Aaron Murray

New works finished

2012-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Here are the sculptures I recently finished. They were built by coiling and pinching techniques made from low-fire earthenware clay. I decorated them with under glazes and stains. Pegasusunicorn giraffe detail.
Pegasusunicorn giraffe or pegiracorn.
Hippocats

2012-01-27T01:42:00.001-08:00

Today in Kirkland I taught two great classes. This is not to brag. In fact , the only reason the classes were so much fun was because of the people in them.

At 4 till 6:30 PM is my Wheel World class. In this class we just explore clay. The ages generally range from 9 to 16. Of course, the focus is the wheel, but overall I am most intrigued by getting my students to understand the nature of clay as a way to learn about themselves and what they really want to know about this world. This might sound really wild --and it is! That is because a piece of clay has infinite possibilities and if we are able to strive for certain possibilities within the clay then we may use that as a metaphor for shaping our own lives. Lives with infinite possibilities shaped by the mind that controls the hands. So today's class was great. A pair of best friends returned to make Fairy houses and mushroom pads, 3 girls learned how to center their first pots on their own , and a boy of 10 learned the difficulty of working on the wheel and eventually found the sculptural tools, particularly the slab roller , a little more satisfying.

From 7 to 10 is my clay 101 class. It is an adult class, though in this session I have 5 people who are under 20. So today we explored the sculptural techniques of pinching and coiling. For the pinch projects I started off with a simple pinch pot, and talked about the importance of a foot. I added textures using various fabrics and stamps. I put on a handle and since I accidentallypoked a hole in the bottom of my cup, I showed them all how to repair a tear by patching the bottom. Then I carved my initials in the bottom and set it aside. From there I talked about all the possibilities of hollow pinch pots. Especially, how easy it is to make an owl or a hollow head shape for a person or animal. After that I talked about the two part- pinch pot and I put them together to make a whale. We explored pinch pots a little more and then moved on to coils. We used the SUPERDUPERCLAYEXTRUDER to make coils and then I showed them how they could make coil pots. I made a big clay skull that kind of looks like a mummy as an example, just for fun.

During the class we talked about all kinds of things. We talked about science, water, history, supernatural beings, and more. We did not talk politics. About half of the students were returning, and a few were new. Some were exploring clay for the first time. It was really fun for me to share my knowledge of clay with them with the hopes that they will continue to work in this medium and be inspired to create whatever their heart desires. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures....maybe next time around.

The class was a great mix --like clay. We'll see what happens....

sculpture supplies from the sky....

2012-01-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

This was the last large owl I did. I used wax carving tools for detailed lines
My front yard looks like a sculpture garden....and so does the back.
I used found objects to accent the eyes and beaks.
This is a nest.....I rolled snowballs in a spiral to get this effect.
This is my self portrait. On the opposite shoulder sits a small owl. My portrait uses river stones as eyes. I made these sculptures in my yard in South Seattle. Snow is such a direct sculpture medium, you don't even have to fire it!! Of course it is only temporary, but everything is......in time.

Larger sculptures coming soon

2012-01-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about teaching is that I often get some time off in between classes to make more art. In the last couple of weeks I have made several new sculptures of larger proportion that I hope to show soon. I made two very large pegasusunicorngiraffes that I plan on putting at SEATAC airport during the NCECA conference. I also made another large unicorn skull and a giant hippopotamus with cats all over it. I call the the hippo sculpture Hippocats as a pun on hypocrites.....and also since hippos usually have catbirds on their backs. I just fired them yesterday and so far-- so good.

I also recently inherited several large blocks of stone, some slabs of old growth walnut wood, and a few boxes of clay. These are great sculpture materials that I will be using this summer to carve and sculpt. Special thanks to Richard James who just moved to China after clearing out his sculpture studio space in West Seattle.

Picture coming soon.....

10,000 owls

2011-12-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about art right now I have decided to make 10,000 owls. It will take me all year. I am also going to make a bunch of other stuff of course.....and NCECA is coming up soon.

