Shrowded Wave

approx 3 in x 18 in x 18 in / unfired ceramic / circa 1968-69

Part of a series of early works about waves: diminishing waves, shrouded waves. One idea behind the piece: "the wake of a dead wave,"
references some of the pun and word-play of two primary teachers William T. Wiley and Bob Arneson. This piece was later
fired and as and experiment coated with wax instead of glaze.

provenance unknown

 

Top: Text of Ceramic Book Making
8.5 in x 6 in x 2 in / glazed ceramic / second "raku" firing in a burning building / circa 1968
collection: artist

Middle: Stream/Prisim
approx 9 in x 9 in x 4 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Notebook page / early negative ship drw
circa 1968 / collection: artist

 

Top: Notebook 1 / Non-cup studies
pg. 26 / circa 1968 / collection: artist

Middle: Untitled (Negative Ship Bow /Perspective)
approx 2 in x 12 in x 16 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Untitled (Diminishing Wave Study)
approx 3 in x 12 in x 30 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

 

Top: Non-cup with Two Handles
4 in x 5 in x 5 in / glazed ceramic
circa 1968 / collection: artist

Middle: Non-cup with Two Handles Distorted by a Cat in the Night
approx 10 in x 5 in x 4 in / glazed porcelain / circa 1968
private collection

Bottom: Notebook I / Diminishing wave notes / pg. 85 / circa 1968
collection: artist

 

Top: Notebook I / Water/shroud ship studies / pg. 89 / circa 1968
collection: artist

Middle: Diminishing Wave Large (3 of 6 parts / each part approx 3 in x 12 in x 30 in / ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Diminishing Wave Large (6 of 6 parts / each part approx 3 in x 12 in x 30 in / ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

 

Top: Stream with Curtains
approx. 10 in x 11 in x 3 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Middle: Untitled (Water/Shroud Ship)
approx 5 in x 12 in x 12 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Notebook I / ship tableau study & notes / pg. 114 / circa 1968
collection: artist

 

Top: Notebook I / Crossing streams study and notes / pg. 70 / circa 1968
collection: artist

Middle: Shrowded Wave approx 3 in x 18 in x 18 in / unfired ceramic
circa 1968 / provenance unknown

Bottom: Untitled (Shrowded Wave Perspective) approx 4 in x 12 in x 16 in / glazed ceramic / circa 1968 provenance unknown

 

Top: Slant Stream Reef
approx. 10 in x 17 in x 4 in / glazed porcelain / circa 1968
collection: artist

Middle: Untitled (Sinking Stream)
approx 8 in x 12 in x 12 in
ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Notebook I / Ship/architecture section studies / pg. 125 / circa 1968
collection: artist

 

Top: Notebook I / Door/window study and notes / pg. 44 / circa 1968
collection: artist

Middle: Untitled (Negative Hull Sign) approx 22 in x 16 in x 4 in
glazed ceramic / circa 1968
provenance unknown

Bottom: Untitled (Shrowded Wave) 11 in x 10 in / pen, water color on paper
circa 1968 / provenance unknown

 

Slant Stream Reef

approx. 10 in x 17 in x 4 in / glazed porcelain / circa 1968

Piece incorporates castings from two molds (chicken and vase) that were used by Bob Arneson
for his Celedon/porcelain series. As a student, I helped in his on campus studio (TB-9), and he
allowed me use the same porcelain and molds as he was using. The idea of a "slant stream reef" is
probably related to the "slant step" articulated by Bruce Nauman and William T. Wiley.

collection: artist

 

Late 1960's / Conceptual Beginnings

UC Davis / Davis, CA

I first studied geology, with the intention of becoming a marine geologist before discovering a proclivity for art while in college in the late 1960’s.  As a college student in the ceramics classes of Robert Arneson at UC Davis, I quickly realized the relationship of ceramic materials to the landscapes and processes I knew from geology – the materials of the glaze room, such as: feldspar, dolomite, colemanite, kaolin, transformation by firing in ceramic kilns, etc., were known to me in the forms of stratigraphic assemblages, metamorphic facies and pyroclastic events, functions of large-scale processes of landscape evolution in geologic time.  This was in contrast to the finely ground powders in the glaze bins that were the end product of industry and commerce.  This perception became a critical factor that shaped my approach to ceramics and site-based environmental projects.   The emphasis on concepts and experimentation as a basis for making art, as taught by Arneson and William T. Wiley, my primary mentors at UC Davis, reinforced the experimental model I knew from science along with inspiration from land and seascape painting, were instrumental forces of this formative time.
 The counter-culture and anti-Viet Nam war atmosphere at UC Davis during the late 1960's and early 1970's was extrordiarily generative and creative. The Davis art department was especially strong and attracted top-level graduate students. As an undergraduate, in addition to studying with faculty members: Ruth Horsting, Manual Neri, Wayne Thiebaud, José Argüelles, William T. Wiley and Bob Arneson, the dialog with graduate students such as:, Lucian Pompili, Leighton Mortenson, Howard Fried, Art Schade, John Buck, Steve Kaltenbach, Victor Cicansky, Dick Notkin, Jock Reynolds among many others, was inspirational. Undergaduates such as Debby Butterfield, Sandy Shanonhouse, Grant Thorpe, Harley Morden, Donna Billick and others added greatly to the mix. The environment in the ceramic department housed in TB-9, an old university maintenance building converted to sculpture and ceramic class rooms was wide open, 24 hour access, people working all the time, was heaven-sent for a young artist.


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