Adding the text

One of the most hated rules at the art school I attended was that first-year commercial art students had to hand letter all their assignments. It was thought that by doing this, students would gain a better appreciation for fonts. In actual practice all it seemed to do was make assignments take twice as long as they should have. This was the early 1980s, so granted the available technology (press-on letters!) wasn't much better.

At the time I was really grateful that I had grown up around hand-lettering. My grandfather was a sign painter, and my father learned from him. I remember watching my father letter mailboxes as a child. One of the tricks he used was to draw out his letters on a sheet of butcher paper. He could adjust his spacing and his lines all he wanted, and when the drawing was done he would use a run a pounce wheel around the outlines. He would then lay his pounced pattern over whatever he was going to letter, and dust it with colored chalk. This would leave a dotted outline of his lettering that he could use as a guideline for painting.

To transfer the text to my background, I would use a variation on this idea. Even the smallest pounce wheel wasn't going to work for such small letters, so I had to use a pin to manually punch the holes. My pattern (above) was a standard font ("Spiral Initials") that I had edited in a vector program. Even with the edited version, I knew I was going to adjust the letters somewhat for my design, but I decided not to spend the time doing that on the computer when it was likely I'd be making a lot of adjustments in the clay anyway. If there is one truth to sculpting letters in clay, it's that the process is not very precise!



All I really needed was a guideline for the general shape and spacing of the letters. Once I had that, I was pretty sure I could wing it with the clay. Here was what I had to work with after the pouncing. (I'll explain that blue guideline under the text in a future post, since it's going away for a little while.)




I waffled back and forth for a while, trying to decide if the letters would be cut into the background (making them dark) or raised up from it (making them lighter). Cutting letters in is a fair bit easier, but I thought the design worked better with them light so that meant cutting away the background. Here I've started on the "P I R". I've placed the horse on to background for a moment so I can check the depth against the horse. Once the piece is cast in earthenware and colored with art glaze, the depth of any particular area translates into darkness of color. I don't want to carve so deeply that the background is as dark as the outline around the horse.




In this picture, I am almost finished with the letters. To keep the edges of the letters crisp and the faces uniformly level, I freeze the clay and work while it is still cold. That's why the piece looks wet. (The water works as a pretty good lubricant for the sculpting tools.) I can only work for a little while before the clay becomes too soft and I have to return it to the freezer.

That's another good reason for working the background separate from the horse. From this point forward, I'll be alternating my work between the two. When whichever I am working on thaws, I put it back and retrieve the other from the freezer.

So tomorrow I'll move on to the horse. Obviously he needs some work - not to mention a throatlatch - before I can be completely sure how he will fit in with the background.

Starting the base

When I work on medallions, I like the keep the background and the horse separate until close to the end. That allows me to work on each piece without fear of damaging the other. It also lets me shift the horse around if it looks like I need to adjust the position.

For the base I rolled the plastelline out to an even thickness on a glazed white tile. The tile works as a base when later I need to make the rubber mold. I then trim it to the dimensions of the card. I am sculpting with the idea of casting in earthenware, so these dimensions are actually 6% larger than the desired 2.5" x 3.5", since that's how much the greenware will shrink during firing. The edges have a slight bevel to them, to make it easier to remove the castings. (I learned to do this the hard way with the Celtic Pony medallion.)



Once I have the background in place, I cut a recess for the horse. I do this because I want to minimize the relief on this piece. I want a more uniform thickness, and relatively low relief, so the piece is sturdy for handling - and so I have a better chance of predicting the shrinkage. I need it to shrink a uniform 6% if I am going to end up with exact trading card measurements.



My other reason for cutting this recess is that I want to get this kind of outlining effect. I was very taken with this medallion, which we saw at Brookgreen last month. (I regret that I did not get the title or artist.) When I saw it, I immediately thought about how effective this would be with art glazes, which tend to pool in the recesses of a piece. Since stylized outlining is a common device in Art Nouveau, it will tie in well with my theme.



Here I have set my horse on the background to check for fit. I won't refine the outline of the recess until much closer to the end, since the specific contours of the horse will probably change. But it let me adjust where I think the horse will sit, and what area of the shoulders I will need to add. (You can see I've begun to rough that in so I will know what needs to be added.)

My next task will be the second biggest design element - the text. There is a neat trick for that, which I'll cover in tomorrow's post.

The layout

When I first began thinking about making bas relief Trading Cards, I started a number of horse busts scaled to work in that format. I thought if I had some basic head and neck poses and perspectives, it would help me visualize how each might work. Since I didn't have much time if I wanted to have something for the holidays, I chose the one that was closest to done. The downside with that particular horse was that it was the most problematic in terms of design.



