Material Transformation of the Familiar
Theme: Return to Water (The Return to Myself)
The theme “Return to Water” is very relevent in my life. I Have protested many a time for our sacred mother. Water is Life!
In 2017 I had a horrific workplace incident that created PTSD and dramatically changed my world. I went from outgoing, to staying in my house and not leaving for over a year. I am a Pisces and the call to water helped me rehabilitate and get my life back. Every month I swam naked in the Sacred Waters of the Tsolum River with some girlfriends. Known as “The Goddess Swim” it was the event of our month! PTSD and Childhood Trauma were explored and healed over 3 years. Covid removed people from the population, and Karen Day emerged slowly.
Now I am here at North Island College making art to glorify Water and The Return to Myself. It is a lifelong journey and the Waters of the Mother love and support me.
Be in the flow, Be in the now, Be…
We were asked to spend some time observing water directly. I visited the ocean, river, and got wet in the rain. Every day I take 2 baths and even recorded thought about them.
I had zero desire to work in the metal shop. I decided to use clay as my vehicle instead. I imagined a clay torso in a bowl. On its neck rests another bowl that is filled with tidal treasures. a water pump moves water up through the centre to drip down onto the body. That was my vision to start.
This build will be the largest clay build to date. I needed to create an armature to hold the basic shape. As this will be fired at a high temperature no metal can be used inside to hold the internal shape. I scrunched up paper and used green tape to make the torso and neck.
I rolled a large slab of clay and draped it over the front and back. the paper helped hold the basic shape. Another slab of clay rolled around the neck, and I added some on top of the shoulders to fill in that area as well.
Once the form was covered in clay I let it sit over night to firm up a bit. I made two pinch bowls and attached them onto the chest area. Smooth down and blended, they became the bosom. I imagine body physiology and start shaping things.
Once I had the form to how I liked it, I switched to a white clay body and made barnacles that I attached front and back. I wanted it to look like it had been in the sea for awhile. The paper was removed from the inside as the structure was stiff enough to support itself.
The torso then went into the kiln to be fired. She came out with a crack in the front due to the navel undermining the integrity of the structure. Interesting… I was very happy to see how this clay reacted in the oxidation cone 9 kiln fire. The clay body looks so much like rusted iron! Even though I didn’t use metal, my piece looked like metal.
Next came the building of the bottom bowl. I spent 4 hours in the studio one night and made a beautiful bowl. Unfortunately it dried too quick and formed a crack. All I can do is build another one and wait to see if it survives the kiln. I also built a clay box to house the water pump device.
Now I wait to see what will be ready Monday afternoon as this is due Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile… A visit to the beach was on order to play with what I had.
In the end it did not become a water feature. I was still happy with what I had accomplished. I am looking forward to seeing it displayed in the upcoming Art Show at NIC.
