Legacy of a Thousand Years: the Ceramics of Tonala'

Over the holidays, I had a chance to once again visit the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. I was blown away by the current exhibit, "Legacy of a Thousand Years: the Ceramics of Tonala'." The pieces in the exhibition were made by contemporary potters working in the Tonala tradition, using ancient Pre-Columbian techniques and imagery, but in a fresh, lively and conceptual manner. I was especially impressed by the work of Jose' Luis Cortez Hernandez, who combined color, imagery and form in a way I've only dreamed of doing on my own pots.

I hoped to purchase an exhibition catalog so I could study the designs and the represented artists further, but when I found none available, I resigned to internet searches. To my dismay, the artists represented do not seem to have much of a web presence. I did find a nice tour blog which had great pictures of the work of Salvador Vazquez Carmona and his studio. The state of Jalisco and the town of Tonala' are definitely on my short list of places I want to visit.

Website -GO!

Finally got my website up and running through Other People's Pixels (Thanks Helen for the nudge)! Check it out: chandradebuse.com

Word of the Day: Slather

I have been yearning for more depth in my surfaces and wanted to share a recently fired tumbler. This cup is all about the layering process. I brushed on horizontal stripes of terra sig, waxed the whole tumbler, incised vertical lines and inlayed a red iron oxide wash before bisque firing. After the bisque, I applied circular stickers and dunked the tumbler in two separate transparent glazes. After firing to cone 6 in an electric kiln, I decided to take it to temperature again which encouraged more running and dripping of the blue transparent glaze. I really slathered everything on this cup. I think I am getting closer to the kind of surface depth I want to achieve. Now to learn to control the effects of this process, successfully combine it with my imagery and develop a more personal color palette. I know what I'm going to be doing for the holidays.

"Three terra sigs, two transparent glazes, one black underglaze and a partridge in a pear tree"

Happy December!

Swimming Pools

Living in my Grandview Heights neighborhood in West Palm Beach, I can't help but be fascinated by backyard swimming pools. Many are hidden by privacy fences or shrubbery, but the sound of running water tells me where to look.

I cooked up an idea for a salt and pepper swimming pool scene where a bather is the pepper container and a pool floatie serves as the salt cellar. While researching pool shapes, I ran across this 1960s swimming pool ashtray for the smoking swimmer by Anthony Pools. Swimming pool culture was born during the 1960s. I have always loved the swimming pool scenes in "The Graduate" and I have just put "The Swimmer" (Burt Lancaster film) in my Netflix que. Based on the Anthony Pools marketing gimmick, I see I am not the only one to ever make a connection between swimming pools and functional ceramics. Check out my finished salt and pepper set here.

Finished Vase

So here is the finished vase seen earlier in progress. The other vase form ended up in the Faculty Show at the Armory.

Going Vertical

I haven't incorporated any squirrel drawings with vertical forms until last weekend when I worked up a couple of vases. I can't wait to finish this form and test it out with some rangy wildflowers!

Beyond the Squirrel: Explorations of Imagery

For the record, I have not broken up with the squirrel. We are just seeing other people. He still occupies a lot of space inside my creative brain, but I am exploring other vehicles of storytelling. Since I have been in West Palm Beach at the Armory Art Center, I have been exploring themes of water and self image. The platter here was created on a hump mold with craft foam relief (for the outline and the waves). The surface is mishima and underglaze. The soft square of the platter refers to a comic window or a retro television screen. The little girl in the background wears the same colors as the older woman in the foreground. I want the viewer to question their relationship. Are they related? Are they the same person? Are we looking into the past or the future or both? The back of the platter (not pictured here) contains another image that contributes to the story.