The profile of a horse's head and neck set into a rectangle leaves three areas of dead space; the area in front of the face, the area over the neck and the area under the jaw. Because a horizontal trading card is a fair bit longer than it is tall, I posed the horse's face as if he were stretching out to look at something ahead of him. That would fill as much of the card as possible and minimize the space along the top of the head and neck.

It did, however, leave quite a large area under the jaw. I might be able to artfully arrange the mane and forelock for other spaces, but something else would need to be done with the lower lefthand side. To me it seemed perfect for text, but then again I worked long enough in publications that it's actually hard for me to design without text! The problem is that even if you have passible hand lettering skills (which I do), sculpting text is really, really hard.

I had done it before. A few years ago, I sculpted these lettered tiles to give as Christmas gifts. After three simple letters, I was ready to call it a day! I knew if I was going to use text, I was going to have to come up with a pretty short word.



I spent quite a while trying to think of some kind of holiday word that might work with a horse. I've been down this path before with my Christmas items. Of course most of my colleagues would find it completely natural to have horse-themed Christmas decorations. Our houses are already filled with horse things, so it would fit right in. The same would probably be true of my friends at the barn where I keep Sprinkles.

But the "holy grail" for me has been something that would work for the other half of my world - for family and friends who know me as a classroom volunteer, or a fellow parishoner, or scouting Den Leader. I spent a fair bit of time trying once again to think of some kind of wording and background that might make a horse relevant to the holidays. Maybe a stylized winter scene? Some snowflakes? No matter what I tried, it all seemed forced. I just couldn't imagine that friends outside the equine community were going to do much more than look at their gift and think, "Oh, it's a ... horse." (Again.)

I finally decided that it just wasn't going to work, or at least not in the restrictive format of a Trading Card. I was trying to make one thing answer too many needs. While I longed to give my friends something made with my own hands, it would probably be kinder to all involved if I phoned Harry & David for everyone who wasn't horse crazy, and focused on creating something that spoke to the people who really would appreciate a shiny horse trinket.

When I did, the word I needed for the bottom left corner came almost immediately. INSPIRE. That's why we exchanged these gifts. At least, that's why I so look forward to them each year. Seeing what other people do, and showing them what I do, is the greatest inspiration I know. And that is the traditional purpose of an Artist Trading Card. And hey, only seven letters and two of them "i"s!

From that point, the design came together really easily. I chose an Art Nouveau font in part because that school of design is a common thread for many of us who work in ceramics. (Art Nouveau, Celtic music and tea.) It also would give me a lot of options for bordering the design.



This was the initial layout done with layers of tracing paper. I often design this way because it lets me move things around in layers. If you look carefully, I have a layer that is the traced outline of the horse. The horse itself was not fully roughed in at this point; his throatlatch and shoulder were still missing. Setting him on top of the design was helpful, though, to see how he worked with the text and the border.

I should point out that at this point I know I'm going to be making changes. Drawing designs on paper has its limitations because lines have a very different weight than a sculpted border. I am pretty sure at this point that the borders I have drawn may actually be depth shifts. So the band at the bottom with the text probably won't have a sculpted line on the bottom and on the top. It might instead be a raised band with the text inscribed in, while the box behind the horse's face might be lower.

I've also left off any mane treatment. I know I'll probably drop the swirled borders in the top left in favor of movement in the forelock, but for now it will work. Like a lot of the design, I'll know better what I need once I get my hands in the clay. All that really matters at this stage is that I have some idea where I am going with the layout. Translating it to the clay is where I'll resume with tomorrow's post.

The concept

"In The Golden Forest" by Bridget Voth, watercolor and guache (2007)

My first step when working on a new medallion is to come up with a concept. What I had in mind for this project was an idea that I had been playing with for some time.

I mentioned my weakness for collecting "chachkis" in a previous post. In actual practice, I collect all manner of handmade items. If there is a theme to my collecting, it would be that I am attracted to things that are small, colorful and focus on animals (particularly dogs and horses). Within those parameters I purchase items made from all sorts of materials and across a wide range of artistic styles. But if there is one category that I collect with particular enthusiasm, it's Artist Trading Cards.


"Chihuahua Puppy and Chameleon" by Aleksandar Alexov, watercolor and pencil (2009)

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are works of art the size of a baseball trading card (2.5" x 3.5"). They grew out of the mail art hobby and are really popular among collage artists like my mother. The idea was that the cards were a great way to share techniques with other artists. That's why the cards are usually traded, so that each artist can see first-hand the methods the other uses.

In more recent years, illustrators have begun making the cards, too, though for them the cards are often sold to collectors rather than traded. (Technially the cards are then called ACEOs - Artist Cards, Editions and Originals.) I collect illustrated cards, rather than collage and mail art cards. And for the most part, I only collect originals. That's because seeing the techniques up close is part of the attraction I have. I learn a lot be being able to look up close.


