In THE HAND OF MAN, part of my “Expressive Hands” series, the hand is holding the Earth which is not attached and can be dropped if one is not careful, perhaps not unlike reality. Hand built and raku fired paper clay with an unglazed paper clay “Earth”. 5” x 3 ½” x 4”
HOLDING ONTO HOPE, like AN OLD MAN’S PRAYER, is part of my “Expressive Hands” series. In this piece the hand is neither open nor closed. What it is holding onto is so ephemeral it cannot be seen, yet life requires that it must be held. Hand built and raku fired paper clay. 5” x 3 ¾” x 4”
AN OLD MAN’S PRAYER is part of a new series “Expressive Hands” which I plan to work on this Fall. In this piece the fingers are bent with time and wear. Expectations have been colored by the disappointments and trials of life but there is hope – perhaps this time. Hand built and raku fired paper clay. 5” x 5” x 3 ½”
SANTA MUERTE #5, the fifth, and probably last, piece in the Santa Muerte: Patron Saint of Wall Builders series is my comment on the perceived relation of a religious cult in Mexico to the idea of building a “great” wall on the border. Hand built of paper clay, glazed and fired to Cone 05, w/colored resin, lacquer, and a plastic vulture (it seemed appropriate) added.
COLLABORATING WITH POLISTES is all about integrating different forms of paper into a sculptural piece. The top portion is a paper wasp nest (genus Polistes) which I found in a Koosa Dogwood tree when the leaves came down last October. The wasps made the paper by mixing plant material and saliva. The base portion is hand built and Raku fired paper clay. I made the paper clay by mixing rehydrated scrap clay and recycled newspapers. Both the wasps and I shaped our portions to meet our particular needs. No wasps were harmed in the making of COLLABORATING WITH POLISTES. 30” x 18” x 10”
I am very pleased to announce that juror Susan Irish has invited my paper collages, ON SUBWAY WALLS and …AND TENEMENT HALLS into the Tribute Show at the Fabulon Art Center in Charleston, South Carolina. The Tribute Show, which is about the relationship between music and the visual arts and particularly how music is expressed by visual artists, will run from October 6, 2017 until December 6, 2017 with a reception on October 21st from 5 until 8 PM. The Fabulon Art Center is located at 1017 Wappoo Road, Charleston, SC 29407.
SANDY HOOK: HOPES, DREAMS AND THE NRA is a paper collage which, in a very simple way, seeks to express my continuing sorrow and outrage over the Sandy Hook massacre. Time has not dulled either. The materials and tools used in creating this piece consisted of the type of “glitter” paper that could be found in an elementary school art program, a paper punch and white “school” glue. Matted and framed to 13” x 19”.
MASTER WITH ACOLYTES is part of my summer exploration of the use of “Hooded Figures”. MASTER WITH ACOLYTES is a small ensemble which uses the same glaze on the individual figures to express what is common and unites them and the differences in scale to divide them and set the relationship between them. Hand built and raku fired paper clay. 11’ x 9” x 6”
THE WORRIED MAN, another individual piece in my “Hooded Figures” series, gets its title from the expression on its face and from a line (“It takes a worried man…”) in a Kingston Trio song that happened to be playing when I was finishing it. Just seemed appropriate. Hand built and raku fired paper clay. 7” x 3” 2 ½”.
Tribute Poster w_ names
John Fansmith 