Showing posts with label Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Show all posts

Friday, August 24, 2012

August 23 - Thursday Picasso, handles, and petals

Thursday afternoon during lunch I went to the Bechtler Museum with Greg to see the Picasso collection before it closed on Thursday night.  I almost missed it, then they extended the run and I almost missed it again.  I'm so very glad I didn't.

It was a small collection of some of his etchings, lithographs, and pottery.  It wouldn't be wrong to put the word "amazing" in front of every one of those items. 

The man could take a paintbrush and with a minimum of strokes create a whole scene with a deep field, fluid movement, and attitude of the subjects.  He can drag your eye around a piece of paper and make you see what he wants you to see when he wants you to see it.  And just when you think you have the intention figured out, you notice another person in the corner of the piece changing the whole idea of it.

If you get a chance to see a Picasso exhibit, even a small one, you will come away with a new appreciation of the man's talent.

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Thursday night I put some handles on the pots I made last night.  I added diagonally curved handles to the pot with the spirals since I thought mirroring the spirals worked pretty well.  On the other pot I added stubby, twisted handles and worked them into the body of the pot with a wooden tool like Greg has taught us.

I needed to remove some clay from the bottom of the pot on the right and didn't feel comfortable trying to put it in a chuck to trim it upside down since that would mess up the texture.  I remembered a trick that Doug taught us years ago and applied a thin film of water to the bottom of the pot and stuck it to the wheel head.  I trimmed the bottom using very light pressure so I wouldn't push it off center.  It worked beautifully and I removed a lot of extra clay before breaking the suction by sliding it off the wheel.

I also tried adding some petals to one of my pods.  I like the way it worked and will explore that idea further in future pods.

New handles.

Closeup.

Pod with petals.

I had to stop at the supermarket again tonight so I left a trail.



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Friday, September 9, 2011

Saturday - Bechtler and Chima

Labor Day weekend Stephanie came home for the weekend and we all went to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and later to Chima for some dinner.  We took the train downtown and waded through the Festival of India that was happening in the street to get to the museum.  I wish we had time to partake in the festival food and events, but we had other plans.

The Bechtler was great, besides the Niki de Saint Phalle exhibit, there are some Picassos, some Miros, a Warhol, and a Degas among many, many others.  Please make the trip if you can.  It's pretty amazing.


One small part of the Festival of India
right in front of the Bechtler.

The Niki de Saint Phalle firebird in front of the Bechtler.

The Niki de Saint Phalle skull in the park across the street.

Meredith enjoying her salmon at Chima.

Stephanie enjoying her bacon-wrapped chicken.

Karen and Stephanie on the train ride home.

Meredith left the seat next to me after I annoyed her.
All part of my evil plan to get a better photo.

And then she realized my plan...


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Monday, March 21, 2011

Sunday - Afternoon at the Mint Museum

Sunday the Carolina Clay Matters Guild met at the new Mint Museum for a nice tour lead by Verna Witt.  The new Mint is a wonderful space with lots of galleries, a huge atrium, and a very nice flow.  If you are in the area, make it a destination.

Afterward, Kim and I went back to the green to view the sculptures there.

Another in a long line of good days.



The Atrium


Becky, Cindy, Kim, and Chris.

Verna leading the tour.

The tour group behind the collar.

This collar is carved from one piece of marble!





This is a ship's hull cast in glass.

These fabric squares were died from plant materials from NC.

Don Reitz bell.

Marilyn Levine's incredible "Black School Bag".
This "leather" bag is made of clay.

Donna Craven pot.

Mark Hewitt pot.

View out the window of the atrium on the escalator
between floors 3 & 4.

The roof of the skull.

Kim sitting in the skull.

The pearly whites from the inside.
(Now I know how food feels.)

The brick book sculpture at the Tryon Street entrance.

The other side.

The "pages".

The Mint/Bechtler campus.

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.









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