i paint with clay

‘As we fly and flow’ is a painting I painted to go into a juried competition of contemporary art in occasion of the America’s Cup in sailing regatta to be held in Naples Italy. The theme of exhibit is our interpretation of sailing.

Nike of Samothrace, goddess who personifies victory, is the idea behind this painting and a theme for possible future paintings. I gravitate to identify myself with this piece of ancient Greek sculpture, party because I was familiar with it at an early age, thanks to my mother who named me Eunika (‘eu’ good, ‘nike’ victory) and also because I have a semblance to Nike when I run in a navigable area somewhere in the mountains, where I feel free, light, joyous – flying. I’ve sailed once in my life and to me that emotional experience parallels that of running. Ideally for me, this project brings the idea of the two disciplines (running and sailing) together, by placing MY ‘Nike’, like Nike of Samothrace at a prow of a ship for which she was originally created. She conveys a sense of action as she descends from the skies to the triumphant fleet, landing in a headwind with her arms like wings aloft, in her sheer chiton, heavy with sea spray.

Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder) once maintained that the waters could be calmed by a woman uncovering her body at sea, and many sailors no doubt hoped that the representation of a woman would stave off foul weather and bring them good luck. So I think … with a Nike at a prow, the sea is not dangerous after all.

Window of Time is the first painting of my Wine Series that I’ve painted on canvas. Come to think of it, it has been a while since I’ve painted a figure study or portrait on canvas.

This work was painted for Project Carré Magique that was showing in Art Monaco 2012 (April 5 – April 8). It was somewhat of a commission, new wine series painting sized to 50 cm x 50 cm.

Amber, one of my ‘models’ was good to go. We shot over 400 pics, this picture was the last one I took as she was leaving to refill her wine It just goes to prove that the best pics are taken when person is not trying to pose and is unaware of the camera.

This painting was painted with an additional theme in mind. I was painting it trying to get into a February competition that had, let’s just say a Valentine’s day idea behind it I did not get into the show, which is probably a good thing. From what I’ve seen, my painting was a bit clean for their taste.

I was trying to take a modest approach to it and have the title of the piece, “what if we simply … fall”, suggest a meaning to an individual viewer.

I really like how it turned out. I think the painting can be perceived as dark, somber or even mournful, but it can also be viewed as hopeful, sensual or even moving.

The idea behind this painting and series that will follow is to combine the power that both, aspen and cathedrals have over me. As a girl growing up in Communist Europe, where freedom of religion was suppressed, I could not deny the feeling I got when standing inside a cathedral. I felt a presence of something big, timeless, peaceful and so beautiful; the perception was enough to make me want to drop to my knees. As a girl I did not understand this feeling, but now, several years later, inside an aspen grove I had that feeling again. This time I understood my reaction and its meaning. Thousands of miles from cathedrals of Europe I discovered cathedrals of forest where I have a freedom to believe.

My work was recently featured in Dutch Online Art Publication:

http://dumpjekunst.nl/eunika-rogers/

I came away with 5 different clay swatches from my Colorado dig. They all had to be strained except for the Gold clay. And no, I did not find a gold nugget in the process.

First from the right was picked just outside of Ophir. One cannot tell from the pic, but the swatch has a little green tint to it. Nickel?

Second from right was picked on what I call lower San Miguel river. It is about an hour drive down the river from Telluride. This swatch has a bit of a purple tint to it.

Third, was picked near Telluride. I was there during monsoon season, when the area experiences landslides. I picked this clay up from a then recent landslide.

Fourth was picked from a creek on top of Red Mountain. It was very rocky there; I had to collect my clay in many containers. It is mixed with other clay particles so it is not pure in color as the last swatch, making it a darker value of the gold.

Fifth, probably my most exciting find was picked near a gold mine at Red Mountain pass. It is matt and even in color. One can almost mistake it for acrylic paint.

cla

As mentioned in my previous blog, clay that I picked up in Colorado had to be tested. Even though I tried to avoid tailing sites, it became clear to me that pretty much anything having to do with soil from the area has to be treated with caution.

I contacted several companies about this; I wanted my clay to be tested for mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium. Prices were pretty outrageous but I eventually got them tested with a science professor from my college. As it turns out they all came out safe to work with.

My next step was to strain the clay and eliminate all the big rocks and pebbles and other stuff from it. My gold clay did not need any of it. It is clear from the pic that this clay is very pure and pasty like.

My husband took this picture of me finding a gold mine – really. We were vacationing in Colorado, in an area known as Golden Triangle (area between Telluride, Ouray and Silverton). I dedicated one day to some serious clay finding and digging. After hours of driving and looking we came up over Red Mountain Pass. There was a creek running down the mountain colored in this yellow color. I collected some clay from this creek but kept hiking up it to see where its source was. There was an old abandoned gold mine with piles of tailing. (You want to avoid that stuff, tailing is some seriously contaminated sleuth from mines). After some patient exploring I found this ‘tub’ of clay. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like porcelain quality, smooth and soufflé-like. What was even more exciting was that the water dripping into this ‘tub’ was coming off a hole in a rock (probably from a gold mine). I am just going to go ahead and say; yep, it probably has some gold in it.