Sunday, October 31, 2021

Halloween Address 2021

 Welcome to the second annual Halloween Address. Actually, welcome back to the blog. After a year of silence, the blog is active once again and will continue to be active in the weeks and months moving forward. For new visitors who wonder why it is I’m doing a Halloween Address, I suggest you read the previous post from last year.

First, I would like to address the reason for such a long absence. The answer is quite simple. Up until recently, there hasn’t been much going on. Well, actually, it’s a little more complicated than that. There was a lot going on behind the scenes, just not anything I could really post about here. A lot of things were going on that slowly led to other things that were going on which eventually led to me getting somewhat back on track. Now that I’m getting back on track, posts will be made more frequently. I don’t want to go into any details about it. It would bore some people, cause other people to have some genuine concern for me and would derail the Address.

Second, I would like to talk about what getting back on track has led to. In late August, I started on what I consider the mother of all projects. It’s currently listed as P2 in the file I made for it on my computer. While the project is creatively ambitious, the process of how it is coming together is the reason I call this the mother of all projects. If everything goes well, this project could change everything. I don’t want to talk too much about it now. I would rather dedicate another post to that. In September, I started on several digital photo projects. The projects originated from an accident involving turnips I used for a photo shoot late last year. Instead of throwing the turnips out, I left them in a box and when I finally discovered them, they shriveled up and shrunk into what I could best describe as shrunken heads. The discovery that led to these three projects can be seen below.

Mood Swing

Hanging Around


Initium

In late October, I was asked to put on a show, the first show I’ve had in three years. Since I had cancelled a show back in 2019, I wasn’t going let the opportunity slip. I had less than 2 weeks to prepare. Normally, I would need several weeks or even several months to prepare, but since I hadn’t had a show in so long, I accumulated more than enough work to show and all I had to finish were those three digital projects. I would like to discuss the show further in a future post. Also in October, I finally got around to glazing some ceramic pieces that I made back in 2017. These ceramic pieces were made specifically to sell and hopefully, by early next year, they will finally go on sale.

Now, since I discussed where getting back on track has led to so far, I would like to end this Address on the prospects of a brighter future. Throughout the next year, expect more projects to be completed, more shows to happen, more items to go on sale and an overall greater presence with me.

This is the end of the annual Halloween Address. The next post should be coming hopefully soon. Click on the link below to find me on other sites.



Saturday, October 31, 2020

Halloween Address 2020

Welcome to the first Halloween Address. This will hopefully be something I do on a yearly basis. For me, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and even though I don't dress up anymore or go to many Halloween-related events, I still take time to appreciate the overall atmosphere of the holiday. This day continues to have an influence on everything I do. Halloween is also important for me for another reason. It is the time of year when I am slowly wrapping up whatever I am working on and I begin planning for the following year. By January or in early February, those plans are set in stone and I proceed to move forward and try to follow through with my plans to the best of my ability. This is why I feel a Halloween Address is necessary. I can celebrate the holiday in my own way by taking time to look back at what I had done and to dream about what I could potentially look forward to.

2020 has been my most challenging year yet, at least creatively. The main challenge of 2020 has been trying to get anything done. The pandemic destroyed whatever plans I had. I lost access to the studio at the college meaning that many projects had to be pushed back to next year. Also, as an essential employee, I worked long hours and exhausted myself both physically and mentally to try and help get the world back on its feet. This is the reason why this blog hasn't seen many updates throughout the year. There was nothing to update. That isn't to say that nothing was going on in the background. During the summer, I made arrangements with the college to go back early next year and resume with where I left off back in March. Also, in August, I started doing work in the back of my basement to create more workspace for my studio and to make everything work more efficiently for me. The work I began then will hopefully be near completion within a few days. I was also looking into.... something else, something big. I can't talk about that right now though. It's too early. Let's just say that the next year or two will be quite interesting. Aside from fixing workplaces and making preparations, I spent a lot of time reflecting on how I could improve a lot of what I do in terms of marketing, branding and selling products. I'm not going into detail about that now. I would like to save that for a future post. 

Since I spent the end of the winter and much of the spring dealing with the pandemic and much of the summer trying to fix up my studio and readjust whatever plans I had, where does that leave me now? It's quite simple. I am picking up where I left off in March, at least to the best of my abilities. Anything ceramic-related is off limits. Since my drawings are connected to much of my ceramic work, much of that has been put off as well. However, I was working on something else earlier this year, something that originated in an unusual place. In the fall of 2019, I was at work on a night when there was no truck. I was getting the store into shape and I found a pumpkin sitting on a shelf. I'm assuming a customer decided they didn't want it because much of the stem had broken off and instead putting it back with the other pumpkins, they just randomly put it on a shelf. As weird as it sounds, I felt sorry for that pumpkin and I ended up buying it. Not knowing what to do with it, I left the pumpkin in my room for a few months. This led to a new photography project in 2020. I asked myself how I could make something new. I did pumpkin pictures in the past, quite a few of them. In 2018, I did my first project with turnip carvings. The logical conclusion was to do something with both pumpkins and turnips. Since Halloween had come and gone, I could no longer buy pumpkins and had to rely on only one. However, turnips are sold throughout the year, so I could get as many of them as I wanted. As I planned out a photoshoot, something else came to mind. I typically use the back of the drawing and painting studio at the college as a makeshift photography studio. That studio contains many objects used for still-life drawings and paintings including animal skulls. That gave me another idea. I figured while I was there, why not throw in a couple of animal skulls into the mix. In all honesty, I wasn't even sure if they were still there. I hadn't seen them in years. Fortunately, they were and I used a few of them. Then I got another idea. Since I was there and I had everything set up, I figured I could use a few of these skulls as a subject matter independent from the pumpkin and turnips. I hadn't done any photo projects with skulls yet. So one photo project turned into two photo projects. Oh, and that broken pumpkin stem? My solution to that became a mini mixed-media project (read my pre-pandemic progress report for more on that). Anyway, I took the pictures back in February. The world shut down in March. While I occasionally fooled around with the pictures on Photoshop, it took me while to get back to a regular workflow. I did though and I finally completed something this year. 

