Big

Lately I've been fascinated by the idea of "Big." Not Carrie's long time love or Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins jumping on a giant indoor trampoline (although trampolines are another big fascination of mine right now, yet altogether tangental).
What's spinning on repeat in my head is the idea of continually increasing the size of the sculptures I'm creating. Repetition and size.
Last year I began a series called The Grasshopper and the Ant which was featured in the show Organic Stories at Clayworks Gallery. Quickly after carving the first one I knew I wanted to repeat the form and scale larger. The original stands 8.5in x 3.25in without the stoneware base. The second one grew to 11in x 4.5in. They sit on the dresser behind my desk and lately the calling to go bigger has been strong. Finally, I started carving a new piece last night, larger still. This one is currently around 19in x 6.5in; there will be some shrinkage when it's fired. It was really nice to start working on it, like running into an old friend and getting some to catch up.
Another series I've been growing in size is my GeoMetria icosahedrons. The last few have been about 6.5in across. This new one will be around 8-9in in diameter. For this piece the size creates a new structural challenge as well as playing with the right clay body and moisture content in the clay - too wet, it can't bear the weight, too dry and I loose flexibility and start to experience cracking. There are other ways to build this piece, but I right now I want to keep the integrity of the inspiration - from my mother's (and grandmother's) paper hangings built from folded circles.

image above: left, 2 current works in process in the studio; right, other pieces post-fire in these two series.