The exhibition went up without a hitch. Thank you to all of you who came out to celebrate the opening with me! If you couldn’t make the opening you can stop by and see the works at 41 E. Butler Ave in Ambler until May 19.
Ceramics
Moses Warms His Hands
Moses Warms His Hands, a mixed media sculpture, is the third piece of the WHOLLY MOSES! set. Consisting of hand-built, raku-fired ceramics and a polychromatic deadwood pruning. It was inspired by Exodus 3:3, the time in the narrative when Moses is investigating the burning bush but before the Lord has spoken to him.
Moses Brings Down the Law
Moses Brings Down The Law is a hand-built, raku-fired sculpture which is the second piece in the WHOLLY MOSES! set. Inspired by Exodus 19:25, 20:1-17. 6.5” x 3” x 5”
Moses Parts the Sea: Epilogue
Moses Parts the Sea: Epilogue is a mixed media sculpture which takes its inspiration from Exodus 14:21-29. Consisting of hand-built, raku-fired ceramics, plastic, and wood, it is one of three pieces in the lighthearted and perhaps slightly irreverent WHOLLY MOSES! set. 6” x 6” x 9”
The Last Druid
The inspiration for The Last Druid was the 1774 painting The Bard by Thomas Jones, which is in Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales) but which I was fortunate to see while it was on exhibition at the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh. The Welsh believed the Bards to be descendants of the Celtic druids. As in The Bard, I have posed a solitary figure at the edge of a jagged cliff. My depiction in The Last Druid is cloaked in a mantle of greenery, tying him to his natural world. Hand built unglazed ceramic, set on gneiss. No adhesive is used.
10” x 6” x 10”
But the Gods Did Not Answer
Amidst a scene of destruction and devastation a final desperate plea has been made. “But the Gods Did not Answer” attempts to capture the despair, anger, and sense of betrayal that arise when there is no response. This is a mixed media sculpture utilizing raku-fired hand-built ceramics, found objects and rocks/pebbles. 23” x 11’ x 14”
Elijah and the Broom Tree
Elijah and the Broom Tree, inspired by 1 Kings 19:4-8 is a polychromatic hand built/found object mixed media sculpture composed of raku fired paper clay with multiple glazes set on Wissahickon schist and with a deadwood pruning of American dogwood. No adhesive is used. (20.5” H x 18” W x12.5” D)
Requiem for a Muse
The nine Muses of Greek mythology have long been a source of fascination and, perhaps appropriately, inspiration for me. “Requiem For a Muse” is an assemblage sculpture consisting of nine Raku fired ceramic pieces which draws on both the classic Greek Chorus and the Requiem Choir of western culture to pose the question: “Which Muse, if any, is being mourned?” I can give no guidance. The answer depends upon the viewer. $450.
And All The King’s Men
And All The King‘s Men is an example of what can happen when you go into the ceramic’s studio after having watched an episode of Game of Thrones. It is a 9″ x 8″ x 6 1/2″ Raku fired ceramic sculpture that utilizes three different glazes to help emphasize the faces’ helmets, and coats of mail of the King‘s Men. In many ways it is similar to, but it is not a part of, a series of individual medieval themed pieces that I’m working on. $400.
Opprobrium on display at JAM
Here is Opprobrium on display at the JAM Gallery. The opening night was fun, even if the bad weather kept some people away. There is a wide range of art and artists on display so be sure to come out and support their (and my) work. Thanks!
John Fansmith 