I am curating a show at Fancy called Cascadia Now!! That I hope will be successful. It is in March for NCECA. It is a group show with a theme of regional independence in a future society. I'm leaving it up to the artists to interpret it however they want. There have been books written on Cascadia, and there is even a description in Wikipedia. So the idea is certainly not new. My idea was that when the US started off, there were only around 3 million citizens or so, and the state of Washington alone has 8 mil. There are lots of countries with smaller populations and since we share common politics, environment, and culture with our southern and northern neighbors it is only reasonable tat some day this region could become a nation.

Can Can

2011-11-17T11:06:00.001-08:00

I've got a new show up at Fancy. Can Can is the latest installment of my beer can collection. Each can has a unique design painted in underglaze colors. Some of the cans are overglazed with gold lusters. I ended up making over 130 cans for the show. It is up till the first week of December.

Summer Stuff

2011-07-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today is beautiful. I've been making giraffes in my back yard. I am driving to Kirkland in a while to teach two classes at the Kirkland Art Center. The Wheel World for Teens and Clay 101 for adults. I also get to pick up some things from the glaze firing.

Yesterday I fired 9 pegiracorns, I also made some bears riding giraffe sculptures plus a bunch of skulls. I even made a unicorn skull. These were all made out of recycled clay, so I am eager to see if they survive the firing--often the recycled clay contain foreign objects(like bits of wood) which make things explode......I also trimmed 12 wheel thrown pots and glazed a couple small sculptures. Where I teach, at Alki beach on Mon- Wed. , is right off the water. I get a perfect unobstructed view of the Olympic Mountains, along with tugboats and ferries passing buy, diving osprey chased by seagulls and even an occasional seal pup slouching on the sands down below.

Beer 40: Art Show and Birthday

2011-05-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well I'm turning 40 and am celebrating with an art show at Schooner Exact Brewery. The show is all about beer. I made over 100 beer cans with unique titles, beer bottles with and without labels, a bottle cap collection, beer mugs, paintings of beer bottles, and painted beer can cards and post cards. The cans are each unique and are grouped according to the method I used to fire them. Some have ceramic decals, china paint, gold and white gold lusters. Others are gas fired, raku, or are fired in an electric kiln. I am displaying them on top of old cardboard beer boxes. I already sold one can-- "Lil Tug " and am looking forward to this coming Friday when I have my opening/birthday celebration.

Also, since we closed Nancy, I've just been readjusting to a new schedule. Fortunately the closure has allowed me to start an Etsy shop www.aaronmurray.etsy.com and to spend more time on making art. In addition to the Beer themed stuff I have also been painting a series called "Urban Decay" which is mostly paintings of grungy old buildings, graffiti, and warehouses. I have also launched a line of owl pendants with sparkling gold lusters (sold at Fancy). I am also making sculpture of "concert kids", a series of figurines depicting people in rock concert t-shirts and similar attire. I hope to make a crowd of these and have them in front of a cramic rock band on stage. They are the rock'n roll version of my cowboys....

New Developments

2010-10-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

I'm at home today until about 3:30 trying to get stuff done. I've been making a bunch of new owl pendants made from porcelain for Fancy. I also sculpted some mini owls out of egyptian paste (blue), some porcelain ornaments and a few other things. I've been preparing for another pit fire by making a large variety of "primitive" heads and coil built skulls the last few weeks. I am also in the process of making 4 wood carved owls. I might display them at Secret Garden Bookshop in Ballard at some point.

Another project I've been working on long term is for a show I hope to call 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. The show will include a large ceramic beer can collection, paintings of various beer bottles Warhol style, some paintings of local bar scenes, beer coasters, posters, and other beer related schwag.

Today is usually Card Monday, but Kate and I made about 200 cards for Nancy in the last couple weeks, so no cards today.

Art and the Critical Miss

2010-02-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking there is something missing. Is it the scale? the color? the style?

Is the subject over played, re-hashed a thousand times on somebody else's canvas? Haven't I seen this piece before, in a coffee house, near the gum wall? What am I looking for, exactly?

