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Creative futures file

1. The Image of Christ from Hinton St. Mary

In the beginning of the first unit, I looked very closely at objects that were on display in museums. One of the first objects I was interested in was The Image of Christ from the Hinton St Mary Mosaic. In relation to my unit 1 piece, I was interested to see how religion used images to portray Christ and Christianity. This piece is a part of a bigger mosaic floor made of ceramic, dated early 4th century

2. Michael Anderson

Continuing my Unit 1 research, I fell upon a specific baptismal font created by Michael Andersen. This shape appeared in my research very often and I was inspired to create a similar shape for the unit 1 project.

I became interested in this specific design created by Andersen since it included pattern and images in such a small shape. It became a key factor to the creation of my own project.

3. Miniature Baptismal Fonts by Julian Wheeler

One of the most informational references that I used in unit 1 was this book by Julian Wheeler. Although this reference isn’t an artist, it informed a big part of my project on what baptismal fonts were and what miniature fonts were used for. I discovered that they had a purpose to the families that did not have the means to have a traditional baptism for their child, and it influenced the direction that I took for my own 15cm baptismal font by also including examples of different fonts in existence

4. DK Studios

For Unit 2, I wanted to focus on marbling through slipware and ran upon a few examples that specifically demonstrated slipware work on plates. DK studios demonstrated a usage of multiple colors and great definition in their marbling, especially on plates. I saw this studio’s work as an example of how I wanted to see my own marbling, but these examples were created on flat surfaces which was something that I was not interested in.

5. Angela George Antiques

Another example of work that I found for unit 2 came from this studio. Although these pieces of work aren’t an example of marbling, it gave me an idea of the further experimentation I could reach and how I could gradually move into agateware from marbling like these examples. This was also an example on cup forms which is the direction that I intended to take for unit 2 part 2 after learning how to make cup molds and thrown cup forms

6. Mark Campbell Ceramics

Mark Campbell Ceramic is another example of slipware that I found, especially since there are different patterns in these works. These are also examples I found on bowls and more open faced shapes that I thought would be easier to throw on the wheel in comparison to plates. This reference in specific was very useful to me since it gave me an idea of expanding my usage of color and technique/ application methods to get different patterns like the pieces here.

7. The Matsaba by Christo

For unit 3, I became interested in responding to the Hyde Park as a space for my monument. I looked at what sculptures had already existed in Hyde Park and in the Serpentine and this particular piece came up in a lot of my investigation as one of the recent sculptures in the Serpentine. This work was specifically interesting to me scale wise and gave me an idea of the potential I had to create a piece in this park for the visitors to see.

8. The Arch by Henry Moore

Henry Moore’s sculptures have always been an interest to me, so when finding out he’s had work installed in the Hyde Park, I wanted to learn more about this piece. This piece gave me ideas as to how a monument could blend into its occupied space while also standing out enough that it doesn’t ruin said space. Even the way the light reflected on the sculpture and how it created shadow is something I wanted to recreate.

9. Fountain of Life by Yoshimoto Nara

Nara’s Fountain of Life became one of the biggest references and inspirations that I used for unit 3. The meaning of life connected to a fountain was something that I could imagine being installed into a park. I loved how the heads stacked over each other and even in different directions and angles, and I wanted to replicate that composition for my own piece.

10. Serenity by Simon Gudgeon

Serenity is one if the references that I found when I visited my site in person. It was one of the monuments that already exist in Hyde Park permanently. This reference gave me a clear idea of what kind of monuments existed in a park as big and popular as Hyde Park, especially with a lot of pedestrians that walk by this statue constantly.

Sketchbook evidence unit 3

Unit 3 Tree of Life sketches

Before beginning to sketch out my own version of a tree of life, I first had to investigate more about the craft and write down things that would help me understand it’s traditional structure, history, and what makes a tree of life authentic

The beginning of my Tree of Life

After understanding the wide variety of tree of lifes and the many possible routes that I could take to make my own tree of life, I chose the best structure that suited my practice, my skills, and the story that I wanted to convey within my own piece.

