I was only about 28 when I completed my first mural for a lobby in Chicago. I was asked by the architect, Carl Kaufman, who saw much smaller works in a gallery show, if I thought I could do it. Yes!, with plenty of confidence I said I would be excited and happy to undertake such a big project. I could never thank him enough for walking me through the proposals to submit my idea to his group.
From the beginning, he knew I had never done anything in that scale and we talked about the fact that to make this a truly lasting work, a professional tradesman would be needed for the installation. He had the person in mind and he came to see the work in my studio when I was about half way through the project. He gave me some great advice and we met up again at the building for the installation. It took the entire day.
I was sure I could do it and I had a mentor, visually throughout the city of Chicago, in the very accomplished and well known ceramic artist, Ruth Duckworth. Her murals were everywhere and were a big influence on me. I had invited her as a visiting artist to the college where I taught. Her influence is very obvious in that first wall mural. I had been producing horizontal format, porcelain sculptures for about 3 years already. I had started with wall pieces and then retreated from that orientation to produce purely sculptural works as both a discipline and a visual investigation. These are the works that Carl Kaufman saw in the gallery.
When he offered this commission to me, it was a perfect opportunity to explore this orientation again. It would be a few years after the mural in Chicago that I would pick it up again in ceramic murals that were mounted on plywood to be hung like paintings. On and off I did a few tile commissions and tile projects for myself, as well as a raku art piece that was created as an installation for a gallery in Denver.
I find the wall format liberating, exciting and fun. It removes the unique discipline that a three dimensional sculpture demands. I'm teaching wall pieces in January and will introduce this approach so students can enjoy this unique format and explore glazing in a way they may not have considered before.
Designing a wall piece in class we can start small with your own ideas. and experiment with relief forms, glazing and plans for wall attachment. I can teach you how to mount your piece within a frame or with free floating wall attachments so it can be moved and is not a permanent installation. Other formats can be benches or other cement furniture. It's really a fun exploration and as long as we plan in advance it is not a difficult technical achievement to create a fascinating new approach to your work.
