Sneak Peak of John the Gospel Writer-Eagle

My pottery, Me and the Mountain

Grunewald Guild Photos

Here are some photos of the breathtaking scenery and the buildings at the Guild. Enjoy!

Weaving In and Out

To go where no Gegel male has ever gone before, with complex machinery looming in front of me - the Fiber Arts building at the Guild. Forunately we had Liz and Erica to guide us through this new world of heddles, beaters, reeds, epi's, shuttles, beatings, sleyings, and throwings. And we made great stuff; Janai made two beautiful scarves, and I wove a red (very red) stole -- I learned that it's the most common color of the church year, so I'm all set (in hopes for the future) and two scarves. Our classmate from Trinity, Kate, wove a warm and lovely prayer shawl.

Any knitters, quilters, or weavers out there? If so, take a look at this closet and remember that you're not supposed to be envious!

Down at the Pot Shop -- Raku Finale

Here's the sum total of what came out of the smoldering trash cans when we were done with our raku firing. Lots of shiny cool stuff. Janai and Kate were more prolific than Brian .... In case you're wondering -- yes! you too can make snazzy-looking pots, plates, candleholders, and sculptures ...

Brian's stuff:

God-Gazing I (aka "You Want What?") and II (Thy Will Be Done). There will be a prize if you guess which is which.

Brian's Post Cards

Hot & Shiny on a Cold, Cold Day: First Raku Firing

How does a piece of clay turn into something potentially useful and possibly beautiful? Ask Janai, not me. First, successfully throw a pot on the wheel (again, ask Janai -- not me). Or sculpt something (that, you can ask me about). Then dry the successful output until bisque comes out. (see photo of kiln below.) Then coat the stuff with raku glazes (see photo showing the glazers, and the glazees on the hood of the Datsun, at right).

Then add about 1800 deg (that's between cone 07 and cone 06 for you kiln buffs) for a couple minutes, extract into a reducing fire (basically a smoldering paper and pine needle trash fire) for about five minutes or so, and then immerse in cold water. Apparently this must be done for J-termers when it's about 15 deg F. Voila -- new and shiny works of art emerge, as seen below.

Now, how about that? We've still got some more firings to do next week. More pix of the process are shown below -- note particulary the glowing kiln contents and the reducing fire.

Brian's Final Versions of Drawing/Painting Assignments

Assignment 3, final: Jesus' Baptism per Mark 1

Assignmet 3: Bulletin cover illustration based on Jesus' baptism, Mark 1, first attempt



Assignment 1, final: Gospel of Luke Symbol

Down & Dirty – Clay (Play) Creation Days

This week’s adventures are taking place in the Pot Shop under the tutelage of Scotty Dillman, master of the wheel, professor of raku, brewer of beer, keeper of sourdough, appreciator of the blues and Eric Clapton, and Osceola, IN native. He’s also very patient and affirming.
Little known fact: Raku firings yield an 80-85% success rate. (that means that if we do 50 pieces, 10 of them are going to fracture during firing). L (Scotty denies this).

Today’s raku haiku:

Making my clay pot -
reluctant clay, clumsy hands.
God must be patient ….

Our first work was sculpting with raku clay. We first did pinching; then coil; then slab. We all got to try our hand at using these techniques (see Janai and Kate at right); some of the pre-fired objects we made are shown in the photo.

Next came the trials, tribulations, and rewards (hopefully) of throwing clay pots on the wheel, which I had never, ever done before (but my classmates had …). The steps to throwing a clay pot on a wheel: Wedge; Center; Seat; Cone up; Thumb push; Locked hand center; Thumb open; Finger widen; Compress rim; Pull up; Cut loose. Center upside down. Trim. Engage in conversation with the clay and call for Scotty between each step.

Today we were introduced to candlestick holders. The thing that I’ve learned (at my level of experience, at least) is that you start something and see what it turns into. I understand that more experienced people start making something that they have in mind and then see how it comes out. I suppose I was able to do that with a candlestick holder today. Life is good. And I have a lot more respect for the Great Potter who is still working on me.

More pottery tomorrow; firing will be this weekend. All LSTC pyromaniacs are welcome to come enjoy the heat.

Legs of clay are scriptural, you know.

Art Creations

Art Creations

Art Creations

Art Creations

Richard Caemmerer – Art & the Gospels

Our mornings have been filled with slide presentations of artwork related to the Gospels and Richard Caemmerer’s vast international experience, varied insights, and numerous anecdotes. Wednesday we learned about representations and symbols of the four gospels. Mark is typically depicted as a winged lion; Matthew as a winged human; Luke as an ox with wings, and John as an eagle. Our assignment was to depict one of the gospel symbols; I chose Luke and included the infant Jesus because of Luke’s focus on the nativity. Janai used her typography skills to create an amazing lion (see her artwork) and our classmate Kate (from Trinity Seminary in Columbus OH) incorporated all four symbols into a single design. I am humbled ….

Our next lecture focused on specific representations of the annunciation and nativity and the “sacra conversazione” (sacred conversation – think of Mary and the infant Jesus inviting Grandma Anna and John the Baptist over for tea along with a couple saints and patrons of the particular work). Our assignment for Thursday evening was to draw several vignettes – a quick gesture drawing with a splash of color. I have to confess that I’m a slow learner – I kept wanting to color within the lines instead of outside. But I have learned and am really excited about being able to capture subjects quickly. Good lesson for a detail-oriented guy like me.

We discussed Rublev’s “Holy Trinity” icon – the one I chose to draw for my Church History project last semester. Once again it was pressed home how presumptuous I was in doing this – but I’ve learned so much about this icon and iconography through these lessons. Finally, we saw and discussed Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, a deep, touching and mysterious representation of the homecoming. (see Henry Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming).
Our last two lectures have been about representations of the life and teachings of Jesus. The artwork shared has been both historical and contemporary, of both eastern and western traditions (did you know that Byzantine paintings typically have a gold thread meandering through them?), and African, Japanese, North and South American, Native American, and Caribbean origin. Richard also shared some children’s artwork that spoke to the topics with directness, joy and simplicity.
Friday afternoon we did a shaded detail drawing of our thumbs (not much room for creative interpretation there) and a contour drawing of a glass drinking jar. This seemed a little easier for me. Our assignment Friday night was to create our own interpretation of Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:4-11) for a bulletin cover. We’re supposed to share our renditions this afternoon …..
Fun fact: Richard Caemmerer designed the Budweiser beer logo back in the 50’s; supposedly his name is hidden somewhere on it. No one here has found it …. Let me know if you find it!

During our final lecture, we explored some of the hundreds of church/sacred space/stained-glass windows that Richard has created over the last 50 years, and talked about art in liturgy, sacred space design, and Christian community. We came away with a lot of ideas on how to draw community together through art.

Creation#1,1b

#2

"How do you visualize Jesus and in what environment would you place him?"