Wired Coil Pot
I got the idea for a coil pot when
reading about basket weaving. Basket weaving is something that I have always
thought as a craft and pushed it away because of its simplicity. After reading
The Makers and letting go of my arrogance, I began to look more into basket
weaving. It was Cordelia Everidge Ritchie's image of one of her baskets that
inspired my to do a basket, coil pot. I admire the beauty of its shape and the
texture of the natural limbs with the twist it had to form the artwork. I
find the different techniques interesting and wanted to adapt the technique to
a new material. Therefore, I got the idea of working with wire. The wire I have
is a copper wire that is coated with colored plastic. After I started the
coil process around a thick rope, I realized that the wire does hurt your hands
after awhile. I started using different colors as wrapped and interlaced the
wire. At first each color was random, but then they started to have a meaning.
I was working on this process and noticed the different feelings and
experiences with each color. Because I am a teacher, I began working on this
during any free time in my class as my students worked on their own projects. I
noticed that as I worked, I was reflecting on things and focused on my work in
a calm, focused state. Working on my pot was therapeutic. As I started to form
the bowl shape, I remember my frustrations in the time that it took to get
where I was. It happens that I was the color red wire. I was feeling a
frustration in how the pot was forming and away from my original plan, but I
kept moving forward. As I changed from color to color at the base of the
pot, I noticed my experience with the technique change; frustration to a
determination to a focused to a calming feeling and to even a joyous feeling. I
decided to tone it down towards the end of making the pot and change to a dark
gray. I wanted the bottom to be colorful and the top to be neutral colors to
bring the coil to a stop and conclude the process. As I worked, my fingertips
hurt worse and worse, but I found it a sacrifice and part of the project and
whole experience. I remembered reading about Ruth Asawa and seeing her work
with manipulating wire in The Makers. "The artist must discover the
uniqueness and integrity of the material" she explains about her process
(Ruth Asawa Lanier). I was motivated by this and to see how the wire works.
Therefore the ending of the coil pot ended in the color white for a final touch
to give it closure.
References:
http://www.ruthasawa.com/ © 2013 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc.
http://www.ruthasawa.com/ © 2013 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc.
Makers:
A History of American Studio Craft
Janet
Koplos and Bruce Metcalf
2010
University
of North Carolina Press, Chaple Hill
The pot looks great! upon reading how you used a different medium it took on more importance, a sort of voice to its origins. I could not tell that it was made of wire from the pictures, it looked as if it was yarn rapped over rope. I admire your determination in working with a new medium.
ReplyDeleteLove it! Totally cool piece!
ReplyDeleteNice work. How great that you worked on it in class so that your students understood how you too are an artist and how you can also become frustrated/excited/tired/conflicted/ then excited again. Love the juxtaposed color.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing great shape and interesting color.
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool. I am obsessed with this as well. I kind of used the same natural/color palette you did in my project too. This would look perfect in my house! Haha. Awesome job. It’s really unique too!
Wow - this is such fun to look at at, I have to admit I imagined tender fingers. But I so loved your description of frustration to joy in your creation of this coiled basket.
ReplyDelete