Now that I'm finally getting back on track and I actually did something this year, I can take the time to celebrate Halloween in my own way. I am going to debut two new projects right here. I present to everyone my digital photography/digital art projects The Ritual and The Offering. Using blood-colored filters, these pictures give off a dark and somewhat morbid tone while injecting some mild humor, especially with some of the turnip faces. The Ritual has pumpkins, turnips and skulls set up like candles or religious objects on an alter. The Offering has animal skulls arranged in such a way, almost as if they were children wearing masks for trick-or-treating. The intimidating vibes given off by the skulls could very well serve as a warning of the consequences of leaving said children unsatisfied. Alternatively, the skulls themselves could be the offering, such as the college allowing me to use them to serve my creative needs. Finally, I present the new blog design, based on The Ritual. I made it through the pandemic. It's the beginning of a new post-pandemic era and I felt that redesigning and renaming the blog was necessary. What I present here is only the beginning of what is to come. To think, all this was possible because of a pumpkin with a broken stem a customer randomly placed on a store shelf that I happened to come across over a year ago. It's amazing how creativity works.

That is the end of the first Halloween Address. I know there is quite a bit to read here and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it all. Consider the pictures as a reward for putting up with a wall of text. Anyway, feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or visit from my Etsy shop (which is REALLY in need of a major update).

https://www.patreon.com/Jon_Erich

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jonerich

The Ritual

The Offering


Friday, October 30, 2020

2020 Progress Report: Pre-Pandemic

Welcome to a very unusual progress report. Now that I am finally getting everything back on track, I can share with you what was going on prior to the peak of the pandemic. 2020 was originally shaping up to be a big year with my main focus being on the completion of some mixed media projects I was working on last year and photography/digital art projects that would be more object-focused as opposed to the more environment-focused images from 2019. 2020 was also going to be a big year where I would begin to be more aggressive with the business side of things, especially since I was financially in the right place to be able to do so. Since my progress during the year didn't get far enough to have any images of what I was going to produce commercially, there's no point in talking about that, at least not right now. The images here were taken between February and early March. Even though 2020 was a bust for obvious reasons, these images do not focus on what could have been, but instead focus on what will eventually be. 

These seven images are all I have for right now. As long as everything goes right, there should be a lot in store over the next 24 hours. I plan on doing what I call a Halloween Address, something that I want to do annually. Also, I am planning on updating the design of this blog and rebranding it. I still haven't finalized a new name yet. I want it to be more interesting than the current name, something that'll grab anyone's attention. At the same time, I also want it to something simple. Anyway, feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or visit from my Etsy shop (which is in need of a major update btw).

2/13/20: I first bought this pumpkin in late 2019 but it took a little while before I was able to do anything with it. This pumpkin would be the beginning of what would be my first photography/digital project of the year. There was a problem, however. The stem was broken and so I decided to make my own stem. The basic skeletal structure was made using foam board and hot glue.

2/13/20: The shape of the stem is further defined by pieces of canvas.

2/17/20: Fiber paste was used to help make the the shape and over texture seem even more natural.

2/20/20: The painting was done. Although it is hard to see in this picture, various shades of green and yellow were mixed together to create a somewhat convincing stem. Even the remnants of the actual stem was painted. The part where the stem is supposed to break off was darker than I wanted it to be and I eventually gave up trying to get the colors right. I figured that since this was going to be part of a digital photo project, I could always use photoshop to get the colors and contrast I wanted.

2/20/20: The pumpkins and turnips were carved and are ready for the photoshoot. For the sake of secrecy, I chose not to include a picture from the photoshoot on this blog post. The results of that photoshoot will be seen soon enough. If there is one regret I have, it's the face of the pumpkin. I wish it would have had a more neutral face. I think it would have worked better for what I wanted to do.

3/5/20: I finally did all the clay parts of this project. I resumed where I left off in the spring of 2019. Sadly, at this point, this project most likely won't be done before spring 2021.

3/5/20: Although it is hard to explain using only one picture, this is being used as a background image for my digital arts projects. It's nothing more than an index card applied with fiber paste and paint. The final image will be flat and distorted. The reason metallic paints are used here is to create highlights during the scanning process that are visible when the image is flattened. I'll have to create a post about this process at some point. 


