4-17 AUGUST 2019 BIOMORPHICS: Natural Forms in Clay with Carol Gouthro and Cj Jilek

email us at gayacac@gayaceramic.com for more details!


BIOMORPHICS: Natural Forms in Clay 
with Carol Gouthro & Cj Jilek

August 4-17, 2019

The natural environment inspires Carol Gouthro and Cj Jilek during their world travels informing their unique biomorphic ceramic sculptures. Their work features animated forms and signature surfaces.
Join Carol and Cj in creating unusual and exuberant works in clay inspired by the island paradise of Bali.  Investigate methods and develop concepts to build your personal visual vocabulary. Explore a layered approach to the ceramic surface that evolves from wet clay through bone dry to bisque. Techniques will include hand-building with wooden drape molds, soft slab building, creating texture slabs, and one part segment molds for three-dimensional forms. Carol and Cj will also reveal a behind the scenes look at the engineering necessary to produce elaborate sculptural forms.  Surface practices will include the use of color, pattern making, texturing, carving, wax resist, stenciling, and sgraffito.  A beautiful two weeks of ceramic practice and island adventure!


First Week

August 4, Sunday  - 6:00 pm
Welcome dinner at Indus Restaurant with introductions. Carol and Cj will be sharing an overview of their own work and adventures. We will have dinner while getting to know one another.


August 5, Monday  (Daily Studio Hours 9:am – 5:00 pm w/ lunch provided)
Studio orientation: Participants will become acquainted with our beautiful studio home away from home. The artists begin with an overview of the processes they will be teaching during this workshop; they will discuss the similarity and differences between their practices. We will discuss the timetable for the coming two weeks and gather information about firing options with the Gaya studio.  
(*Not all large-scale sculpture will be fired.  If participants want large works to be bisque-fired when adequately dry, Gaya does offer this.  Participants will need to arrange for shipping works home independently: Gaya will put you in direct contact with their reliable shipping agent to do so. Only small-scale sculpture will be finished through the glazing process during the two weeks.)


And away we go….Carol will begin the workshop showing how she uses her Segment Mold Process to construct her unusual, segmented forms. Through her straightforward process using one segment mold we can manipulate and alter component parts to arrive at many variations and different expressions of form. You can review Carol's process that was published in Ceramics Monthly Magazine March 2018.  http://www.carolgouthro.com/ceramics_monthly_artcle_2018.pdf

In the afternoon, participants will begin by drawing simple shapes on paper and cutting paper templates, then proceed to sculpt solid clay into the wooden forms. (Materials will be provided) Next they will carve, facet the clay form and add bas-relief if desired. Carol will demonstrate this process step by step. By the end of this first exciting day participants will be pouring plaster on their prototypes to create their very own Segment Mold.



August 6, Tuesday 
In the morning we will unmold the forms, clean them up and begin to use them right away to create your sculptural form. Carol will show how to put the parts together, in addition to adding slips and texture to enhance form. 

In the afternoon, Carol will demonstrate how she cuts into her leather hard forms to create interior spaces with textures by creating and using texture slabs to add bas-relief.


August 7, Wednesday
In the morning, Cj will demonstrate her hand-building process for creating her unusual biomorphic forms.  Cj’s process is a hybrid of soft slab / coil building while integrating in pinch forms. Her forms are encompassed in carved and embossed surfaces, Cj will dive into her approach for developing the content of her work while getting the participants started on a form of their own. Participants will be lead in a maquette building exercise to spark biomorphic inspiration.

In the afternoon, everyone will take a field trip to visit the Bedugal Botanical Gardens in order to gain further inspirations for our botanically inspired forms. Carol and Cj will describe the lens in which each views botanical specimens in relation to the work they create.

August 8, Thursday
Inspired by our garden excursion, Carol and Cj will be encouraging the investigation of new surfaces for participants on small-scale pinch forms and maquettes.  These forms will be used to experiment with a variety of glazing techniques and discuss surface development.


August 9, Friday
Drape/Drop Mold Friday - Carol and Cj both use custom-made wooden drape molds (also referred to as a drop molds) in their practice. They will both be demonstrating side by side showing how they use these wooden molds in their own work, a wonderful opportunity to see how two artists utilize the same technique with very different results. These molds are a fantastic way to make elements for sculptural forms or to create utilitarian forms. Everyone will have time to utilize the molds to make their own shapes and forms. Carol and Cj will show how to cut, alter, stack etc. these molded shapes to make many diverse forms.  


August 10, Saturday
In the morning, Carol and Cj will be working with participants to finish up the work they have made so far including all the techniques you have learned, plaster segment molds, drape molds, hand-building techniques, surface techniques included in the small-scale forms.

Early afternoon, Carol and Cj will dive into color with the goal of having pieces ready to bisque fire by end of day.  The artists both use underglazes in their work and they will demonstrate several underglaze techniques to incorporate color, and pattern into your work. Adding color at the leather hard and bone dry stage is an important way to add more depth to your work as it gives you another opportunity to stain on top of that color on the bisque. Carol and Cj will share their individual approaches to these methods in their demos using wax resist, sgraffito, wax inlay, shellac resist and more.

We finish up by loading a bisque kiln
BISQUE KILN firing begins at midnight (with Gaya CAC staff)

August 11, Sunday                FREE DAY
Will be a day off from the studio. Participants may explore the island, have a spa day, take a cooking class, or just relax and sketch poolside as they wish. (Participants will plan their own adventures this day; feel free to ask us for recommendations.)
BISQUE KILN firing


Second Week

August 12, Monday
In the Morning, The bisque kiln will be unloaded and results will be discussed as a group. Carol and Cj will continue to demonstrate creating surface depth with staining techniques as well as other glazing techniques to enhance the texture on your work.

In the afternoon, Carol and Cj will be working with participants to envision the migration of their ideas with the new skills they have been introduced to during the first week.  Participants will start larger scale forms using a combination of the various molds, hand-building and surface techniques.


August 13, Tuesday 
Everyone will be working side-by-side, enjoying the each other’s creative energy in the beautiful island studio. Cj will share her engineering strategies with internal structures for building complex forms that will be stable through a firing process. Carol and Cj will be working on their techniques simultaneously, as will all participants: lots to do!!

*Note: These larger scale sculptures will only be bisque-fired if the participants have made arrangements with Gaya, otherwise we will enjoy the freedom of working and experimenting without the demand of a finished product.


August 14, Wednesday
Another blissful studio day concluding with the loading of a glaze kiln.
GLAZE KILN firing begins at midnight (with Gaya CAC staff)

August 15, Thursday
Full day of studio work.  Concluding projects.
*Note: participants can work on larger pieces until the very end of the workshop—large pieces will only be fired when the studio judges them adequately dry (this could be weeks after the workshop concludes), and when the studio can fit them into their firing schedule.
GLAZE KILN FIRING

August 16, Friday
Another Adventure Day! 
BAMBU INDAH river pool/jungle exploration

August 17, Saturday
Workshop wrap-up! Unloading of glaze kiln, critical discussions and conclusion. 
We will share a final lunch and depart by 2:00pm.

 
*All lunches will be served daily noon-1pm family-style in the studio mezzanine.
**Details listed in this preliminary schedule are subject to change; a finalized version will be included in participant welcome package.


v  For further information on the artists and their processes you may follow them on the web or contact them directly with questions?

Carol Gouthro
Facebook: Carol Gouthro
Instagram: gouthrocarol
carolgouthro@comcast.net

Cj Jilek
Facebook & Instagram: Cj Jilek
cjjilekartist@gmail.com 

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