May 9, 2024 - The initial phases of building a larger scale ceramic sculpture involve a lot of technical adaptability and sorting out challenges. The beginnings of the process are not quite the moments of feeling your creative mojo flowing that we long for as artists, but the problem solving itself provides a level of artistic fulfillment. Since I build these larger figures hollow, until everything is set up enough to support itself, there is a tendency for the lower sections to deform or collapse under the weight of the upper parts. Once the components are set up enough to support the weight, a challenge arises in the workability of the clay. The trade off for this stability means that it has dried a certain amount, so it’s less workable. It kicks off a bit of a stress scenario…