This week I was feeling rather irritable.  I was not in the best mood conducive to creating.  I made a mold of this cute little guy.  I have not poured it yet, but it is a good one!  It is drying in the anti-fridge currently.  It is quite a bit smaller than my other cupie doll molds.  He will make a good addition to the collection.

I worked a little bit on the base for my first animal tree.  I am pleased with it so far.  It does need some more work and cleaning up, but I think it will work well.  I have put the bigger one together, and I have part of a smaller one that still needs to be attached.  I have a bit of planning yet to do, and some things still need to be worked out.  After I finish with this base, I suppose I will fire it and attach already bisqued animals to it, then glaze it as one.  I have a couple other assembly options to play around with if I am not satisfied with the outcome of this approach.  I am still not dead set on a glazing method... as far as technique, colors, and cones.  I am undecided, and that is throwing a wrench in the process.  I need to just make a decision and do it rather than thinking and thinking over it.  I can always make another one.

I bisqued some more little figurines.  I have so many little animals around.  I am running out of room.  I really need to proceed on to the next steps before I make more!!  I am looking forward to clearing some out.  I attained a new mold as well.  Again, another collection getting out of hand.  I need to slow down on my acquisitions. How fitting with the theme of collections!  Both of my wet boxes are full of things waiting for me to finish.  I am glad I am feeling better so I can spend a little more time in the studio this week.  I have gotten a bit of reading done for my art history class.  I am looking forward to our senior seminar meeting at venues tomorrow.  I hope we come to a decision soon so we can start planning for our show.  This is going to be a good experience.  It will be very valuable setting up a show and having an opening.  I am glad I get to do it with such good friends as Philip, Chris, and Ashley.  And there are a lot of talented artists in our group.  We are a force to be reckoned with.  I hope I have some really good stuff come out of the kilns this semester to put along side the great works of Ashley, Philip, Chris, Aberlyn...  It should be a good show!

I might start going to Adrienne's knitting club.  She said today she wants to expose us to 3d as a craft... or some jist of that statement.  That was really interesting to me because I have recently been thinking about the "distinction" between art and craft.  Some of my favorite art I think could be considered "craft."  I love glass and ceramics, and fibers.  The best "art" I have seen was in Charlotte at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design.  I am in love with it.  The exhibits were fresh and the art all interesting.  It was eclectic.  It was very now.  There were a lot of fibers, clay, and glass.  Most of the pieces were 3d.  I was not bored by stuffy oil paintings of landscapes or still-lifes...   although they did have a Kehinde Wiley, which I was excited about. Their special exhibit of the time was "Contemporary British Ceramics."  This exhibit really confirmed to me that I want to be a ceramic artist.  I was so upset no photography was allowed in the room.  It was phenomenal.  If the art in the Mint is considered "craft" then I want to be a craftsman above artist.  I also usually really like the work in the KMAC.  I need to further explore the idea of craft as art, and how it relates to me.  Is what I do more craft or more art?  I need to dwell on this a bit.  I was definitely thinking about the craft of doll making this summer as I made my dolls, but I was using craft as the art object, as well as using the doll as kind of a kitsch symbol for lost innocence and nostalgic longing.... But, I need to think about craft some more.  I am interested to hear Adrienne talk about it some more.  I love listening to her talk about art.  She blows my mind.  Whether I learn to knit or (k)not (haha), I would enjoy spending time around her.  There is also a bead-making class coming up at Glassworks that I would like to go to.  I may have to work, but it would be cool.  It is a torch working bead class with a fairly renown bead-making.  There is quite a little cult around beads, which is pretty funny.  Glass art kind of has that "craft" stigma. Chris called it "Mickey Mouse," I believe.  I think it's pretty cool.