During the last few weeks I have been experimenting with glazes and continuing to explore variations in types of ceramic carts. These pieces are about 6-8 inches tall. They have wooden (dowel) axles and wooden cotter pins that hold the ceramic wheels in place.
I am back at the Mendocino Art Center for a 6 week stint. Just finished a few days in the sculpture yard working with aluminum styrofoam casting and with bronze wax-investment casting. Here is what I made:
An aluminum tryptic:
A bronze piece, sprued and then chased:
It now appears that I am not going to make the ceramic cuneiform-like translation of the Rilke verse into a ceramic artifact. This is what emerged from my prior attempt to carve the porcelain letters. The ceramic pieces are now placed into a holding fame made of cherry wood. This is it:
November 21, 2015
I have now returned from spending October at the Mendocino Art Center. While there, I further explored stamping porcelain letters and hieroglyphic-like marks onto “ancient” clay runes. This is a work in progress, as I am trying to find a satisfying method for making these artifacts.
This pit-fired example is one of my first attempts. It is 6 inches long and about 3/4″ thick with a small, hollow space within. It feels rather heavy when held in the hand.
My attempt at carving words (taken from Rilke’s epitaph) is pictured below but these words are not reversed and thus cannot be used for stamping.
My next effort will be to translate the Rilke words into cuneiform markings and then cut them onto a clay, rune-like object. Below is the code I will use. I downloaded this code from the web (sorry but I did not record the link) and then reconstructed the code in vector graphics. Letters within brackets are invented symbols since the ancient cuneiform language evidently did not depict a few letters from our alphabet. The translation of the Rilke verse that I intend to place on the runes is shown below the codes.
Today, I am thinking about the icons that I impress onto the surface of ceramic objects. I call these objects “ancient relics”, as pictured.
The stamped symbols however have not had any particular meaning. They only represent a random combination of hieroglyphic, cuneiform and other designs ( you can also see the imprint from the end of a skeleton key, for example, on the right top part).
I am thinking now about developing an actual symbolic language using some of these carved icons (made from small porcelain stamps), as pictured:
To begin this project, I will need to carve new stamps and associate them with a coded language key. I am thinking about trying to represent a line of poetry with these new symbols. The poety line that I will start with is the one from the epitaph of Rainer Rilke; it reads (as translated):
“Rose, oh pure contradiction, delight of being no one’s sleep under so many lids.”
First, I will need to create the porcelain icons and their coded meanings. More to follow….