Sculp sketch #2 | Clay's Character

Ordinary Forms of Continuity in Space 12/1/2020

Enjoying the feel of clay. The best part of the whole process is the process. The rhythmic thumping, pulling, twisting; finding forms buried below the surface. For me my sculptural sketches aren't so much a construction as much as they are an excavation. Peeling off loose forms in my mind and trying to throw them onto the plinth before they can be lost. I love this way of working. Moving quick, not burnishing the clay too much to embrace the materials you are working with. I keep each session to about 30 minutes. It is crucial to keep the session short and succinct. Like a paleontologist brushing away at a fossil one must work to release the skeleton from the soil but not work too hard as to brush away fragile details.


Clay, ugh, it's too easy to get lost in clay. Every material has a personality. Metamorphic rock's like marble, are stoic, strong and proud; you have to work against this institution of crystallized rock to find it's character. Slowly tearing at the fringes you will uncover the veins of minerals hidden deep underneath. Clay though, clay lacks the stoicism it is willing to adapt and change.

There exists that one person. The lone individual whom the whole room pays attention to, they don't look at you, they don't speak, but they hold their grace and presence so well that everyone is drawn to them. Their beauty is intimidating and respected from afar. You may dare to strike up a conversation, but only if you acknowledge they aren't going to make life easy for you. If you are able to understand these one sided power dynamics you may appreciate them for whom they truly are; for that is the temperament of marble.

That one character though. That one person whose got that energetic personality. So fluid and interchanging. Such a draw, they pull you in. That bombastic nature forever reacting to what's around them. They vibe off you, you vibe off them. A beauty, that can only be appreciated in-hand, a beauty that's only appreciated in the moment, a beauty that is more about connection than individualism; that is the temperament of clay.

It is not what is seen on the surface that counts, but what is not seen. This root is what matters... In the unseen root, the real power, the real strength of an object lies. 

-Shoji Hamada