Tea Horse Studio -Crotch

Crotch Badge with Red and Green Rim -Available on Etsy

Nothing says "I Am Woman" or "I Love Women" like a crotch pin made out of organic material like the sexy gourd. Tell the government to back off our bodies! Okay, maybe that's not really what this screams but still... New badges on Etsy. There will be new listings to come in the next few days in the Gourd category. Still working on clay stuff...

Progress Report

Tiny Monster; 2011; Mixed media

This is a new tiny piece of work in gourd and metal. I have a things for slits. I love this little thing. Tiny Monster is what I call it and it looks like it's getting ready for a fight.

And this is a sample of one of the teapots I've carved. I am planning on hooking up my kiln this month so I can bisque these in the future. I need to do it here in the studio for several reasons, not least of which is that transporting items all the way to EKU for bisque firing that are this appendage-y is pushing the limit on assuring damage before it gets to Richmond. Glazing? Haven't got a clue. Make more, make more.

And guess what!? It's Morel Mushroom season in Estill County! Found this one in the county today! I found one - ONE - once on my property 12 years ago and haven't seen one since then until today. My property is not conducive to morel growth I am told. Boo hiss.

Gourds: New Bloom

New Bloom; 2011; Dyed hardshell gourd, gourd membrane, glass microbeads, milkweed pods, formed copper

This is the last of the gourd work recently completed. This piece is constructed from the top of a bottle-necked gourd and the inside membrane of various hardshell gourds. I find the inside material of gourds to be as fascinating as the outside shell. Sometimes it is unremarkable and porous, but other times it is papery and shimmery. The piece references a flower with a large "stamen and pistil" area comprised of milkweed pods. The feathery seeds have all since blown away.

Gourds: Nest Overflow

Nest Overflow; 2011; Dyed hardshell gourd, dyed toothpicks, silk, glass microbeads,Tamarisk branches, vines, pyrography, carved, assembled

Several years ago, I was visiting my friend, Robbin when she handed me this large gourd on her living room floor that was "over 50-years-old" or so she told me. She plopped in my arms and said, "Here. Do something with this." Well, Robbin, five years and one BFA later, here it is. I hope you like it. I doubt it's what you expected.
     This piece is a reflection on the material things or maybe non-material things that fill our lives and the near-to-bursting feeling it can create. The top is separated from the bottom like a hinged jaw. The toothpicks remind me of the baleen of a whale that takes in the thousands of krill to feed itself. The actual gourd is old and has split in some places as if it could not contain its insides. I expanded on that idea and it made me think about the lure of material goods and wealth we acquire over our lifetimes, the material "stuff" we fill our homes with in order to add value to ourselves. In some way, this piece could be seen as a celebration of good fortune but I think it should also make us question what really constitutes happiness and home, in the long run. How attached are we to our "stuff?" What do we give up to acquire material goods? How heavy a burden are our things? Do we compromise our decisions and our values in order to keep our things? All things to ponder, in my opinion.

Gourds: Control Freak

Control Freak; 2011; Hardshell gourd, dye ink, bronze spiculae, brass wire

This is the second gourd finished recently. For me this references the mother figure, specifically, or certainly a female figure, but every person has their own interpretation. Like a lobster trap, once you get in, you can't get out.

Gourds: Momma's Boy

Momma's Boy, 2011, Hardshell gourd, gourd seed, loofah, string, dyes, inks, copper banding

My BFA work in Metals centered around the combination of metal and gourds. I knew, because I have this weird fascination and obsession with gourds, that I wanted to combine gourds with the materials I was concentrating on in my degree program but I really expected to marry gourds and clay, not the metal.
     However, I found a conduit for my strong emotional response and reaction to my family situation at the time using the metal work to trap and encase the gourds I was drawn to. It was then that the gourds became the metaphor for the person, in particular, they often became the son. The metal became the mother figure. I explored the exploitation and power abuse of a parent to child in order to gain advantage in a divorce and custody situation. They addressed the parental alienation issues surrounding my husband's divorce and the effects on his young son.
     Time has passed and circumstances have changed. The power relationship between the mother and son has developed. The gourds still reference the human but now the mother/son elements are separating and have gained their own identities. A power struggle has developed as the child has matured into young adulthood. These new pieces address the elements in this. Metal still makes an appearance in these pieces but I am using it as support instead of a major element. I'm interested in exploring the gourd itself as a sculptural medium. More mixed media is being used, particularly natural elements. I've tried to make more use of gourd parts as sculptural elements when possible. The piece above, Momma's Boy, touches on the tangled, baggage-laden relationship of mother to son and the long-term issues that follow. The inside bowl of the main piece is covered with gourd seeds with the words: self, boy, man, mom, own, control and ... written on individual seeds. The "umbilical cord" penetrating the form and tangled inside is repurposed from the loofah gourds grown on my farm. This is one of four new pieces.

Gourd [Curcurbitaceae]

     I use hard shell gourds in my work. I’ve been asked why. I ask myself why. I still can't fully explain it. I think that's a good thing. I am interested in the family of hard shell gourds, Old World Lagenaria siceraria, used for centuries in many world cultures for dipping, pouring, as containers, storage, carved bowls, and just plain decoration.

(Here’s a nice link to a summary and rundown about All Things Gourd.)

