The Wizard Study

Fantastically magical creatures from another world that come in all shapes, sizes and colors, originally based off a very interesting dream many years ago. My Wizards are made in batches and each batch is known as a Series. The photos below are organized by Series, starting with the most recent Wizards at the top. Similar coloration and shapes may find themselves throughout the Wizards, but no two will ever be exactly alike. If you're interested in a custom-made wizard just for you, feel free to let me know and I'm sure we could come up with one for you. :)

Other Work...

Rooted

Materials: High Fire Oxidation Clay, Underglaze, Acrylic | Date Made: Spring 2013 | Price: $400
This is one of those impromptu pieces that ended up turning into one of my favorite projects. I love tree roots that spread out of the ground and in every direction, so the dream-wrought thought of a living stump was too good to pass up. 

Basic shaping started at the stump, which mostly consisted of me hitting it into place until I was satisfied with the shape. The roots came next, clay being slathered onto the base, gradually pushing the stump to greater heights and the roots to greater lengths. Before firing, all of the roots had to be cut off in order to fit in the kiln, again pushing me to think creatively of the end result. Post-firing glazing consisted of layers upon layers of self-mixed underglazes, just waiting to find that perfect combination of shades. 

The end result you see here was shown at Joint Dimensions in October of 2013 at Pixies & Peony. 

Scarecrow

Materials: Clay, Wood, Acrylic, Underglaze, Spray Paint, Metal | Date Made: Summer 2012 - Fall 2013 | Price: $400
The Scarecrow is what's left of unlawful an human experimentation ring, formerly located underground, below a vast forest. In the future, some of the most battered of humans are promised a better life without all of the hurt they've been harboring within their shattered minds. These are people that took the greatest losses during a great war, nearly plummeting the Earth into an apocalyptic state of being. The Scarecrow is alive, deep within the forest, serving as a morbid watch dog, as well as a fateful reminder of a world that no longer existed. He is the embodiment of a broken time and a horrendous era. As the leader of the former base below, he suffers this fate, chained in place, so as to not go off and end his misery too soon. At the same time, the chains that bind him also keep him upright. That which keeps him from eternal slumber, also supports him. 

Like the majority of my work, Scarecrow started out as a dream. The focal point of this dream was a shell of man, out in the middle of a forest, alone and wishing to be free. After waking up and drawing out what I remembered seeing, the emotions of what the piece came naturally. 

Scarecrow was made in 3 different pieces (upper body, lower body & left leg), was painted with underglazes, mid-fired, painted with acrylics and then assembled on a spray-painted wooden board. Oddly enough, he ended up not being able to stand on his own anyway, so the board that he stands upon serves as a counter-weight that keeps the chains taught; thus, keeping him from falling over, which also fulfills my original vision from the dream. 

Opus

Materials: High Fire Oxidation Clay, Underglaze | Date Made: Fall 2012 | Price: $500 (remaining set, indv. prices below)
Variations on a theme from the previous year, the "simple definition" of Opus on Merriam-Webster is "an important work done by a writer, painter, etc." This series was my take on something of importance I suppose, at the time I considered the title a bit satirical and slightly random, but I couldn't shake it from my brain while working on these hands. 

Using the same hand molds as those used in Deterioration, I created a multitude of hands in varying stages of completeness and assembled some into duos/trios/quartets. Using slightly dried out clay, I created the Pile. After bisque-firing, they were all given a full black underglazing. Various colored glazes were then used in drips, splatters and smears to create the end results. 

Depending on whether you view these pieces from Pile to Enkindle or vice-versa, the connotation of the coloration ranges from on-fire to entirely burnt out ashes, or vice-versa. 

Charred sold on-site at my 2012 Pixies & Peony Art Show in October, among other work, but the rest of the series remains. 

Deterioration

Materials: High Fire Stoneware | Date Made: Spring 2011 | Price: $150 (remaining duo) or $220 (remade full set) [indiv. prices below]

​What started out as an experiment with making plaster molds of my hands, evolved into a full series of slightly macabre work. Considering the majority of my work spurs from dreams, I consider my hands to be the darker, nightmarish flipside of the Wizard Study, my primary focus. Deterioration was my first attempt at creating an actual series of pieces that went together. This was before I thoroughly immersed myself in the Wizard Study and I was experimenting with various glazing techniques.

This series debuted at the Alameda Art Murmur that same season, along with some wire-work, a papier-mâché No Face (Spirited Away​) and other ceramics. Other than studio-based critique, the primary feedback I've gotten from these pieces have been how "creepy the elongated fingers are." Oddly enough, that's just the way my hands look and other than the chopped fingers/nails, I didn't edit these pieces much at all. 

Regenaris sold on site that day, my first real sale of my ceramics. It was a moment I think back on to this day, especially right afterwards when my girlfriend (now wife) noted that was her favorite piece. Naturally, I made her another.