Final Project: Table Center Piece

 Table Center Piece

I was inspired for my work initially by the words of William Morris and his motto “Art into Life, and that the functional pieces we use on a daily basis should have an artistic quality to them”. The piece would have to serve both as functional and art.  I would be the maker and the designer, thereby placing a humanistic approach to my work. I wanted to experiment with the mixed medium of clay and wood. The clay portion of my piece Laura Anderson inspired me with her philosophy of hand built earthenware made from simple, functional forms inspired by nature. The wood portion of the piece was inspired by Rude Osolnik. He was different in his approach to wood making in that he would let the natural characteristics of the wood and its imperfections become part of the design. I decided to make a table center piece bearing in mind the philosophies of these 3 individuals.

The size, design, and the room were all important aspects of the design, function, and aesthetic. My table is 60 inches in diameter, oak with a natural finish, so the piece would need to have a scale that would fit it visually and physically.  The room has cut lime stone rock, natural terrazzo flooring, and lots of windows where one can view the outside gardens.  Therefore my work would need to be nature inspired; I incorporated lots of leaves into the design, with a soft and curvilinear form to emulate nature. The colors are greens, with hints of blues, and natural wood colors.  The clay platter is long to match the table, and shallow, so as to see over it when seated. It has little ornamentation, and is simple and organic in its design. It is made from clay, and hand built. It has leaves and vines pressed into the top of the platter only. I used a mat green glaze, with chunks of blue that ran and swirled throughout the clay. I designed the base to match in a way that would complement the clay. Unfortunately the design was altered by my cousin inadvertently in the cutting stage, for the wood is very had and difficult to cut. Fortunately it did not take away too much of the overall aesthetic and design. The base is made of black walnut from a fallen tree in my yard. I could have made a base out of clay, but wanted to experiment with mixed media and incorporate. The medium not only had to be organic in nature but was personal to me as well.  I feel a sense of pain when any of my trees die, and this is a new way in which to give them life after death, bringing me great joy and a sense of pride at the same time; a vessel of memories. In the overall design I wanted to maintain some of the natural imperfections of the wood, such as holes made by insects, and areas that had rotted away. The wood has a soft color palate of browns and reds, complementing the green of the pottery. I decided to leave the wood in an unstained, natural state, with no varnish, it was only buffed with was to bring out the colors and give it a soft glow.    I was so inspired by this piece that I have started saving pieces of limbs and cut portions of the black walnut trees from my yard, with unusual patterns and shapes, to use in combination with future clay projects. Two important lessons that I learned from this project is one, you must have the right tools, and two that the two pieces need to be designed together assuring a perfect fit upon completion.