Michael and Carter both asked about my thoughts as I'm working on the current batch of pots. Here's Part 1 of some answers to their questions.I wish I could say that I was thinking about those birds migrating and how they moved across the pot (as Michael noticed) and how I included a bit of landscape or imagery or whatever as I thought about their long flight. Ha. Not the case at all. At this point I'm thinking, "how can I not screw this up!"
I am bringing to the pot various little bits and pieces of imagery that I have collected over the past couple years. The animals have been here since the beginning, we do live out in the county and are surrounded by birds, cows, the occasional stray goat etc. I really wanted to put animals on pots because I love Ron Meyers' pots. He's one of the reasons I tried earthenware. But as I drew the animals they became mine and I did start looking at the squirrels and crows and cows around me.
Same with the plant imagery. We have a big oak on our fence line that I love to look at. Sarah also has a weird house plant that I like. But the first deco. with leaves and trees was inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch slipware. And English slipware and Italian majolica.
So it seems that I look at pots first, see what others have done, and then sort of work backwards to what may have inspired them. Then I go out and see what's around that is similar and I draw inspiration from that. Does that make sense? Ha. It's a funny way to go around one's elbow isn't it. I'm also looking now at textiles and origami paper, and wood block prints for inspiration of imagery.
I do lots of drawing with a pen in my sketch book everyday. Then I take all that stuff and try to combine it on the pots in a way that works. I'll write more about that in Part 2 and try to answer how I respond to the drawings in the moment and what the pots and the tool I'm using play into the process.