A Wayne Studio

Figurative Sculpture and Functional Clay
 

Currently my sculptural focus is on busts and draws stylistically from the work of Honore Daumier. Always a fan of Daumier’s satirical content I recently saw his expressive busts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. My goal is to combine this expressive style with wood fired ceramics. To be more specific, quick firing in a wood-fired kiln. Wood is used as the fuel in this process but the work does not have all the qualities of a lengthy, traditional wood firing. The cross-draft kiln built of mostly insulating fire bricks allows for experimentation with the wood firing process but shorter firing times limit the amount of much sought after traditional ash glazes produced.

Thematically, the stoneware figures are part of a dystopian future that teeters between unwarranted hope and despair They exist as proof of a possible metamorphosis into a healthy, thriving civilization in balance but ultimately unachievable. Also represented is a past which sees change as impossible regardless of the perilous outcomes. The direction as far content in the most current work is dark but illustrates a realistic narrative. Current levels of consumption in industrialized society are unsustainable regardless if the energy is green. Green is a good selling point, but that sacrifice is needed is the undeniable truth. 

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The work that follows (on Functional page) is daily use type wares. Creating vessels and daily use wares on the pottery wheel is a relatively new undertaking for me. Working their way into my day-to-day the pieces  have helped me develop a new appreciation for handcrafted items. It's comforting to surround oneself with unique one-of-a-kind objects in a society where most everything is mass produced. The functional pieces on this site are both fired in the wood kiln and the electric and are noted as such. The wood fired work has a white or clear liner glaze and a varying amount of salt/soda glaze on the exterior. The result is a vessel with some "raw" areas on the exterior surface. For a more predicable outcome some glazed works are fired in an electric kiln.

The tile highlight the wood-fire kiln effects of flashing. The tile were rolled with a premade decorative type dowel rod, slowly dried and bisque fired in an electric kiln. When placed for a final firing wadding between the tile provides an obstacle for the flame of the wood-fired kiln. The tile records the path of the flame in colors from a soft yellow to deep burnt sienna and a wide range in between. Regretfully the functional ware from the same firing does not exhibit the same effects, but does bare some characteristics of a wood firing.