I know --nobody can afford it and what's there--is. I have tried to look at art and I've looked really hard at a lot of it and what I can say is What's it for? I know--like I should talk, the creator of "tawdry baubles," the miniature has been. I think the same thing about my own art----Trust Me. What am I doing it for? Because I love to too

I wish there was a voice that would come and tell me exactly what I should make and when and for who, but it ain't that easy. I'd probably be labeled a schizo if I did so, anyhow. Although I do get feedback from people about my art on a regular basis, mostly what I hear are nice remarks.......but that is where the miss comes in. I could use some real criticism, for someone to tell me that I could improve here or there, some honest critical feedback. I think a lot of us could use that as artists. Go ahead .....tell me what you really think.

Routines

2010-02-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't posted for awhile. I kind of took a break for from writing, partially because I have had my mind wrapped around too many things such as thoughts about the future, time and space, art, and wars. Time to return to clear thought--to the here and now.

Lately I've been making and teaching art full-time. In this difficult economy, it is easy to get down about selling my wares and my skills. I find that people can't afford anything these days and are pretty down and out besides. But nevertheless, I am determined to continue on, doing what I love the most.....

........And that is making art.

So lately I have been illustrating a bit. I recently finished an illustration for a magazine in Austin Texas about bartering, and I am working on a series of comics called HOT CATZ. The Hot Catz started as a collaboration between Kate and I when we were waiting to get our dinner at a local eatery. We took turns drawing cats and adding other details until suddenly we had a whole carnival car set up complete with hot cats playthings. Then I took the concept and created a series of Hot Catz dishware such as cups, bowls, ad treat jars. I also did a relief print of the Hot Catz wagon. So lately I've taken it a step further and developed a series of comic strips that I hope will develop into a zine of sorts. (sorry for the blurry pic)

I also just took down a show at the Kirkland Art Center that featured robots, sheeple, and skull cubes-- an extremely political show from many people's perspective. The robots I plan on making larger in hopes that they will debut this summer.

Another show I am part of is at People's Republic of Koffee on Capitol Hill in Seattle. The paintings, part of a CHWS group show , are paintings about Liberty. It might be ironic for some, considering the sign of the PRK features a red star which some have interpreted as Communist(gasp!) I did these paintings as a salute to the USA of old, what was once our republic. I took some of the imagery from 19-20th century images on old whiskey bottles, postage stamps, and post cards and reproduce them via watercolor onto found objects such as rusty tin, road worn aluminum, and old cigar boxes. I will post images soon.

Other things recently worked on or finished: A group of 50 devil figurines, A bunch of cups, and Circus Cars. (Pics coming soon)

Campfires and the window to the soul

2009-10-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

There is something about a fire that opens the window to our souls. I think that is how ancient shamans were able to project their myths and entrance their friends in ritual mysticism. For staring into a fire can make one suddenly hypnotized, like the deer surprised by headlights.
Enter the television, and we can see it work the magic of fire. We stare and are hypnotized to believe the corporate myths that tell us what to buy and think. We are led to believe in it's warmth and that it will protect us from terrorizing beasts--like a fire would in the night. We have been led to believe that fire is bad and only popular entertainment matters, and if you didn't watch last nights episode or game you are three steps behind the rest of us.
It times not so long ago, the fire could be the sole source of heat, light, and conversation. The topics could be broad enough to outlast fallen embers, and sustain themselves through mid night dreamings. The warmth would rekindle at first rising and sustained throughout the winter. The light flickering to the shadows' crawl.
Today, in 20 second blips, and propagandic blurbs, on shortened episodes with consant ticker tape update we find ourselves lost in confusion. There is too much information that does not relate to our daily lives, only meant to mitigate outsourcing ourselves into oblivion.

What is clay

2009-08-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

I like to ask my students this: What is clay?

Often they are puzzled. Mud or dirt is their usual response. I like to explain that clay is drawn from a long process of erosion that occurs over thousands of years. I tell them that clay started as mountains of rock which were battered by glaciers, windstorms, and rain turning them into boulders, rocks, sand and finally clay. The clay is host to colonies of bacteria and organic decay that make the clay flexible and give it plasticity. Once the children learn this I hope that they gain a new understanding of what clay is. Some get it others don't.