     Most people in my limited experience craft items like bottle gourds painted to look like Santa or a snowman. Much of the more sophisticated gourd artistry uses wood burning tools to burn in imagery and burr tools to carve in shapes and patterns. Mexican and Native American imagery and basket weaving techniques are very common. I’m not interested in any of that. 

     The bulk of the gourd carving and artistic work I have encountered uses the gourd as a canvas, that is, images, allegories, symbols are painted and carved onto the surface. The form of the gourds is rarely disturbed from its original shape, even those gourds that are carved. It’s as if the gourd itself is sacred and dictatorial. The artist, craftsperson or hobbyist can only approach it up to a certain level but the gourd maintains its identity as a gourd. Some of the work done this way can be very, very good. Much of it, however, is kitschy and tacky in my opinion. And too often, I find myself less than intrigued by the artwork displayed than the inevitable reaction of, “Oh look, a gourd.” The gourd stays separate from the art. I want to use the gourd as the art.

     I admire the more craft and traditional approaches to gourd work but I find those styles frustrating and limiting in my work. I look to use gourd forms as metaphors and abstractions. If you look at many of the shapes of hard shell gourds, they scream sexual forms. It’s so obvious but after people make the crude crack about the curve of the short handle dipper gourd or the bottle-necked gourd, they then set out to find a safer, more palatable, less offensive representation like… a long neck goose, or a literal reinterpretation of a whole human figure. When I work with whole forms of gourds, I either have to address a sexual identity question because it begs for it, or I have to dismantle the form and use the material for its other tactile and tangible qualities. 

     Hard shell gourds are light, carvable, accepting of glues, paints, inks and dyes. Left solid, they will float and bob. They burn out in a kiln, leaving cavities. They can be flat like mini-canvases or chopped into voluminous material. Cut strategically, a variety of curved planes are presented to the artist. A variety of textures, patterns and imperfections on the outside of the shell can also be utilized. The inside texture is inspirational on its own. To me, they need to be destroyed, used, cracked, carved, repurposed, trapped, combined with other media and turned inside out. They are a medium and sculptural tool. So far, whatever I've done with gourds, I feel like I'm not doing enough or I'm still limiting their use. For this reason, I'll probably continue to come back to them and try to integrate them into work whenever I need to take a break from other media. 

Crushed By Love, 2008

     Currently, I'm finishing up a boat load of badges carved from shell for the more functional, craft side of things. I'm also finishing up four sculptural pieces that are a continuation of the series that began with my BFA metal work on parent-child relationships and abuse issues. These start to break away from the relationship with the parent and begin to focus (hopefully) on the inner dialogue of the adolescent/young adult. When they're done, I'll post... Ciao for now.

Winter is loooooong

Scraps of gourds put to good use.

This weather in Kentucky is grating on me. It reminds me of some winters back in New York in the 70's. Long and snowy. Only, back then, I was in high school and enjoyed snow days. Now, not so much. Thankfully my studio is heated, albeit by kerosene heater, but heated nonetheless. I can't imagine how stressed and how far behind I would be if I were still working out of my kitchen. Not to mention the fact that since I have this completed space, I've attempted, and succeeded at "going to work" as opposed to doing errands and finding thousands of things to keep me from doing actual work. I'm not at the pace I'd like to be but it's a beginning and it feels good so far. What's the cliché? Rome wasn't built in a day. My goal from the beginning of this year, is to be committed and serious about my work and put aside the worry and procrastination of thinking that making art without financial profit right off the bat is a waste of my time. After all, I have a wonderful supportive husband who is 100% behind me and have an opportunity now to begin this career so now is the time.

Available soon for Valentines Day!

Long before I began work in clay, I drew, like most beginning artists. I don't draw seriously anymore, unless I'm sketching ideas for new pieces, but I do still doodle and mark things up. I think a lot of that influence comes from the old graffiti days back in NYC and in particular, working in NYC when Keith Haring was doing his thing, even before he became known, when you'd ride the subway and see the street art. The best street art, to me, is things with some spontaneity, humor and whimsy because often, on the street, on your commute, you only have a brief moment to take all the information in. [Here's a cool website of great street art from around the world. Awesome ideas!] You can't contemplate it like a painting in a museum, nor should you, in context, I think. Anyway, that kind of sketching/mark making/iconography cleaved well with the graphic design field I was in at the time. It all influenced me and I still need to do it. Right now, I'm satisfying that urge with gourd badges I'm making for an upcoming Etsy Store launch, this week (hopefully). I'm adapting that doodling onto gourd shell from gourds I've grown on the farm. In a later posting, I'll get into the Cult of The Gourd and my affinity for them but for now, I'm busy burning little doodles onto circles and squares of shell, painting and dying them and then attaching a pin on the back. Wearable doodles. Some sketches have proven to be typical of me and reference... well, the naughty bits.

Rest assured, I am still working in clay and have begun one form already. I'm also in the middle of getting bowls ready for an Empty Bowls charity event here in Richmond, KY coming up in March. The problem with working in clay that I have in the winter is the studio takes a little bit of time to warm up from the overnight cold of 50 degrees or less so there's not a whole lot of incentive to sink my hands into cold clay and water.

The other project that I'm wrapping up is four gourd art pieces. These are a bit of an extension from my previous gourd work. I don't gravitate to what passes for typical gourd art work, you know, painting a Santa Claus or snowman onto a gourd. That seems so... pedestrian. I'll get more in depth later on that one.

Just trying to keep busy...