December 2008 Featured Artist: Gretchen Ewert
VIEW GRETCHEN'S WORK
Primordial Eggs
My rattles are miniature art designed to be handled, shaken and listened to, danced
with or simply appreciated in an intimate way. Twenty-five years ago, I began making
them as small sketches for large sculpture. In time they assumed a separate identity as
works of art; I began to add finishing touches and save them. I chose to call the first
series "Primordial Eggs" as a reference to their often rounded, soft organic shapes
which seemed to suggest the germinal stages of more complex three-dimensional ideas.
Each individual piece is unique as an entirely hand-made object. No two pieces are
exactly alike. Specific shapes determine the quality and pitch of the sound when
shaken. Each is hand-formed from clay slabs, filled with clay pellets, and sealed into
closed form while the slabs are still wet. They are then allowed to dry, painted with
colored slips, and fired to cone 03 to create the range of bell-like sounds. Surface
decoration is added before and after firing. The latter includes the application of
metallic leafs: 22ct. gold, silver, copper, and variegated acid-washed composition
leafs. The surfaces are durable and resilient, but some slight changes may occur from
handling with the absorption of skin oils. As with old wood or ivory, these changes are
part of a deepening aesthetic process and personal relationship with the piece.
