Charles LeDray at the Whitney

Photo from the Whitney's website

GO!  SEE IT!  (Charles LeDray: workworkworkworkwork, at the Whitney through Feb. 13th.)

Clay - A Tantalizing Medium

While doing some freelance work up in snowy Toronto this past January, my friend and colleague, artist Kelly Houghton, and I took a ceramics class at the Gardiner Museum. 

Finger relief vessels that I made. Photo by K. Houghton.

Working with clay. Photo by K. Houghton.

Kelly and her textured vase.

Close-up of Kelly's work. Photo by K. Houghton.

And here are my cups after the clay was fired:

I wanted the vessel to be sort of an extension of the hand when held.  I was going to mold a lip print into the edge of the vessel but I didn't get the effect I was looking for, so nixed that.  I like how the finished work gives the illusion of being soft and squished when held with my fingers in their relief cavities.    

I think this class might have been the first time I've worked with clay, at least from what I can recall (perhaps in art school although no memory of it stands out).  I enjoyed it immensely; I especially got lost in smoothing the clay, an act which lulled me even more than drawing repetitive lines.