fired earthenware slabs in an almost irregular pattern on a 24×30″ canvas, then sewed and adhered them in place. First came a wash of walnut ink (of course). Then I added some red oxide acrylic paint – here’s what it looked like at that stage – kinda disjointed.

dissofmem0

I tried to make it more cohesive with various colors of paint, attempting to suggest a progression of memory loss, and finally got the idea of putting rusted wire inside each head – it didn’t really work. Suddenly, I remembered talking about cheesecloth in my last post, and added a layer of cheesecloth over the whole composition to unite the elements. That was a good decision.

After that, there was lots of action going on with matte medium and fabric stiffener. Next came a thin coat of encaustic wax. Finally I added branches to allude to the branching dendrites in the brain. Science occasionally comes in handy 🙂

dissofmem

The last element, silk cocoons, was another accident – the plastic bag of cocoons was open on the table nearby and the silk kept catching on the branches – well, duh – how obvious was that? So, on they went. Symbols of hatching new thoughts?

I’m not sure “The Dissolution of Remembrance” is completely finished, but it’s been amazing to watch the process as both the maker and the observer. Now if I could just remember where I put it –  – – only kidding. I think.  dissofmem1

Far-flung faces and una mas Friday Freebie

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I told my Trinity students that if they finished their websites by class time yesterday, we wouldn’t have class on Tuesday of next week and they could travel home for Thanksgiving. Worked like a charm! Which, of course, means *I* don’t have class next Tuesday either. Yahaha.

And speaking of travels, the little Face Shards that I make and sell on Esty sure get around. I love getting photos of how people use them. This first batch shows detailed spirit dolls made by my friend Ginger Quinn in New Mexico (some of you know Ginger) – and check out the neat mud-cloth jacket she made, also:

These photos come from Karen Anderson in Sacramento, California. She created these lovely necklaces using my face shards for her Etsy shop, Catching Waves:

I’m grateful to all the artists who get inspired by these little faces and use them in the most creative ways – and I’m also grateful to you SHARDS subscribers, so here’s the “una mas”  Friday Freebie. It’s a sister piece to the Friendship Bridge purse given away a couple of weeks ago with a face shard inside. And if you are a SHARDS subscriber by this coming Monday morning, you’ll have a chance for your name to be drawn. Good luck and have a lovely weekend!

purse

 

 

 

 

My (right-this-minute) Etsy Favorite 5

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You know Etsy, right? If not, I’m gonna get you in a lot of trouble, cause it’s an amazing online global marketplace of creative delights. Look at some of the things you can find today on Etsy. These are my current favorite shops (but it may change with every new discovery :)):

etsy1Tomyres Boutique – Ugur Daskan’s art-to-wear collection. Ugur is from Turkey and has a wonderfully creative way with paper and fiber. This is her Wire Statement Necklace w/ Blooming Flowers. The lovely white cocoon necklace that I showed in my last post came from Ugur. She featured the post on her FB page. 

 

 

 

 

etsy2Casa de Charms Shop from McAllen, Texas is where I order milagros for my own artwork. Amador, the owner, is easy to work with and has fair prices and quick shipping. He also has larger milagros and really funny Day-of-the-Dead shopping bags.

 

 

 

 

 

etsy3House of Ceramics – despite its generic name, this studio site has some beautifully designed work like these fired and glazed apples. Una, the artist/owner, is from Fresno, California.

 

 

 

etsy4Buster Bean Knows – this Etsy shop is pretty unique. Here you can find natural stuff, rusty stuff, kitschy stuff – here’s what the owner says about herself – “I live near Sedona about midway between the Grand Canyon and Phoenix with my 3 dogs, Buster (the namesake of my shop), Duncan & Paloma. Buster knows the meaning of life… be creative and enjoy every moment you can.”  Pretty cool.

 

 

 

etsy5Hoooked Soap, form Peralta, NM. I think I like this shop as much for the names and the colors and textures as I do for the soaps themselves. This one is called Dragon’s Blood Exfoliating Soap with Poppy Seeds. Talk about power to the shower – but I think there is something so appealing about artisan-made personal goods, and this shop has that kind of appeal.

It’s easy to get mesmerized while looking around on Etsy – when I was putting this post together, I went down a lot of rabbit holes checking out other stuff and got lots of ideas an inspiration! But now I need to get to work finishing some faces for my own Etsy shop, EarthShards (sneaky segue). Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Freebie: a new series – milagritos, the “little miracles”

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I was working in clay last night and suddenly “saw” an earthenware face with holes at the top for a wire hanger and holes at the bottom for tying sari-silk ribbon and milagro charms. I could see it hanging on my porch beside the front door to welcome guests with a wish for an everyday miracle to come their way. Here’s a prototype (put together this afternoon) from a face I’d made from an earlier firing.

There are a dozen more like this in the kiln right now that will be wired and be-ribboned for the Spring Fling art sale next Saturday. milagrito1_edited-1I call these mixed-media hangings “milagritos,” which means small miracles. And if you are a SHARDS subscriber before midnight on Sunday, you will win one if you name is randomly drawn.

If you do not happen to win this one, you can see more of them at the Spring Fling show and sale this coming Saturday, May 3rd, at the Studio. Prices for these charming hangings will range from $12 to $20 – such a deal. Even better, you’ll get to see work done by my pals Alison Schockner, Lesta Frank and Jan Longfellow when you drop by the Studio on Saturday.

So save the date, encourage your friends to come (and to subscribe to this blog – just click the link on the top right) and maybe a milagrito will come your way! Here is the invitation to Saturday’s fun event. Hope to see you there, and happy spring!

springfling14_edited-1

 

Frabulous Friday Freebie – so, subscribe to SHARDS!

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I am loading the kiln this morning with some new work for Shades of Green and also some 3-D assemblage pieces that I’ve made for a new sketched-out sculpture concept (stay tuned) – it’s great to be working with clay again. Here’s some of the stuff that’s going to be fired today:kiln1

So in honor of Firing Day (and to bribe new subscribers), this is the Frabulous (?) Friday Freebie (below) – a face shard that’s about 6″ across, already fired and finished with walnut ink, and ready to hang on your gate or your wall or put in a bowl or whatever else your heart desires.

kiln2 Just make sure you’re a SHARDS subscriber by midnight on Sunday and I’ll do a random drawing of all subscribers to pick the winner (and will ship if out-of-town person is drawn) – thanks! And TGIF, y’all.