Great progress here: the fibulae are all fired and processed….
The gray, unfired clay was finally dry. 2. After firing, the clay is a hard white ceramic. 3 If you paint dry unglazed clay, the pigment will instantly soak into the clay. But if you soak the clay in water first, then brush on paint, the pigment can be wiped off, leaving color only in the cracks and folds. 4. This time, I added more paint, to darken the clay. 5. When rubbing a brass-bristle brush over the painted ceramic, some of the brass molecules will transfer to the clay, leaving a metallic finish. 6. This gray metallic look allows the fibulae to blend in with the tweed wool, so they aren’t quite so visually prominent.
I discovered this effect some years back when trying to clean wax off one of my ceramic tiles. As you can see (below) the fibulae can now blend in visually.
So all my fibulae are ready…..
…and I’ve got plenty of long needles, heddles, crochet hooks, etc to arm them with….
It’s time to attach!
(above) Here’s the jacket with various fibulae sewn and pinned. (below) Here are the details. Each detail photo has a small inset showing where each one is place on the jacket.
(above) Using the warp threads of a backstrap loom to close up the jacket seam.
(above) Based on an illustration by Ivan Billiken, this one has a distaff, spindle, stylized spinning wheel and a tuft of wool sewn in.
(above)After warping this tiny ceramic loom, I added two shafts from an actual loom heddle.
(above) bursting out from this torn seam, her malacomorph snail shell is hidden inside.
(above) Her Singer sewing machine has a real sewing machine needle
(above) I left this one lighter than the others, so it blends into the shirt, not the jacket.
(below) Since this piece references such obscure history (‘fibula’ and ‘malacomorph’ are not generally well-known) I’m thinking of adding a handkerchief in the pocket, to serve as an explanatory device. I could print the information on the cloth…maybe add a photo?
OK then. Artistic progress is happening. Meanwhile, my art from the one-woman show in Tulsa is now returning home, and my new work is being rejected by all venues….>sigh<…just have to remember: being a successful artist means succeeding in creating art.