 







Wednesday, September 30, 2020

A Quick Update

It has been quiet around here, hasn't it? The last update was back in March. The world was a very different place back then. Like so many others, the pandemic has had a negative impact on my plans for the year which is why there hasn't been an update in quite some time. I'm going to try and make this brief so you're not reading a wall of text, so let's get into it.

- Everything I posted before this entry should be ignored. Too much has changed and I can no longer go by the old schedule as far as projects are concerned.

- The February/March progress report will be coming soon, but will now be retitled as the pre-pandemic report.

- In addition to the progress report, I plan on posting a Halloween address that may possibly become an annual post.

- Don't expect a full update on every project I plan on working on. I'm going to try and salvage some of the work that I had set out to do this earlier year. I am going to hold off on making a full detailed list of plans until early next year.

- I have made the decision to rebrand the blog over the next month. This rebranding will include a title change and a redesign. This isn't the first time this has happened. I did this once before a few years ago. Given how serious I am about graphic design and branding, this is something to look forward to.

That is all I have for right now. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or visit from my Etsy shop (which is in need of a major update btw).



Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Welcome to 2020 (finally)

I would like to start off the first post of the year by saying there are no pictures in this post except for the document I made that outlines my plans. The pictures will be coming next month when I make the February/March Progress Report. Now that is out of the way, it is only March and this year has already been a rollercoaster ride for me. In just the first month, I had much of the year scheduled and planned out and then I got screwed over under circumstances that I wish not to discuss here. Then I spent a day in the emergency room. Then I found out I had high blood pressure and had to deal with that. Despite all that, I did proceed with my plans, though they have been somewhat neutered.

In the document below, I have listed the projects that I plan to do. Most of these are projects that I was supposed to do in 2019 but never got around to completing. As always, I may not finish everything and if I do finish something, I may add something else to the list. My two main priorities right now are projects P1 and P7. P1 is a digital photo project that kind of represents where I want to go these types of projects. Last year's digital project were environment-focused whereas the current project is more object-focused. P7, a mixed media project picks up largely where I left off in 2018 and I will continue to explore the integration of ceramics, drawings and acrylic-based mixed media work.

I usually prepare a document at the beginning of each year that outlines when I plan to do throughout the year.
That is all I have for right now. I'm not sure when the next post will come along. It shouldn't be too long though. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or buy buttons from my Etsy shop.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

End of the Year Plans

Most of everything I originally planned on doing this year has been delayed until next year. Due to the unexpected delays, my work this year will be all digital. As of right now, I am not sure how many digital works I will make but with the material I have right now, I'm expecting it'll be somewhere around 10 pieces. As far as buttons are concerned, it's too early to tell if I'll have any new designs ready in time for the end of the year but given how it is much easier for me to make buttons out of my digital work as opposed to anything I build by hand, those new button designs will definitely by ready by early next year. As far as anything else is concerned, I don't have much else planned for the rest of the year right now. It all depends what I get done over the next month.

That's all I have for right now. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or buy buttons from my Etsy shop.

https://www.patreon.com/Jon_Erich
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jonerich

Thursday, October 31, 2019

2019 Progress Report: April/May

I want to start off by apologizing for the long delay between posts. There's Been a lot of craziness going on this year and I haven't gotten much of a chance to do any real work for almost six months. I held off on posting this because I knew it would be the last post for sometime. I hope to get back to a somewhat normal schedule during November. If that happens then we'll start seeing more frequent posts. 

Both April and May were all about clay building and firing. Unfortunately, I was only able to get 3/4's of the work done. The last bit of work was supposed to resume in the fall but due to unforeseen circumstances, that work as well as the single project that is seen in these pictures will now be delayed until 2020. The process of what I've been trying to achieve is interesting to me and what is even more interesting is to think about the possibilities of trying to simplify the process in the future. 

That's all I have for right now. I plan to have a followup post tomorrow to talk about what is in store for the remainder of the year. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. Also, share this post with anyone who might be interested. If you want to support me and my projects, you can donate to my Patreon or buy buttons from my Etsy shop.


4/3/19: Each corner of this project will have its own texture design and glaze combinations. Right now, I have constructed roughly half of what I wanted to do.

4/10/19: A piece from the previous week broke before it could be fired and had to be reconstructed.

4/10/19: Another piece from the previous week broke and had to be redone.

4/17/19: Everything that I have made up to this point has been fired. Two other pieces were fired later because those were the ones that had to be made over again.

4/17/19: The five pieces that have been fired are now covered in raku glaze.

4/24/19: The two pieces that had to be built again have since been fired and they fit just fine.

4/24/19: Two more pieces have been glazed.

4/24/19: The third section is under construction.

4/24/19: Five pieces have been fired in the raku kiln so far. I like the way they're turning out.

5/1/19: All pieces of the third section have been fired successfully and fit perfectly.

5/1/19: All parts of the third section are glazed and ready to be fired.

5/1/19: The rest of the second section has been fired.

5/16/19: All parts of the third section have been fired.