Collaborating for "Come Together"

This spring I had the awesome honor of collaborating with fellow figurative ceramic artist Tanna Bennett for "Come Together," an exhibition that opens on May 12 and will be on display at Winter Street Studios through August 19.

We each created three figures using the time-honored bust format, completing each work about 90 percent. Then, we exchanged our figures to let the other put on the finishing touches. Having worked by myself for so long, it was very eye-opening to see how another artist's imagination could take my figures and stories in subtle but meaningful new directions. I also greatly enjoyed creating some final touches and directions for Tanna's pieces. As a control freak, it was a little frightening to give up the final outcome of my pieces, but I am beyond thrilled at how every piece turned out.

For this figure, "Admission," Tanna added the decorative flourishes on her hairline and bust, and created the separate "Tickets" base. I love the fact that she created an interconnecting story between this piece and another sculpture, "Locked," who is the classic sad clown with a few twists.

For cohesiveness among my three pieces, I glazed them all in white, with just a few touches of color, and then I pit-fired them to create a very crackled, smoky appearance. 

Here's more information on "Come Together," which has many awesome works in various mediums from the many talented artists working in the Sawyer Yards arts complex.