Porcelain Houses (x-posted from Clay)

[it'sALLart]

Here are some house sculptures I created for a show back in September which also featured paintings of houses. These are all about 4 to 7 inches at their largest point. I didn't want these to be "miniatures" per se, just wanting them to be about structure and design, but some got fairly detailed. These are all slab built, not from molds, no two alike. After bisque firing, then hand painted and varnished rather than glaze/fired. Amazingly, nobody can tell the difference. One nice thing was to be able to dip the pieces completely to have insides be the same color in some instances. I think it helped on some pieces. (first two are this style) There were 24 in all, these are the ones I liked best.

C&C welcome...


Copper Saltbox House



Red Cape Cod



Stone Cottage


Brick Cottage


Queen Anne Fixer-upper


Post-Modern House

Mid-century Modern


Richardsonian Romanesque

[sculpturedolls]

I like the variety, each one being a home and unique. Nice to see different roof styles too from scalloped shaped and v shaped etc. Will you sometime do a painted lady with scrollwork (Victorian)?

[ArtsyLynda]

Cool! They look like they were fun to build! I made a slab built castle when I was still doing water-based clay (early '90s) and made the tops of the turrets on a wheel. It was fun to make.

Yours are about the right size to be bird houses or bird feeders. I made the castle based on some castles, large-mouth fish and other ceramic bird feeders I saw made by a pottery on Cape Cod. Their castles were much more elegant than mine, but it was fun to make one of my own.

Thanks for sharing!

[it'sALLart]

Thanks for the nice comments... yes, they were fun to build. No, I probably would not do something with that much detailed scroll work, not enough stability in the clay for it, especially when still greenware.

Originally Posted by ArtsyLynda

Yours are about the right size to be bird houses or bird feeders.

No, a little smaller than that, actually. (almost actual size here) But these are sculpture only, just for looking at. They're not meant for any other use. However, I see how that could be a comparison that a few people would drift to.

It's sort of funny... I knew from the outset that there would be comparisons to incense burners, bird feeders, bird houses, candle holders, Kincaide village pieces, etc... if for no other reason than there's so much of that stuff already out there.

Even though at first it was tempting to give them a utilitarian "purpose", I made them to be art objects only. For me, it's more about structure and the architectural shapes in these examples. I did do a few that were more whimsical in nature, but after they were all done, those tended to be my least favorite.

[sculpturedolls]

Bird houses and kincade village works are crafty, yours are art pieces on a higher level. They don't need any utilitarian purpose. I like to look at them and think of how you made them, got the various textures and finishes. Do you have a favorite?

[it'sALLart]

Nice to see you "get it", Tamara!

Favorites are difficult, I probably vacillate between the post modern and this one (which I had forgot to load):


Italian Villa

Most of the process is normal slab making, but rolled 1/4 inch instead of the usual 1/2 inch. The refinement is mostly done in the greenware stage, lots of sanding and scribing in. I had not worked in clay for about 22 years, so it was a very exciting time for me, but nerve-wracking too, when traveling back and forth to the kiln and hoping that nothing would explode. Nothing did and I was told that usually explosions happen during 2nd firing. I was a bit disappointed that they warped a little during firing, but I guess that's normal for slab work. All my true lines were mostly gone! Oh well.

The finish is acrylic paint, I did not have time for glazing, the show was only a week away. I think the total immersion ones look best.

I tried to keep them simple, to match the paintings I had already created. When they were all white, I really didn't want to do anything to them and I may do another series which stay white and only have a satin finish as they really would feel more like Art than these. I really wrestled with the idea of colors but the gallery owner convinced me to add color for better sales. Not sure if that was smart or not but it is interesting to see a bright red or copper metallic house sitting there.

cheers!

[GAZAART]

Nice And Wow

[sculpturedolls]

The flat roof gives it the modern look. Nice.

I've never heard of the second firing having explosions. My answer would be it's only, only, in the first firing that explosions occur, when the clay is letting of it's gases and moisture is exiting the piece.

You probably are an expert by now on warping but just to say it, if you roll in two directions (right to left, top to bottom), roll the slabs on a flat surface and keep the slabs flat until the stiffen, this will help the "memory" of the clay to remain straight and flat.

Once the clay has a bend in it, even if you bend it back, it'll dry/shrink crooked or it will shrink crooked in firing. I say this for the benefit of anyone reading as I know you know all this.

Is it really porcelain clay you are using? What temp are you firing to? I think I may have asked this before but I forgot what the answer was.

I know what you mean about wanting these to have the art feel and how painting them can give the craft feel. I have the same issue with painting, or glazing my sculpts. Light washes of paint that allow the clay to be seen and felt help with the art feel. Completely covering the clay gives a more low end ceramic feel (my opinion) unless part of the sculpt is left raw, bare clay (like you have done with painting only the roofs on some of these).

What about trying a clay that has some specks in it to give an earthy feel, perhaps experimenting with a tan clay or red clay? And perhaps letting some of the houses look like quick sketches where your sculpting tools can be seen some, a raw feel? Just fun things to play around with to give an art feel as well.

[AllisonR]

These are fab. I bet it was impressive, seeing them all together. I agree the single-colored ones are more powerful. The other ones are "cuter". Sorry. The variety of houses is just fantastic. Did you study all the architecture styles, or google 'most popular housing styles of XYZ country', or what? Just curious.

[it'sALLart]

GAZAART: Thanks!

SculptureDolls: Yes, it's porcelain. Yes, the brown/red clays with frit would be would be interesting. Firing at cone 3, I believe, not that hot. I need to get back into this, I have several ideas, but currently so busy with my other business, I had to take a break from fine art (which isn't making much money anyway!).

Allison: Thanks, I have studied architecture on my own for a while now, have several books on it and also got a lot of ideas from photos online of various house designs. I really love architecture and looking at structures, probably should have gone to school for that instead of the minimal amount I went to it for art, bet it pays more!

[lapiedadmex]

I really like your Red Cape Cod and Italian Villa,
the Italian Villa also reminded me a bit of those white and blue houses in Greece. I have always loved how those look grouped together.
great work

[it'sALLart]

Thanks for your compliment and checking these out, lapiedadmex, I'm a big fan of those blue Greecian houses too, almost did a series of paintings on them (and still may some day.)