"Itchy Spot" by Maria Lisa Siebrand, marker and pencil (2006)

Since discovering Artist Cards, I have wished they were commonplace in the model horse community. I would love to be able to purchase (or trade for) the work of many of my colleagues. There really isn't a learning opportunity like being able to examine good work up close! All that would be needed was a bas relief that fit the proscribed dimensions.


"Buckskin Breeze" by Sheri Cook, mixed media (2007)

That is the thing about ATCs and ACEOs. Styles range across the spectrum and so does the media used. A favorite in my own collection is a pair of lambs done in fused glass. (Because it is mostly translucent I was at a loss for photographing it properly, so it's not included here.) I have another that is quilted. The only constant, non-negotiable item is the dimensions. The piece has to be 3.5" x 2.5".


"Emma Nouveau" by Addi Velasquez, mixed media (2009). Addi did this one as a gift during her recent visit.

It has been that very restriction that has been the roadblock for me. I love design work; that's part of why I like working with bas relief. But I'm not good at very structured formats. I like overlapping shapes and irregular outlines. If I couldn't fall back on hanging the nose off the edge or projecting the ears past the top, I wasn't sure how I was going to make the piece more than a "horse head in a box".

I had tried a number of times with no real success. This time, however, I decided that time was running too late to find a holiday design. I had an assortment of partially-sculpted horses that were designed to fit the ATC format, so I was going to make it work somehow! All I needed was some self-employment tough love. I told myself I was sitting in front of the clay until I figured something out.

Tomorrow I'll post what a wish for freedom (or at least some lunch) drove me to come up with!

More on the Chachki Show

I almost forgot to share this sneak peek. This is the award I am working on for the winner in Division II, "China Workmanship". It's a realistically glazed version of last year's Christmas gift. This one will be much like the version that was pictured in The Boat article, with a fancy beaded hanger. I still have several layers of dappling left to do before it is ready, but it should be done in time for the judging.

I did feel a bit funny about entering after I sponsored a prize, but I wanted the show to have a good turnout. I figure if one of my entries wins, I'll do a drawing from among all those who participate (entrants and judges) instead.


Christmas Gift for 2008

Chachkis

Sonja Johnson's "Bjorn" custom glazed by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig

I recently began taking pictures of my vast "chachki" collection so that I could participate in the medallion show being held on the Model Horse Blab website. Unfortunately the I will probably run out of time before the deadline (this Friday) to get them all photographed.

The ceramic community has a long tradition of creating these kinds of items, and I have avidly collected them for as long as I have been involved. Originally most came to me as show awards, since that was the primary purpose for them in the early years of hobby-based ceramic production. Tempting awards helped to fill the ceramic classes, which in turn help foster a vibrant ceramic showing community. Over time, however, more and more of my pieces came from my interactions with other ceramic artists. Many of us made these items so we would have something to send to friends and colleagues. Because of this, I tend to look at my collection as a tangible reminder of my connection to people in our community.

The other thing that makes these pieces special is that they are often used for testing ideas. This is true for the sculpting, the production and the finishing. It is so much easier to try out a new sculpting style, or glaze combination, on small bas relief. They are excellent pieces for experimentation!


Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig's largest "Rune Horse" art glazed by Lesli Kathman

So I have been eager to share them through this experimental show. I also thought it might be fun to share the design process that goes into something like this. The article on medallion design in the recent issue of The Boat has had me thinking about my own methods for this kind of project.

I will have to give a warning, though. The project I'll be using is my 2009 Christmas gift. I'm going to be posting some step-by-step pictures, so for those who exchange holiday trinkets with me, you have been warned! If being surprised by the finished piece is important, you might want to skip reading the blog for a few weeks.

From "gone to the dogs" to "sick as dogs"

Since my last post, my family was hit with the H1N1 virus. Needless to say, nothing much is getting done. I thought I might work on the horse color book, since it's something I can pick up and put down pretty easily. I hate being idle! At least, I hate being idle when I am well; now that I have the flu myself I am quite listless.

So the pretty little claybody from the previous post sits her unnamed and unphotographed. But I noticed that Sarah has put up some teasers on her blog from the article on painting conventions that I mentioned. This article dovetailed in with some of my own reflections on where I wanted to push my glazing, and it gave me new things to think about as I worked on the mare. I know I've plugged "The Boat" before, but truly there isn't another magazine out there like it. At almost 250 full-color pages, it's more like receiving an in-depth book on the nuts and bolts of creating realistic equine art. I cannot recommend it enough.

I'd like to do post more of my thoughts on painting conventions and the areas where I see glazing going (or at least, my glazing!), but I think I'll wait until I am not at such risk for fever-induced rambling!