In my own version, I chose a structure that allowed for the tree branches to show through the ornaments that I would later add. I chose to create a main figure in the middle of the tree to represent myself as part of the tree and the roots, and I chose objects that had personal significance to my identity as Mexican American

Unit 3 Plate design

As part of the unit, the class would be required to make a print design for a plate. I knew that I wanted to tie both projects in unit 3 together and chose to incorporate more Mexican inspired designs into my work.

For the design, I drew inspiration from Talavera pottery traditionally from Puebla, Mexico, a state close to my father’s hometown and a place I used to regularly visit throughout my childhood. This artwork can sometimes look like Majolica and Azulejo tile design from Spain because of some similarities they have

til designs in different shades of blue — Spanish Majolica

In comparison to Majolica and Azulejo designs, Talavera designs can be more intricate, colorful, and take up more space of the surface with its design. Talavera designs can also range from being extremely colorful and ornate to being simple and one colored design similar to Spanish design

Sketching out designs

printed pictures of Talavera designs and sketches

For the purpose of designing a print for a plate, I chose to stick to more simple Talavera designs like the ones I printed out on my sketchbook.

Most Majolica and Azulejo designs work in a square-like structure for tiles, but I focused on Talavera designs meant for bowls and plates, designs in circular structures that would work well for my plate

Final plate designs

After sketching out my ideas and understanding the style of Talavera designs, I chose to stick with a design with slight variations in each of them.

After looking back at more colorful Talavera designs, I redesigned my final concepts and decided to make them encompass the surface like traditional Talavera does

These are all excerpts of my sketchbook and how sketching, drawing, designing, and laying out my work helped my thinking process that finalized my unit projects for unit 3 and influenced my object and thinking process for unit 4

Arboles de Vida

Background

Trees of life are traditionally from central Mexico, specifically from Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, and Metepec. The examples above, like many other, were originally meant to depict the biblical story of Adam and Eve to teach the indigenous people in the early colonial period of Catholicism. Now, they’ve become a fusion of Spanish and Indigenous techniques and design.

Traditional Pieces

Many trees of life can be traced back to 1800-1300 B.C., but most recent depictions have now demonstrated themes of death, spring, duality of life and death, natural world and man, and represent abundance, fertility, story telling, and growth.

The most traditional trees of life are made with terracotta clay, decorated with religious images of God towards the top of the sculpture and other relating images. Many of these pieces depict flowers, birds, leaves, fruit, figurines, miniature ceramic pieces, and more. The more intricate and decorative they become, the longer they can take to produce. Typical pieces are between 26 to 60cm long, and can range from 2 weeks to three years to create.

The Soteno Family and Tiburcio Soteno

One of the most prominent families known for their trees of life in Metepec is the Soteno Family. Many generations have learned the craft of creating extremely decorative and intricate trees of life, but one of the most notable family member is Tiburcio Soteno (1952-2022), second generation artisan who has won many awards and has had his artwork in collections worldwide. Like his uncle, Oscar Soteno (b. 1970) was also known for his trees of life that display an array of stories with his unique style.

man in a ceramic workshop — Tiburcio Soteno working on a tree of life in his workshop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soteno_family#References

Alfonso Castillo Orta (1944-2009)

Castillo Orta was a Mexican potter from Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla whose trees of life became internationally known and received many awards for. As a fourth generation potter, he learned the craft through the past generations and experimented with creating more decorative pieces and creating his own style. He became the center of popular art in Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, what is known to be one of the pottery centers of Mexico.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Castillo_Orta

Personal Connection

My family is from Mexico, my dad from Tlaxcala, and my mom from Hidalgo. Both states are close to central Mexico, where Puebla and Metepec are not very far from. Going to Mexico many times during my childhood made me feel very connected to my ethnicity and my roots. Mexican pottery has always been such a rich part of the country and its culture, and while growing up I was always surrounded by the art. Now being able to create art similar to traditional Mexican pottery and work with similar clay, I feel more connected than ever before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Life_(Mexican_pottery)

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