Project 2: Totem Towersto·tem

/ˈtōtəm/

Noun

A natural object or animal believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and adopted by it as an emblem.

Ceramics II

Originally an important part of the Potlatch ceremony, a feast with deep meaning to coastal First Nations, totem poles were once carved and raised to represent a family-clan, its kinship system, its dignity, its accomplishments, it prestige, its adventures, its stories, its rights and perogatives.

A totem pole served, in essence, as the emblem of a family or clan and often as a reminder of its ancestry.

Totem History

How?

ab·strac·tion

/abˈstrakSHən/

Noun

The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events.

Something that exists only as an idea.

Abstraction indicates a departure from reality (departure from what an object ACTUALLY looks like.) On your totem, twist, distort, repeat, change the scale, color, pattern, simplify into shapes, use less detail

Choatic Encounter #17, 83 in. tall, 2003

Michael Hough

Your Move, 82 in. tall, 2002 Toy Boat, Toy Bout, Toy Boot, 82 in. tall, 2002

Michael Hough Artist’s Statement

I hunt for contrasts that are fun, that intrigue, and cause you to ask 'What was this guy thinking?'.

My welded steel sculptures are constructed like assemblage. Working with farm implements, industrial cut-offs, and interesting scrap yard finds, I weld each piece to the next in search of formalist relations. I look at the lines, shapes and negative spaces the parts create, relishing the process of discovery, and the surprise of how the individual elements relate.

I am interested in scale, how a viewer interacts with piece of sculpture that is larger than they are. The ceramic pieces are bigger than life, dwarfing the viewer, breaking the rule that clay is not supposed to be big. The wall pieces are based on the knick-knack shelf; a gathering place for the strange, the sentimental, and the kitsch. I am interested in junk drawers, those repositories of miscellaneous found in most kitchens. Each object has a story to tell and combined give a glimpse into the owners life.

Accumulated View,

2002. Pieces, 2009. Cannot Predict Now, 2009.

Tiffany Schmierer

Tiffany Schmierer’s Artist Statement

Tiffany Schmierer creates assembled environments with a visual density of pattern, imagery, and detail. Rather than edit down to the minimal, she embraces the complexity of our visual culture. Her current work is inspired by the intersections between natural and constructed landscape. The pulse of the city, with its mixture of organized and chaotic networks and systems, energizes her. Schmierer refers to her sculptures as three-dimensional collages, where she is layering a chain of ideas to create a cohesive whole. Her finished pieces are an accumulation of fragments from which new connections can be formed. She creates narratives that are non-linear, opening up the visual interpretation of the finished artwork.

Schmierer grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester. She completed her BFA degree at the University of Oklahoma in three-dimensional arts. She then moved to the West Coast where she earned her MFA in Ceramics from San Francisco State University in 2004. She is currently Associate Professor of Art at Skyline College in San Bruno, where she heads the ceramics program. Schmierer has exhibited widely in national and regional shows, and received critical recognition for her artwork.

Balancing Dog, Lisa Muller

Generating Ideas for Your Totem Tower

Journal #5: What’s on your bucket list? What do you idolize? What do you hope or aspire to? What makes you tick?

Your totem could represent your family, kinship, dignity, accomplishments, prestige, adventures, stories, rights and prerogatives.

The Project

Height should be at least 15” Incorporate at least 4 images to be sculpted. At least two of the four must be abstracted. One object should have a distinct sculpted

texture. One object should symbolize your ancestry. The sculpture should be viewable from all

sides.

Journal #6: Abstraction Exercise

After viewing artist 99 Feelings sculptures, sketch three abstract forms that express an emotion.

Incorporate one of the forms into your final tower design.

Mini feeling: invincible

Mini feeling: angry

Mini feeling: depressed

Mini feeling: ambitious

Mini feeling: empty

Mini feeling: irritated

What is an Artist’s Statement ? An artist statement is a general introduction of your

work as an artist. It is the what, how, and why of your work, from your own perspective.

It helps you convey the deeper meaning or purpose of your work to the audience (clients, gallery owners, scholarship boards, entrance panels, etc.)

Why you need an artist statementAn artist statement lets you convey the reasoning behind your work-- why you chose a particular subject matter, color, image, why you work in a certain medium, etc.

What kind of artists need personal statements?

If you are a designer, photographer, fashion designer, illustrator, sculpture artist, abstract artist, painter or any other kind of artist, you

need an artist statement.

First Draft of your Artist Statement Describe the assignment Discuss what inspires you Describe your work in your own words. Discuss the meaning of each object Discuss the meaning of the overall piece Describe your design decisions:

Why you chose the scale of each object. Why you chose certain colors for each object Any other symbolic image choices you made

*Statements should be two paragraphs typed.

*Font size should be 16. (Legible from a Distance)

*Title your piece top center and put your name at the bottom on the left.