Art thoughts

2/11/2020 I need some more inspirational ideas, even when I am enjoying creating art it is rarely from my own imagination. I prefer to draw from photos and do assemblage/collage.

I think I am a "slow" artist but  I have done quick mono-prints and figure paintings. I may be good at some quick things, but not everything is supposed to be done quickly. Some things need measurement and thought and slowing down and precision. That's what caused me trouble in woodworking class...trying to go too fast.

Days later: I am almost done with neighbor's portrait of her brother and I brought my little ceramic sculptures into class to wait for firing. Carving into clay is calming, like whittling...

The clay donuts and pyramids are all fired now and just need to be glazed and re-fired. I did some after school the other day when I also organized all of the messed up and disorganized glaze bottles on the shelves. I also tried to use the wheel (for the first time in 25+ years, if I did it in college, so maybe more like 40 years, when I did it as a kid with Ariana in her mom's art class-I still have the things I made in there! I use the serving plate regularly.) so that I could try and teach the kid I'm with in that class next time. But when it came time he was so into goofing off that we were both covered in clay and I had to write an agreement for him to sign, a promissory note saying that he would follow the rules for everyone's safety. I used the kick wheel on my own but in class we tried the electric wheel ... and you have to be careful when you use it.

I finished my neighbor's picture and gave it to her which was great, but I really want to do another version and have it turn out cleaner and smoother. I think I need new pastels, mine are really old. And time probably affects them like it does paint.

11-20-2023 Edit to add: The clay donuts turned out really well and I actually traded them to Blue Star Donuts for some real donuts. :) Also I found out that the student I had been working with in ceramics class passed away last year from complications of an illness. It's always devastating when a former student dies. I cherish the memories of our interactions even though he wasn't always on his best behavior.