Update Knot Woman I in Clay

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25 lbs of Clay - 12+ Inches and Counting!!

I finally reached my initial goal of pulling an entire bag of clay and reaching a height of 12 in or more. I started this piece with a new 25 lb bag of Montana Oak. This was the first time I used an entire bag of clay. Picture 1 is the shape I had after the first initial pulls to create most of the height.


After the final pull and shaping into the form I wanted I tried to measure the interior height. I only had a 12 in ruler, so its probably around 14 inches total on the inside. The outside measurement is taller as I left a generous thickness at the bottom to prepare for a larger foot ring when I trim it.

Picture 3 shows the piece at the end of Stage One. I'm looking forward to trimming it and getting started on the decorative carving. I'm thinking this will be a good piece to use my Knot Woman I design.
Being Montana Oak, this will shrink a lot in the drying and firing process but who cares. Stand by for ongoing updates from this project!

Inspired by Celtic Knot-work

I've been thinking of trying to incorporate some knot-work into some of my figure sketches to carve into some of my larger ceramic pieces. Since my goal for this quarter is to be able to pull 12 inches high or more I'll have plenty of room for some more detailed work. I've always been fascinated by the Celtic styles of illustration and was able to see a lot and learn a little more when we lived in England for 3 years.

Here is what I've come up with so far on the Knot Women idea.

Knot Woman I - Initial Sketch

My first attempt at creating a female figurative piece using Celtic Knots as inspiration. Stage one is one of many triangle knots commonly used. Stage Two shows where I added an additional twist to lengthen the figure and add a body section. As you can see, like a traditional Celtic Knot the line flows over and under without being able to see a beginning or an end.

Knot Woman II- Initial Sketch
I used a different approach here, choosing instead to add the limbs of the figure to a traditional knot, this was inspired by the animal figures that have been found in Celtic Knot art where a part of the body is the knot itself and the other areas are drawn out from it. I'm looking forward to furthering this design in a relief carving on a ceramic piece where I'll be able to add more depth and lose the "stenciled" look.

I can't wait to have a piece or two of pottery to start trying variations of these.