"Apollo's Apprentice" Spring Art Show Collection 5/11/22
The Story of Orpheus follows the son of Apollo as he is faced with his anxiety in a quest to retrieve his love, Eurydice, from death. Apollo’s Apprentice explores the societal pressure and stigma around anxiety and trepidation. For this body of work, I strove to make a collection that personified the feeling of anxiety. Apollo’s Apprentice was inspired by the artist Runit Baranga and her collection of hyper-realistic teacups and pots. Following Baranga’s use of sculpted appendages and negative space I use a blend of hand building and wheel throwing to sculpt realistic fingers, eyes, and mouths on each piece. Each represents a different aspect of social anxiety. My use of minimal under-glazing represents how anxiety can leave room for negative thoughts and self-perceptions. The focal point of this collection has stitches running down the length of the piece - these represent the difficulties of repairing social image and life even amid anxiety. Apollo’s Apprentice started as a wheel-thrown cylinder with coiled fingers and a sculpted eye, then evolved into various lidded and unlidded forms with the same coiling technique and sculpted surface design. I used a mold to entirely hand build the large plate, then I wheel threw the rest of the collection. I am proud of the representation I was able to materialize with this year’s work. I successfully pushed away from my comfort zone and used this oeuvre as a foundation for my journey towards IB Art.
Extra Glazed Projects
These pieces were more for exploration than perfection. I used them to get back into wheel throwing and the overall intricacy of glazing that I would try and achieve for the art show. I experimented with perspective when glazing, as well as slip trailing and carving.