Inglewood Arts Hub Residency: Month 3 Update

The first three months of my residency have flown by in a flash! Dedicated studio time has allowed two major bodies of work to finally take shape: a ceramic sculpture and a portrait mosaic. Immersing myself in these projects has not only brought them to life, but has also sparked exciting new directions for both modalities.

Sculpting Rikki

Touching back after 30 years to get my hands creating in clay again has been nothing short of life-giving. Kneading and moulding such a tactile medium is a wonderfully sensual experience, and the intense attention to detail keeps the mind completely focused.

The sculpture of my daughter, Rikki, proved to be an adventure in its own right. A major pivot came when I decided to fire the piece directly rather than making a plaster cast. Because it had been built around an armature, that meant "radical surgery"—cutting the sculpture in half to painstakingly remove all internal wires and the central support. Rikki (the sculpture, at least!) took great umbrage at this and began rebelling by falling apart around the base and shoulders, requiring some swift emergency procedures to restore her. Now safely back in one piece, the final details were executed, and the work has been successfully dried and fired.