All to often we are changed by what we see, but sometimes it's a trill...Yesterday morning was one of those world shifting moments... it's 6am... sitting with my first coffee and reading through the morning's blog list and I'm stopped dead in my tracks when I hit the
BayArea ceramics blog, We Swim With Fishes.Linda was sharing some of her notes from this weekend's Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival that's put on by the ACGA every year... (I've never managed to make it out to view the event, but it enjoys the reputation of being a doosy of a festival.)
When I hit the part about artist Forrest Lesch Middleton, I just had to stop... Great slip work, gotta love those forms, and an image transfer process I'm still only guessing at.
Form aside... it's the surface he's created that's spinning my head. It some sort of silk-screened image transfer that can wrap around a curved object without creasing, and can still find the highs and lows on a profile. It's just so clean and tight... and his control is immaculate!
I'm assuming it's not a printed slip and paper transfer. The only solution that's come up so far that might fit the bill, has been the possibility of using a foam pad as a media to transfer a screened slip to the body. That was last nights impromptu test run was basically about.
But now it's also all the ideas that didn't exactly fit the bill that's getting me going... Golden!
Meanwhile in the comments, Humpiros offered up a Ceramic Arts Daily link of Susan Kotulak demonstrating a foam transfer process... a nice solid lead to help me puzzle this out.I do realize that eventually though, I am just going to have to write Forrest to just ask, but until then it's time to relish guessing and seeing what happens.
8 comments:
We talked about this work last year when I was at Penland. I think I remember someone saying he does the silk screen on the pot when the form is more cylindrical then pushes from the inside to finish the shapes. I could be totally wrong on that. You should contact him though, it would be great to know.
simply gorgeous pots and well worth figuring out new ways to image transfer!! I get my screens this wkd woohoo...
Ron's right, Forrest is a good friend of mine and I had the pleasure of working with him in the studio when I was out in your neck of the woods last year. Amazing work, amazing process, and this is one of many techniques he uses to decorate his work, each more interesting and involved than the next.
the possibilities are endless!
It will be interesting to see where you take this!
damn, those are some sweet pots. i love the deco on them. i'm sure this will lead you somewhere just as interesting if not moreso.
Very inspiring work! I loved your foam transfer demo. I've been playing with glaze transfer from bubble wrap but this is really cool. Thanks for sharing.
Hi FG - I talked with him at ACGA for some time; picked his brain and found him very open with his information and process - just a super cool guy. I also wrote him with some further follow up questions. He's on FB as well.
He uses Iron ox and cobalt and some type of wallpaper gel to screen with and basically screens on newsprint, puts a very thin coat of slip (on the wheel), and applies the screen - then he throws the shape! It is tight, but we did talk about the seams which I like. You have to make it next year to the event; it's SO worth the trip!!
I LOVE the foam thingie btw :)
oh and I should say that absolutely, Forrest's work stops me dead in my tracks !! For me it epitomizes many elements of what gets me going about art and clay....
did I say he's super nice and was lovely to talk with!
Post a Comment