The Frog-Headed Character is modeled on Prince, a Michigan frog that sat on my driveway shortly after we built our house near the Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI. I had left my car and began to snap Prince, coming closer and closer. He had just sat there looking at me. His red eyes are borrowed from a tropical frog.
Frog-Headed Character, height 8 in
The Frog-Headed Character was an afterthought after I had sculpted the Beaked Character, thinking a soft-mouthed, laid-back companion was needed for her.
Beaked Character, height 11 in
After Steve Kline had sculpted her shoulders, I added the head with beak and feathers. Back then, I had not felt ready to sculpt a human head. A bird head came to mind since I was feeding crows and lots of other birds during the snowy Michigan winter. However, the red beak was borrowed from the tropical toucan. The polka dots on the human-like shoulders of the two new critters were Steve’s idea, so were the feathers on the back of her head – our collaboration.
My first four ceramic figures were done in the a workshop at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfurt, MI, led by Steve Kline. New to this art form, I am indebted to the guidance of Steve – sensitive to when I needed help or was capable of proceeding on my own.
The Etruscan boy was copied from a photo of a votive bronze statuette, third century B.C. in the Museo Etrusco Guarnacci in Volterra. Wondering what this lumbering little guy was up to.
Etruscan Boy, 10 x 3 in
The female Chinese dancer, earthen ware, stems from the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 9). The statue was excavated in 1989-1990 in the tomb of the prince of Chu, Tuolanshan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. My copy was done from a postcard bought at the MET, NYC. I am intrigued but the dancer’s wide swaying stance.
Female Dancer, 9 x 8 in
Saint Anthony was modeled using a photo of a wood statue in the Museum of International Folk Art, New Mexico. From en.wikipedia: He is especially invoked and venerated all over the world as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods. I view my little statue as finding lost souls.
Saint Anthony, 9 x 4 in
My ceramic copy of a Pre Columbian acrobat figure dating around 600AD – an inspiration for striving for agility.
Meso-American acrobat on exhibition at oliverart.org, height 11 in
My copy of a Pre Columbian Warrior Amulet
26 cm high
Methods
My copy of the Etruscan boy was thinly glazed with Amaco Celadon Rainforest.
My copy of the Female Dancer was glazed first with Amaco Celadon Tangelo followed by Amaco Celadon Green to highlight the shadows of her robe,
My copy of Saint Anthony was first painted with Amaco Celadon Cobalt Blue which then was brushed off the face and hands. Face and hands were subsequently painted with Amaco Celadon Tangelo and folds of the robe were overpainted with Amaco Celadon Rainforest. The latter glazes were mostly obscured by the more powerful Celadon Cobalt – fortuitous as the shape of the figure is better seen with a coherent glaze.
My copy of the Meso-American Acrobat was glazed with three Amaco Celadon glazes: Mulberry, Snow and Sky. My artist friend Dewey Blocksma mounted the acrobat on a walnut base.
My copy of a Pre Columbian Warrior Amulet was glazed with Amaco Celadon Snapdragon and Obsidian.
Etruscan Boy, 10 x 3 in
