Hyn Patty Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 (edited) Something a little different just finished up in my studio this week! 'Smitten' medallion (small plaque) , sculpted by Rebecca Turner, produced in earthenware ceramic by Marge Para, and custom glazed by myself as a show donation for Clinky Mania Live 2024 in Titusville, FL this May. All work done in the kiln using underglazes, then satin clear, followed by some overglazes to punch up the colors in the cat. This ceramic medallion measures 3.5 by 5 inches and is going to public auction to benefit the show. Photo displayed is MUCH larger than the actual piece! I don't do many donation pieces anymore as I am just too busy but this is to help support a good friend's last year of hosting this show series for equine ceramics. With all the heavy storms up here we've had in these mountains the past week it's been hard to fire either of my kilns with so many power outages and all the lightning. But I finally got it done! Edited May 10 by Hyn Patty Callie Beller Diesel, Babs, Magnolia Mud Research and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted May 11 Author Report Share Posted May 11 I guess I really need to be sculpting some large relief pieces myself to glaze at some point. My galleries would eat these up if they were larger, but they also take a lot of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 Curious--does "produced by" mean making from mold and firings, or what does that element of the 3-person collaborative entail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 (edited) 16 hours ago, LeeU said: Curious--does "produced by" mean making from mold and firings, or what does that element of the 3-person collaborative entail? Produced by means that Marge Para was paid to mold, cast, and fire the bisques for the person who commissioned the sculpture from Becky Turner, which was Melissa Meader who's hosting the Show. Every year she selects an artist to do a relief sculpture for her show, then usually Marge molds and produces the bisques. Marge glazes most of them in 'original finish' runs of set colors like teal, green, blue, purple, etc. Those are given away as the primary awards along with rosettes to the various champions that are awarded. Then a small number are sent to guest artists like myself to be custom glazed in realistic colors. These last pieces are then auctioned off to raise funds to benefit the show. It costs many thousands of dollars to host a show, pay for the rental space, food, set up and taking it down, insurance, etc. She also flies in her judges from all over the country so there are a lot of costs involved. There are many such shows I take part in. Some like Melissas are for ceramics only, others are for equine sculpture in general and may have various categories for ceramics, resins, plastics, metal casts, etc. I sometimes get flown out by show hosts to judge at such events, or like Breyerfest in Lexington, KY, there are /several/ major shows scheduled back to back each day one after another. One for ceramics only, one for resins, one is the National Championships. Each one of these events commission sculptors to produce original designs for their awards. So, because producing equine ceramics comprises so many skill sets, it's not at all unusual that we often do collaborations of a great many people. One might sculpt a piece, then pays for someone else to mold and produce it. Then the bisques are sent out to various ceramists who custom glaze them in many various colors, techniques and finishes. It's quite rare for someone to do what I do, to sculpt, mold, cast, and glaze pieces start to finish because it involves so many skill sets that can take quite literally a life time to master each one. Those who do all of the steps usually build and employ entire teams of people to work together to do so. Therefor I have /mostly/ done finish work on other sculptor's pieces over the past five decades but these days I'm focusing more on sculpting, molding and casting my own sculptures to finish and share out with other finishing artists. I've been doing my own sculptures since about 1984 but now I'm focusing on it more as my full time effort. If you felt up to sculpting pieces like this you can reach out to ANY kind of show - such as shows for cats, dogs, poultry, dolls, ceramics shows, whatever and see if they wanted to commission you to do the awards for the show. Usually plaques, medallions, or actual trophy pieces. Some do these awards in bronze but bronze is super pricy. So doing them in ceramics is a lower cost option - and it doesn't look bad on your resume to have shows you have produced awards for! Or if you aren't into sculpting, but you felt up to molding and producing the bisques and maybe glazing, you can team up with a sculptor to offer that service! Edited May 12 by Hyn Patty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 Nice work on the medallion, just out of curiosity what cone does your glaze fire at. I use some underglazes on my murals and fire at C5, I have to use four coats to keep the color from fading away at that temp. Denice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 On 5/11/2024 at 11:22 AM, Hyn Patty said: My galleries would eat these up if they were larger, but they also take a lot of time... If you think it sounds like fun, do them and charge accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted May 20 Author Report Share Posted May 20 (edited) On 5/13/2024 at 12:23 PM, Denice said: Nice work on the medallion, just out of curiosity what cone does your glaze fire at. I use some underglazes on my murals and fire at C5, I have to use four coats to keep the color from fading away at that temp. Denice Thank you, Denise! It really depends on what kind of underglaze you are using, what color and finish you are aiming for. My particular under glazes fire to cone 04 to 06. My clear satin at cone 06 with a ramped, slowed cool down. Over glazes are fired between cones 016 and cone 020, again depending on color and brand. If it is a color that may fire out I layer it on extra thickly and I stilt or shelve the piece up high so it fires right underneath the lid of my kiln which may be cracked open and peep holes out so there's plenty of oxidation (especially for reds and red browns). Some that lose color easily need higher or lower firing temps, depending on what is in them. Avoid mixing or layering cadmium colors with non cads, etc. Re: Callie - Oh, I charge accordingly or sell at auction. I get among the highest prices paid for my niche. Edited May 20 by Hyn Patty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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