Saturday, November 5, 2011

Face Choir


A couple of years ago, I explored making face jugs.

My wife called them ogre jugs. "Think of Shrek and Jack Prelutsky's Ogre's Awful Day," she said. Jack Who? In any case, they made me laugh -- still do. But they were primitive, raw.

Still, there was something about creating a human-like face. Shaping the skeletal structure -- the cheekbones, the brow bones, the noses, the ears -- was amazing. Watching the face jugs come to life and acquire personality? More than amazing.

These past few months, I've been playing with a different kind of face, a face that emerges from the clay more than is the clay.

The result? My Face Choir.

A friend calls them my Pot Heads.

In any case, they are planters; so think of them with plants growing from the tops of their heads.

An ensemble group will be appearing with me this weekend at the Art Arbor Festival at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve (1101 Country Club Way S., 33705) in St. Petersburg. Stop by and say 'hi' to the guys.