Saturday, May 19, 2012

Some thoughts about fountains


            I am still interested in making ceramic fountains. My thesis became a larger project with a different focus, but I have more fountain ideas that I have not explored yet.
            What interests me about fountains is that the water brings life to the clay, which is otherwise static. Moving water reacts to the surface it is running over, and makes that surface look different. It also brings a natural sound to an otherwise silent object.
            Where there is water, there is also the possibility of plant and animal life. I really enjoyed creating a living environment with my thesis. I am thinking about ways to experiment with bringing living things and water into my work. I could use the clay as the vessel to hold not just the water, but also living things. 


            When I say I am thinking of adding living things, I am not only thinking of plants.The large pool in my thesis had five zebra fish. The fish were shy during the exhibition, and I was able to determine that they did not like the lights, which were very bright, and that they would have been happier with a current in the water. Zebra fish are stream-dwellers, and still water seems to make them a bit lethargic.  (Those five fish had babies after the exhibition when I put them in a more traditional fish tank with lots of current, so now I have 12 zebra fish.)
            I am thinking of a ceramic fountain that would be large enough to house a betta fish, but small enough to put in a house on a counter or table. I would build in places for plants that would have their roots in the water - this would act as a filter in addition to being beautiful - and the fish would live in the pool at the bottom. I am thinking specifically of a betta because they are comfortable living alone and in a smaller tank than most fish.
            This project is still in the sketches on paper stage, so don't expect to see a finished product next week or anything. But it is exciting to me to think about. I think this is the direction my sculpture is heading in currently. 

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