CSArt Project

Shea is one of the seven artists selected in the 2018 CSArt Share program coordinated by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Council. "Community Supported Art takes the model of buying a farm share to help support local agriculture and adapts it to supporting art-making in our community. Buy one of our shares and you get fresh, high-quality art at a reasonable price. Your purchase supports local artists, your neighbors, working right here in Cambridge. Which helps keep Cambridge creative."

As part of my project for the CSArt Program I wanted to explore a new process of presenting my Worry Dolls. I found that throughout this project, it has turned into a process oriented art, which is new for me. As a digital artist, decisions can be quick and mistakes easily fixed. By adding the element of ceramics, it opened my work up for organic mistakes and surprises. Being a novice in the art of ceramics - the glazing and over all combination of handmade ceramic tiles and digital decals was a humbling process.

After the creation of the tiles (which went through 3 rounds of firing in the kiln) they were covered in three glazes, ‘Rustic blue',’ ‘tourmaline,’ and ‘Palldium’ I then adorned amethyst stones to the surface of the tiles. Turning my once digital images I created as a way to calm my brain in the middle of the night - into 3D wall-hanging Worry Dolls.

Phase One - Glaze

Once I rolled the clay I cut them into squares. Which were then put into their first round of firing. The tiles took on a life of their own in the kiln and shrink, which gives each piece an organic hand-made look. After they came out I and cooled, I added the high-fire glaze.

Post Kiln and Pre-Decal

Once the tiles came out of the kiln it was time to add the custom digital decals. (Which you dip into warm water and place on the tile. They go back into the kiln and are fired on low-fire).

Mistakes

This was one of the many failures along the way. The decal was fired on the wrong heat - and the decal was stuck under the glaze. Part of the humbling process!