Drawing and Painting - Class Four

Well, I have nothing to show you from Class Four of my Drawing and Painting class because unfortunately I wasn't well enough to go. I've had a really heavy cold this week that started on Monday evening after my ceramics class. I'm glad it started after my ceramics class and not before because that is one class I am not willing to miss! And I hope I feel better by Monday again!

Monday will be my first time on the potters wheel! I can't wait! Everyone has said how difficult it is at first and that it takes a while to get the hang of it - and I shall probably only have an hour because 3 wheels have to be shared between a whole class - but I don't care, I just can't wait to have that opportunity. There will be no "fail", only "experience". I've wanted to try pottery for as long as I can remember - certainly from when I started clay sculpting in school, but the school didn't have a potters wheel. In fact, I'm not sure which will be the most fulfilling - the trying or the accomplishing. I know it must be a wonderful feeling to produce your first pot on a potters wheel, but for anyone who loves clay surely the process is just as wonderful? That time spent with the soft, cold, wet clay between your fingers and the wonderful earthy smell as you work?

I wish every day was a Monday!

Ceramics - Class Three, and Heartbreaking Discovery

This was the sight that greeted me as I arrived for my ceramics class this evening:


My worst nightmare had come true. I dreamt that I took this piece out of the kiln and it crumbled away in my hands. I wouldn't be so disappointed if it wasn't for the fact that this was meant to be a gift. Apparently it was due to the way I had constructed it, building up the face in layers. I had made a face in relief form previously and it had survived the kiln, but that was over 20 years ago and for the life of me I can't remember how I made it. I know it wasn't by using a mould though, which is what the tutor suggested I should have done.

All is not lost though. Hopefully this piece can be rescued. I asked whether the top part can be "glued" on with glaze, and the tutor thought that might be a possibility. If the loose piece can be stuck on I personally think that any remaining visible crack will only enhance the meaning of the piece, which is personal to the person it is intended for. On another positive note, I love the colour that it has come out as.

Going back to my coil pot from last week, this evening I painted it with brown slip and tried sgraffito for the first time!


And after spending so long last week trying to smooth out the inside, I thought it would be a shame not to decorate the inside too!



I was surprised at the demonstration that the tutor did for the slab built pot - I thought we would be making square pots in the same way that Cynthia has shown in the past, but we were sticking to round pots. We made these by wrapping the rolled out clay around a paper covered tube. I decided to make mine into a crumbling old castle.


I thought maybe making something that is supposed to be old and falling apart would help me to steer away from trying to make everything perfect. There's not much to see yet, but hopefully if I get to class early next week I will have time to finish it off before we start...

...throwing!! I can't wait 'til next week!

In the drawing and painting class tomorrow we start drawing in colour!

Ceramics - Class Two, and Drawing and Painting - Class Three

Monday was my second clay class. There were less people this week, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed. That's not to say that it was more relaxed because there were less people, but it just was. The tutor seemed more friendly this time and we even had a bit of a laugh with him, pulling his leg about being so grumpy the week before and scaring all the students away!

Because I have used clay before, I expected too much of myself too soon last week and put myself under unnecessary pressure. I thought the course would just be a way of gaining access to a working area and a kiln. The tutor is flexible and offers tutorials to those who need it, but allows those who are confident enough to do their own thing. I have now decided that I will follow the 10 week course to give myself a foundation, and then move on to developing my own ideas when I re-enrol. This week we were making coil built pots. Amazingly, even with my prior experience with clay, I have never made a coil pot before!


I was a little obsessed with getting the surface as smooth as possible, which is probably why this one simple pot took me nearly a whole lesson, when the girl next to me made two!


I tried to smooth the inside as much as I could as well.


And then when I looked at my precious little pot from a distance I noticed how wonky it was! I have to keep reminding myself that it's my first pot ever. (Perfectionism is only a good thing if you can produce items which are perfect!)

Next week we will be slab building, and hopefully I will also have the time to decorate this pot with sgraffito! I can't wait! And the excitement kept me awake all night!