Clay is also much more--in a philosophical sense. Clay is earth. It is substance. It can be liquified and poured into molds to mimic any object. It can be subtracted, added, divided and multiplied. It can withstand extreme cold(vitrified) and intense heat. It can be extremely strong(see Space Shuttle) or extremely fragile. Clay can heal (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080406155621.htm) infections. It can calm nerves, help with arthritis, and exfoliate dry skin. It can be used to hold things, transport, and store. It can insulate. It can house people. It can be eaten.

Teaching Art

2009-08-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today we made wood sculptures at Pratt. I brought in a box full of wooden craft shapes that I picked up at a yard sale, some colored wooden blocks that I got at the Goodwill Bin store and a bunch of wood scraps from the mill on 1st ave and my garage. Plus I brought in a bunch of found objects, that the kids used to decorate their sculptures with. Some of the kids made trophy like statues while others made boats, cars, planes, rocket ships, portraits, musical instruments, and a crane. They really used their imaginations to make some splendid art pieces and seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. This week wraps up with me teaching summer camp at the Kirkland Teen Center Monday through Friday , where I taught a different project each day to the same group of 5 to 8 year olds. This weeks theme was Stories in Art, so we made comic books, trading cards, ceramic sculpture, a framed narrative painting, and a story box diorama. I also taught my regular classes at Alki( Beg. Clay, Advanced Clay for youth, Beg. Wheel for Adult), and Teen Wheel and Adult beginning pottery at Kirkland Art Center.

With this rigorous schedule I still find time to create some new stuff here and there, and for each project I teach I usually make an example or two.(see above)

The classes are really important to me. I get stressed out if I don't think I have enough of the the right supplies before a class starts. Usually though everything goes just fine. I get along with most of the kids pretty well and it seems they are learning creative problem solving in numerous ways. I like to give them a lot of lee-way in terms of what they can make. If a kid has an idea that I haven't thought of, they have free reign to do it how they wish. A former concern--and I say former because the more I teach the less it's a problem--is how to extend a project to keep kids from getting bored during the duration of the class. Lately I've been getting over that by 1)Explaining the projects in greater depth than normal 2)Providing a show and tell of examples and Samples 3)Encouraging them to change/alter/ or add on to their art piece. 4) Having them make an experimental 2nd piece of art or more 5)Making them assist in the teardown/cleanup operation. For the most part the kids have a great imagination and want to make something which makes teaching easy.

Prints

2009-01-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

I spent New Years Day making prints. I pulled 70 off of six new print blocks of linoleum and soft rubber. They are for my upcoming show on January 9th at Nancy. This will be the best show I've ever had. I put more work into this than any other. Although I haven't had a solo exhibition in quite sometime, all of the works for this show were made within the last four months. file:///Users/aaronmurray/Desktop/hotcatzprint.jpg

Circus Freaks

2008-12-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

I'm getting ready for my show on january 9th at Nancy. I just finished my 9th watercolor for the show, all amazing daredevil bear paintings. Now I am working on the circus freak caravan, to go with the ADD Bear Moving Company. I hope to also put leafing (gold and silver) on after I finish painting them. I will post some pictures soon.

Amazing Bears

2008-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Coming soon to Nancy........ The Amazing daredevil Bears Live!!!! My latest creations include a Submarine for bears and a monster truck (Bear 30) in 3-d he, he, he

Amazing Dare Devil Bears

2008-11-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

A break in the art /time continuum

2008-11-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to my new blog. I thought that this would be a good way to find out more about me and my artwork. I am currently on a three day hiatus in South Eastern Washington, visiting the family. On jaunts such as these, I often use my spare time to search for things that are unusual. Kate and I visit particular and peculiar thrift and antique stores between Ellensburg and Pasco. We will sometimes find wonderful things to re-sell at Nancy, or re-use in or art.

I also use these trips as a way to reflect on what I have been doing of late. Long car trips help clear my mind for new ideas and the transition from the West side of the cascades to the East is like a shift in light and time, somehow allowing the clutter in my mind from the past few weeks to fade away.

Tomorrow, We will return to Seattle with fresh energy and ideas.