video

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sgraffito chicken bowl -work in progress

I have been working in the clay studio, and havent shared many work in progress photos. In part, because 3d objects, like pottery, dont photograph well. A 2d photo does not accurately give the impression of holding and looking around a 3d object.

I have been working with a technique, called sgraffito, where the design on a pot is created by carving. It has a lot of similarities to printmaking, which makes it very interesting to me.

The design goes all around the pot, so instead of sharing a photo, heres a short video of the carved bowl. All the carving is done, but it still needs to be fired, so it is a work in progress.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

printing and handbuilding in the clay studio: 11 August 2019

Posted on  by Ken Swinson — Leave a comment

I’ve been busy in the clay studio. It’s been a learning curve, but I have figured out the technique to transfer designs onto pots.

redware bowl with white slip and decals
bees and flower design
2 shelves with bowls and mugs ready to be fired
shelf with bird and bee designs-ready for the kiln

Now that I know what I’m doing I started a new design for rice paper transfers. The theme is Trees and houses.

positive of design for screenprint houses and trees
positive of the design

Today’s burn didn’t work out like I had hoped, but I have another screen ready, and will try again tomorrow

screen for ceramic decals being exposed in the sun
Using solar power to expose the design onto the screen

now it’s time for a new color: Electric Blue!!

blue underglaze drying to be used for screenprinting
Electric Blue Underglaze…drying to screen print consistency

I love surface decoration. One of my favorite forms is the rectangle or oval. It’s almost like a canvas for a traditional painting. Today I handbuilt a small oval plate.

painting slip over redware plate
painting white slip on an oval plate

And I love my critters! Spent some time working on new ones:

clay sculpture of a cat
clay cat
clay sculpture of a cow
clay cow
clay sculpture of a dog
clay dog
clay sculpture of a pug dog
another clay dog!

Stay tuned to see the progress!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Reduction Printmaking With John Painter

My friend John came to visit. We are both artists, and spent most of the visit making prints. We made reduction linocuts: a technique where we use the same block for more than one color. We start with the lightest color, print it, then cut the block to design the second color. If all goes well, and we line the blocks correct, we have a beautiful 2 color design. These are particularly unique because; once we switch colors, it’s impossible to print that color’s design ever again. Limited edition!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

3rd Grade Field Day at the Mason County Rec Park

Yesterday, My friend Vicki and I were asked to help with our 3rd grader’s field day, by providing an art activity. Since it’s the end of the school year, We decided to make a thank you book to give the teachers. We talked to the students about the different things they are grateful for, then made paintings!

It was fun! I don’t film other people’s children without their parent’s permission, but still made a few instagram/facebook stories to share while it was happening. I put them together in this short video for my friends who aren’t on social media.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Plein Air Painting with Kay Schafer in Maysville, KY

My friend and artist, Kay Schafer asked if I could show her a few of my favorite painting spots in Maysville. We decided to make a painting day out of it!

Thought id start the morning painting this scene…ive never painted this church before, and the light is nice.

plein air underpainting of the church on market street in maysville kentucky
compositiom and values… Ready for color
im happy with how it finished
plein air sketch of the view of maysville kentucky from the ohio river
decided to paint maysville from the ohio side. Thought it would be landscape orientation, but after sketching, it told me that it wanted to be vertical
plein air underpainting of the view of maysville kentucky from the ohio river
values and composition worked out. I sure wish a boat would go by…
plein air painting of maysville kentucky from the view of the ohio river at aberdeen park ohio
Maysville ky – river town 6×4 1/2″ oil on panel

Thanks Kay far visiting my little river town. Showing a guest around always gives me a fresh perspective of my hometown.

artists ken swinson and Kay schafer painting the view of maysville kentucky from the ohio river pairk in aberdeen ohio