Trash Flowers

In my Ceramics one class last semester Mike Tracey Came up with this amazing idea to collect trash and plant them in Planters.  In My Ceramics two class this is an installation that we are pulling together.  We first received some local clay after processing that down we made flower pots.  In the time that these flower pots are drying we are collecting trash that washes along the bank of the Iowa River.  This is my plant and one of my students Joanna that we collected.  Next step is to fire the pots and plant our plants in them. 

Attempting Kung Fu Tea

This summer while I was in China I had the opportunity to attempt to serve Kung Fu Tea.  I was not very good at it.  However I The young lady helping me was very kind.  Snow, Ping, and Jim are all laughing at me.

Some of the works influenced by my time and work I made in China

Wall Bulb

This is an older work that I am revisiting to film and change some of the elements to as well.  I a m learning a lot in this exploration.

The made in China Show

Another work from my summer in China.

This is a piece I collaborated with Kwok Pong "Bobby" Tso.   He made the base and I made the pieces wheel thrown pieces.

Here are some other works from the Residency

My time in China

                                                                        In Hong Kong

Nate and His boys, Nate is my old coach 

 Shanghai

Some of my work in Jingdezhen At the Pottery Workshop 

                                                        Last night

                                                       Visiting the big pot factory

                                            Jim and I learning to serve kung fu tea

                                                               
                                                       A very large Dragon Kiln

                                                         The train ride to the residency

                                                    The kilns at the big pot factory.

My summer in China

 This is Julia james luke and I At bring me hope camp in China

 This is jason, myself, eric, and george.  At bring me hope camp in China.

 James eating Ice cream for the first time from a cone.

Luke Eating ice cream for the first time from a cone.

Eric, James, and Luke can be adopted if any one is interested just a little please contact me And I will answer any question.

Orchids, Dandelions, and You

Here is some new work that I worked in with my engineering Group for art and Engineering.  My group consisted of 3 engineers (Jon Durst the fearless leader, Tori Dahlen design coordinator, and Ben Pearson our Code writer)  This was an amazing experience.  I really enjoyed work with them and hopefully we can continue to work together.  This Project is a combination of all of our ideas and this is based on the Orchid theory.  This is the last post for a little time I will be traveling and I am not sure about the access to internet.  I will try to post but will not guarantee it.  I hope you enjoy.

A Pillar Sample

The idea behind this work is the evolution of the vessel.  The pillar representing the foundation of the vessel and the Sample representing a core sample of a time line.   The bottom layer of the core sample is raw clay, the next layer is pieces of pottery and the common use of clay as the vessel, and we have the final layer of mass produced one time use styrofoam vessels.  The fallen pillar/core sample is a representation of old technologies being displayed as a ruin like some pillars in Italy, Greece, ect...  The colorants are different molds and gases breaking down the previous buried materials.  

This work is in reflection from when I worked for Joe and we went out to a cave for a little celebration after I finished splitting wood. This cave is a cave that is sealed off from and is kept at a certain temperature. I am not remembering the full details to the idea of what made this cave different from the rest but they referred to it as the only living cave in the nation. So this work is in response to the idea of the interaction between man and nature regeneration and destruction. Ice was place in the piece attached to the wall. All of the bulbs except for three of them are bone dry clay suspended by string. As the ice melts the water follows the string down into the bulb in time the piece is released from the plug and it falls breaking open and releasing the colorants representing molds and other life breaking down the form for regeneration.