Old Car in an Auction Lot, Fresno

Old Car in an Auction Lot, Fresno
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

My cousin's property around their home was "shaved" into a nice lawn, beyond which the remainder was left to grow. Just over the line, side by side, sat two old Chevy's-- full of dust, cobwebs and a variety of spiders. Despite my fear, I would climb into the cars. The enticement to go on long imaginary drives with my cousin Bonnie was way too hard to resist.

She drove. I kept an eye on the spiders.

The Doors of Tripoli Series

The Doors of Tripoli Series
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a
Fired last night, kiln opening this morning. They are in the same positions as in the last two photos, when they were green, unfired. There are three additional buttons here: the influence got into my other work.

These were inspired by Hibo's photos of the Old Doors of Tripoli, on FaceBook.

As Sue Michael reminded me, buttons are like doors. Another friend responded by acknowledging their role, for women, as a fastener of clothing, a keeper of person: our safety.

I had a hard time finishing these. I cried many times thinking of the women and children, waiting behind doors in Tripoli.

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Glazed & Signed

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Glazed & Signed
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

This set is now ready to be fired. Many risks here: I can guess about how some glazes will behave together, but I cannot know for certain. And, here I'm using many of them over translucent porcelain, for the first time.

During firing, porcelain becomes a ceramic that is nearly glass; its surface vitrifies and almost self-glazes. That changes the behavior of the underglazes and glazes that sit on it.

Yes, for those who might have noticed: I glazed on greenware and will fire once to maturity. I single-fire.

The Old Doors of Tripoli: Underglazing

In the photo that accompanies my previous post below, the porcelain clay has been patterned, cropped, drilled, trimmed, beveled and sponged.

Several hours of work later, each button now has layers of underglazes, glazes and stains, in the hope of patinas and combinations that will reference Hibo's photographs of Tripoli's old doors.

I fall back on skills learned in theater technical classes, where I learned to make common materials look like anything from cloth, rich wood, cinder block... to fine alabaster.

There is still more work to be done before they are ready to fire.

The Old Doors of Tripoli

Doors of Tripoli
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

Having lost contact with women--net friends-- in Tripoli, how to express what it means?

Eman el Obeidi giving voice.

Admiring for quite a while now, I chose Hibo's photographs of the Old Doors of Tripoli, here as inspiration and reference for these buttons, which are still green--unfired.

Doors...for so many reasons.

I have trepidation. Is it trivial to reference so much in buttons? What happens when I sell my buttons? Probably, artists who have long known they are artists have already answered such questions for themselves. I'm not sure I have .

I want people, I want other women, to care. To take it upon their clothing.

And if they don't know and they don't care?

Maybe some satisfaction in knowing they have unwittingly been made to bear witness.

The Real Meaning of Embedded Journalists

Government approved journalists are embedded.

Unapproved journalists are chased by Interpol for getting into bed.

See your First Amendment for clarification.

Where do you draw your inspiration for the designs from?

Sun Flower
Originally uploaded by la_v_i_k_a

I have a flickr friend to thank for this question. It's something I should probably address more frequently.

Where do I get my inspiration?

I do a lot of reading with my eyes, the text is secondary.

Within this photo are designs inspired by: bricklayers' paving patterns, the repetition of Talavera tile designs, Asian family crests, Islamic iron screens, and Japanese etegami.

I chose a palette from Central Asia, from Islamic tile work, almost twenty years ago, after visiting Kazakhstan. I stray from it in places, but those colors are still at the core of my work, appearing again and again. Carpets from the region also influenced me. When I struggle with reds, I am always thinking of the wrestling with materials that faced the region's carpet-makers, who arrived at deep to fading watermelon, and reds that leaned toward violet, using madder and various insect products. Now, we both struggle with modern reds so potent they are unnatural.

Considering more recent events, I'll admit it's curious that my inspiration comes primarily from this region. But, I grew up near Saratoga Race Track, a land of horses. An elementary school infatuation with dinosaurs, combined with the presence of horses, led to an interest in Mongolia, home to some of the earliest horses. My interest in the region took off from there, and has never left me.

So, at root, maybe my biggest inspiration is having an elementary school girl's curiosity.