Tuesday was my third drawing class. This week we had to draw a glass of water but I was so tired from the lack of sleep the night before that I just couldn't concentrate. It took me half the lesson just to draw the outline! After that I decided to just go for it and tried to draw quickly to produce something more "sketchy". As you can see, I can't really do "sketchy", but it is a style I admire.


The tutor pointed out that the highlights on the water should have been more curved. I was using a pencil eraser to add some of the highlights, but I found it didn't really get the paper white enough. Also, because of the pressure that needs to be applied, I found there was a loss of control over which areas were erased. Hopefully I'll learn to use it more effectively in time, or I might invest in a battery operated eraser which spins very fast and works better apparently!


Mostly I am enjoying the journey I am on and I look forward to developing my skills, but sometimes, like tonight, I can't help dwelling on the 20 years that I have wasted, especially when it comes to ceramics. Twenty years is more than half of my life. Imagine how experienced I would be now if I didn't give up. But then, did I have a choice? When I think about it, I wouldn't have been able to go to college even if I had been accepted. I had already left home and would have had no way to support myself financially. I wish I had taken evening classes though. I really really wish I had taken evening classes.

On a more positive note, the woman in the background of the top photo is a very frail elderly woman! Isn't that fantastic? It just shows that we are never too old and it is never too late to learn anything. I need to remember that.

Drawing and Painting - Class Two, and other news

As promised (though later than expected) here is the drawing from my second drawing class, which was last Tuesday.


I really didn't want to draw that apple! So I left it 'til last and then unfortunately (ahem) I ran out of time. There was another bottle on the left which I had only drawn the outline of but decided to erase in an attempt to balance the composition as it was large and went off the side of the page.

We were supposed to either draw in charcoal or paint in black and white, but being the rebellious independent person that I am I decided to draw this with my 6B sketch stick! Oh, I think the tutor said that we were supposed to use A3 paper as well, but mine is A4! I'm not deliberately naughty, honest! But we have no easels and I only have little arms so if I had A3 paper I would never be able to stretch across the table to reach the top! There wouldn't be enough room either - I was virtually sitting on the lap of the lad next to me as it was!

Oh yes, about that. Sitting next to young men makes it much easier to concentrate because they don't talk!

In other news...
Anita and I took down our exhibition on Friday. We were able to let it run for a little longer than the two weeks, but the Arts Centre now has another exhibition starting on Monday.

I think we only received one comment each in our little comments books! But we were told that many people made verbal comments. The comment I received was:

Really liked "Leaf" and "Blue". Would enhance any wall. Unfortunately credit crunch prohibits purchase.

And the secretary at the box office expressed the same view. Oh well. They look pretty good on my own walls.

Tomorrow night is Ceramics Class number Two!

Ceramics - Class One

Well, it seems my life didn't begin last night after all - if anything I thought it would end! I felt so nervous and uncomfortable, I just couldn't concentrate. I can't really pinpoint what the problem was, but I think there were a number of things:

1. The tutor didn't seem as friendly as he was in his emails. He was very serious and quite negative. He said that when we start throwing pots we won't produce anything in the first lesson, and later when another student and I expressed an interest in using porcelain he said he wouldn't recommend it because it's very difficult to use. It wasn't really what he said, but how he said it.
2. I think my expectations of myself were too high. I had an idea of what I wanted to make but nothing was going right, which only heightened my anxiety.
3. A very lovely lady sitting at the same table kept talking to me. She was very nice, but I really can't be creative and talk at the same time.
4. I was very aware of how little time we had and I felt rushed.

The tutor showed us how to make small hollow animals at the beginning of the class, by fitting two cup shapes together. The cups were made by sticking our thumb into the centre of a ball of clay and squeezing the sides between the thumb and fingers to make them thinner. Once the two cups were joined we could decorate them how we pleased. I sat and played with the clay for about an hour and a half before finally making something in the last half hour! And by then I didn't have time to make anything more elaborate than this little head!




The expression portrays how I was feeling!

