Concentration #2

Artist Statement

Garry the Garbage Head

The creation of Garry began with some clay. I used pinch-pot techniques to create a bust out of clay. This is when I discovered that I need to learn how to work with clay better and that using clay really stresses me out. I want to learn to be able to relax a little more and not get so frustrated when working with clay because I really like the outcome of the material. Although I struggled, I ended up making a bust with non-realistic facial features like a crooked nose and bulging eyes and lips. After the clay was fired, I glazed it with some colors like green, blue, pink, and black. After taking in some comments from classmates I changed the bulging eyes into big pink cheeks. The final step of the sculpture was to gather some trash into a trash bag and put it into its head.

I like that you can change the composition of Garry by changing the trash inside his head. I think I liked the sculpture a lot more before I added the paint and eyes. I like the empty looking clay face although it can be kind of boring. I think next time I'm just going to paint faces one color and maybe do sgraffito. Garry ties into my concentration because it's still about the excessive plastic use in our world. Garry's brain is filled with trash and represents how we treat the Earth like a trash can. I chose to paint it blue and green because it reminds me of the land and water on Earth that are effected by this trash.