For you who have been following the saga of Beautiful Swimmer Take I and Take II……
TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Here is my ceramic wall sculpture, Beautiful Swimmer Take II (who now becomes, simply her goddess self: Beautiful Swimmer) fired and ready to finish (here is the original.). I can actually see doing one of these pieces and just leaving it clear glazed over white with maybe the crab colored blue (with “red fingernails” since the sooks (she crabs) have red claws)….or maybe just red claws. That would be kinda cool.
But this piece is going to be cold finished; that is, it will be finished with acrylics and then mosaiced.
I took a short trip this past week to Chincoteague Island, and a walk along Virginia’s section of Assateague refuge provided a lovely clump of oyster shells that will be added, too.
The neckpiece I made for her, so I could add the head piece should I so desire, broke, but may actually work better that way if I decide to use it. I’m thinking, at this moment, probably not. But wil acquiesce to whatever Beautiful Swimmer requires as she comes into herself.
Stay tuned – I will keep you updated as she progresses.
I’d also like to invite you over to “like” Tammy Vitale’s Wylde Women’s Wisdom page on Facebook, where I am posting Wylde Wisdom quotes and my own art daily for your enjoyment!
Wylde Women’s Wisdom
Be open to opportunities and help that present themselves, even when they’re different from what we thought we needed. We can follow the energy of “Yes!” rather than accepting defeat or getting stuck in a plan. Margaret Wheatley
12 Comments
Hi Tammy, thanks for all the answers. Appreciated!!! are the armatures upright (vertical)? Seems difficult to work with slabs of clay then. I suppose they are flat and the clay is pressed into some kind of pre-fab “shape”? I have no clue how you go about this. I couldn’t find a link in the responses I got by email, so I just found this link again to post 🙂
easiest way is just to google Tammy Vitale and Beautiful Swimmer – you’ll get all the urls. I’ve emailed the specific urls to you.
used to be a sign up in right side bar – I’ll have to go fix that! I didn’t realize it was gone!
Armatures are things I drape slabs of clay over that hold the clay until it’s dry enough
to hold itself up but not so dry it shrinks on the armature and cracks.
I make the smaller torso armatures myself (just fired clay) and the larger ones are
made from mannequins. I use about 3/8″ thick slab unless I’m going to layer it, then
the bottom layer is 1/2″
hope that helps!
hi Tammy, I’ve seen pics in your albums at Facebook. About the torso workshop (impossible to join, I live in the Netherlands…). You wrote you work from an armature? Is it some sort of mold? I’m trying to figure out how they are made. I made 2 buddha head reliefs, 27 cm high. the thickness at the highest point is about 2.5 cm (an inch or so).
hope to hear from you. Trying to find out how to subscribe to your blog
absolutely smashing! I’m trying to find the earlier posts of these torso, but I can’t find it anymore. I also want to know if you already glazed this in the meantime. Is there a way to search on “beautiful swimmer”? It’s hard to look through the archives and find this. thanks much for your help.
Rita, Virginia, Tracey – thanks! Virginia I like the idea of a water color wash but haven’t quite figured that out over ceramic – it really sucks in acrylic and getting a “wash” effect isn’t in my skills. I think I know where this particular puiece is going – maybe the next one will be a great blue heron with just the blue colored in and everything else clear. We’ll see – she certainly gives me some ideas to play with! I’ll post some of my older torsos for reference – all are colored/glazed/stained. I’ve really never thought of one just clear glazed (well, I have done that with the red clay but never the white).
Oh she’s STUNNING Tammy! I’m eager to see her as she progresses into being!!
Tammy, she is very beautiful and a clear glaze would suit her. How about a beautiful swimmer with a watercolour-style wash on part of her? her simplicity is beautiful;reflective;and profound just as she is, as you have captured the flow of the female form in a sensitive way. Congratulations on focusing through the challenges with this piece; all the best wishes and greetings of the season.
from Virginia.x
Oh, she’s beautiful! She may even be more gorgeous than the first one, if that is possible. Worth the wait. So worth the wait. I like her as is white, but I know that whatever you decide to do will look fabulous and I will want to see it! 😉
Tracey – thank you! I do think one that is just clear glaze is in the future. I’ve started on this one’s painting this evening.
Anne – thanks for the cheerleading! I’m listening hard! (and I ordered some mosaic tiles for her today!)
She is supposed to be. Glad you had a chance to get away. She will let you know what she wants – and I know you’ll listen.
Tammy it is every bit as beautiful as I thought it would be… it is stunning as it is and can’t wait to see it finished…. and please do one that is left with clear glaze as well… simply stunning!!!