I didn't feel very comfortable in last weeks drawing class either and I started wondering if these courses were really for me. I had to give myself a good talking to, along the lines of "C'mon Linda, you are Undaunted! You can do this!" Tonight I just blocked everything out with music and head phones, and I felt much more relaxed. I shall post tonight's drawing as soon as I have photographed it.

Drawing and Painting - Class One

This Monday coming (the 29th) will be the first class of my ceramics course! I can't wait! I feel like my life begins on Monday.

In the mean time, I have begun a drawing and painting class! Not before time, some of you might say! It will be good for me because left to my own devices I would never choose to draw a still life, and yet I will have to as part of this course, so it will help me to become more rounded in my abilities, and help me to improve my observation skills.

This is the result of my first lesson - an apple and a shell, in case you can't tell!


The apple was drawn using a sort of charcoal pencil, and the shell was drawn using a piece of charcoal. To be honest, I'm not happy with either of them, but then I didn't really want to draw them! It's a start anyway.

My First Blog Award!

I'd like to say a very huge thank you to Leanne for giving me my very first blog award! Thank you! Isn't it cute?



And this is what Leanne said about me:

"Undaunted aka Linda is a creative woman reworking her way into the art world with great speed and excitement. I love to see her posts of her new works in paint and in pencil."

Wow, there have been so many times that I have looked at blogs of artists who have received awards and thought "That must be great to know that someone loves what you do enough to give you an award. I hope someone gives me an award one day" I never dreamt that day would come so soon! Thank you Leanne!

And now, in line with the rules, I shall list my seven nominees:

Philippa King's Loaded Brush: Not a blog as such, but it was through viewing Philippa's evocative paintings that I began to discover the real meaning and purpose of art, and felt inspired to return to being creative myself. I shall be eternally grateful to Philippa for that. As much as I love the work of others, Philippa's paintings stir something in me that I can't explain. When I'm a millionaire I shall buy everything she's ever painted!

Jafabrit's Art: With her unique versatility, Jafabrit's art spans all genres and ages. She would be just as at home knitting woolly jumpers for trees in an old people's home as she would spray painting graffiti with the youths from the local rehabilitation centre! Her art is always unique, and she can make something amazing out of just about anything.

Rosa Murillo: Oh my, what can I say about Rosa? I look at her art in amazement and wonder how a person could even come up with something so imaginative. Her mixed media paintings and collages are beautiful. She is also the mother of Found Art Tuesday - a wonderful concept of sharing art with complete strangers to brighten their day.

Kathy LaRocco is also a mixed media artist who paints and uses collage. Again, I can't help wondering how she even comes up with her ideas. Apart from producing work that is absolutely beautiful, I admire Kathy for stretching herself beyond her comfort zone and trying new techniques.

Fur in the Paint by Mona: Mona's work is a very different style to the other blogs that I visit. I first came across Mona's blog when I was searching for tips on how to use oil pastels - and I'm glad I did. She shares some fantastic advice on various topics from framing to selling, and her paintings are amazing. I'm completely fascinated by how she builds up the colour in her pieces, and how her use of "strange" colours on animals always looks so right.

Cynthia's Colorado Art Studio: Cynthia is surely superhuman? She's a Mum, a ceramic artist, and a teacher, she grows tomatoes, and always seems to be experimenting with new glaze recipes, and yet somehow finds the time to blog about her results - extensively! Her use of many different techniques and her tutorials make her blog fascinating as well as educational. And in addition to all that, her pieces are beautiful.

I can't not mention Leanne's Art and Life, even though she has already received this award and was the one who awarded me. I just absolutely love her sculptures. Every time I look at Leanne's blog it makes me want to rip open my bag of clay and get started on something immediately! (Then I look at the mess and lack of space and change my mind!) Her pieces are fun, cute, and definitely inspiring.

Is that 7? Oh ok, I'll have to stop there. For all those who have been awarded, here are the rules:

1) Choose 7 favorite blogs and…
2) Put the logo on your blog
3) Link the person you received your award from
4) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (didn't we already do that?)
5) Put links of those blogs on yours
6) Leave a message on the blogs of the ones you’ve nominated

Sorry if I've waffled on a bit, but I'm sure you'll agree that these are all fantastic blogs.