I realized that I missed my week 2 update, but there were two reasons for that. The first is that a power surge killed my laptop’s power supply. The laptop is fine, but out of juice. A new power brick is on it’s way, but until it gets here, I’m stuck with just my iPhone. I’ll probably be skimpy on blog updates until the replacement power supply gets here.
The other and more exciting reason is that I’m going to be firing a wood soda kiln tomorrow!! I’ve been working incredibly hard to finish every single piece I possibly can. The past 4 days or so I’ve spent most of 10am to 12am in the studio. (Not counting delicious suppers and fascinating slide presentations by the other artists). How ever, I’ve managed to finish exactly 90 fliers, in addition to some other forms playing with shape and texture! Not bad for a bit more than two weeks.
The only downside is having the firing in the middle of my time here, instead of the end. However, I could never fire the kiln by myself, and the girl I’m firing it with leaves on October 6th. We’re firing now so there will be time to cool and unload everything before she leaves. I’ll also have plenty of time to hang all of my flying beasts in their installation.
I’ve been considering a number of different things to work on in my remaining time here, after the soda firing. I keep changing my mind every 5 minutes. I’d like to play with color on white porcelain some, and see where that goes. Or I could spend some time making quick rough monsters, brainstorming with new forms on a larger scale. I’d use the cheapest clay, and scrap them all at the end, just making as many new forms as fast as I could. There’s just so many possibilities!!

I’ve been at Guldagergaard for a week now. Strange to think I’m already 1/5 of the way done with my time here. It’s been a pretty cool experience so far, and is clearly a great community.

GG is set up so that various artist come in from all different countries, staying in an old manor house, and working together in the studios, which at one time were the horse stables. We presently have 7 artists and assistants from Finland, Denmark, Canada, and the US, with a number of other folks wondering in for a day or two. The assistants spend part of the day firing kilns and what not, but work on their own projects too. We’re all working on our own work, but since we’re in a communal space, it’s a great set up for exchanging ideas and theory. The work of the other artists range from functional ware, to figurative sculpture, to wonderfully abstract glass pieces. The glass artist is here in order to figure out how to incorporate ceramic material into her pieces.
While everyone put forward proposals about what they’d be working on while they’re here, the set up is so inspiring and filled with new ideas that they may end up working in the entirely opposite direction. My proposal was to build a giant swarm of flying creatures as an installation. While I have quite a few additional ideas I think I’m going to explore, I’m going to keep going on the flying beasts as well at the same time.

Guldagergaard itself is very cool, as well. In addition to wonderful assortment of kilns and supplies, it also has extensive library of ceramic related reading material. And that’s not even mentioning its actually collection of ceramics, both in its gallery and in the house! I’ve been making sure to use a different mug every day, but I still need to go spend some time staring at the amazing work in the gallery. It’s tough to avoid feeling intimidated by the sheer amount of incredible work around.

It’s also located in the middle of a public sculpture park, with random members of the public wondering by on their bikes, and occasionally sticking their heads into the studio. My favorite part of the sculpture park is a giant earthwork spiral mound. By walking around it, you eventually reach the flattened top with a view of windmills, housing developments, and fields. When I walked to the top today, I walked right by a hare, hunkered flat, trying incredibly hard to convince me of its own invisibility.

My average day seems to be chunks of two to three hours in the studio, interspersed with exploring, eating, and talking with the other artists. I have access to a bike, and often take off in a random direction with a thermos of tea and my sketch book. The movement and the sight seeing helps me think. I’m generally in the studio until after 11 at night, which is actually a fun change for me – reminds me of my college days.
So that about sums up my observations on the place so far. It’s just a really great place to be and to be making art. I’ve uploaded some of the pictures I’ve taken so far to flickr!