Tuesday, December 15, 2009

A Multifigured Sculpture




                                                     Festival of the Goddess
                                                   1994
                                                   natural earthen oxides bound in polymer
                                                   white clay
                                                   by Eric Whollem
                                                   Private Collection


I have created numerous sculptures featuring figurative groups such as this.
Such works are often stimulating artistically, as the play of light and shadow
adds to visual interest, leading the eye to exploration.

This work hearkens to the ancient works of Sardinia, Eastern Europe and
Celtic Spain.

View more of my ceramics on the video below.

                            ERIC WHOLLEM

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Readers interested in my IMAGE GALLERY of Ceramic Sculptures should see:
https://picasaweb.google.com/earthpaint/FigurativeCeramicSculpture#

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE 

SHRINE OF BIRDWOMAN
by Eric Whollem

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Sculpture of Parvati Painted With Volcanic Earth From Mt. Shasta



The Daughter of the Mountain
1994
volcanic pumice on earthenware
by EricWhollem
Collection of Marlene Permar


THE DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN:
      SPIRITUAL VALUES IN CLAY


This work in a free way evokes to a degree
the genre of Hindu Art, yet relates to no
special Asian tradition, it being, of course,
a modern work from Northern California.

The Daughter of the Mountain, or Parvati,
is the consort of Shiva, God of Meditation,
the remover of obstacles, the Renewer.

The light violet gray volcanic pumice of Mt.
Shasta was used to give this piece it's final
matt luster. This matt, earthen feeling is
a major feature of my ceramic art.

Mt Shasta is considered by some the Crown
Chakra of California.  Shiva and Parvati
dwell in the crown chakras of us all.




MOUNT SHASTA MEMORIES

I lived up near Mt. Shasta when
I was three years old--in the little town of
Dunsmuir. My parents settled for a short
while in Yreka. I still remember going to a
motion picture show in Weed in the 1950's.
The memory of using 3D glasses was
vividly imprinted on my memories.

Only in more recent years, beginning in
1973, I've taken numerous pilgrimmages
to the sacred mountain, where the ore of
many of my earth paints originates.

My father was a miner and became
president of the Paradise Gem and Mineral
Society. I was a rockhound as a boy, favoring
the exhibits of phosphorescent stones. We
used to go rockhounding at night with a
portable black light to find irridescent
stones. I found that scorpions, nocturnal
creatures, are often phosphorescent.

The Shasta area has the oldest rock in
California. Near Castle Crags is the oldest
geological formation in the state. The
rocks going up to the Lake of the Heart have 
sworls of many colors: blues, reds & greens.

I've learned from our Indian friends that one
does not just take from Nature. One is obliged
to leave a gift when procuring materials from
the earth. This  respect is magnified in one's
art, a blessing to humanity.



SOME OF MY MOUNT SHASTA STAMPS

The borders of these stamps I desinged on an antique word processor. The photos
are of Mt. Shasta as seen from the ridge above Lake of the Heart. To the east there
breaks a view of Castle Crags.

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7Mu Lemurian Post 2000
edition of 100
by Eric Whollem

                                                                                  2Mu Lemurian Post: Castle Crags 2000
                                                                                  edition of 100
                                                                                  by Eric Whollem

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Those interested in my FAUX POSTAGE STAMPS from Lemuria may want to see:

My posts that deal with Mt. Shasta may be found here on this link:

My complete online GALLERY of Ceramic Sculptures can be found here:

For my entire list of posts on Faux Postage Stamps check out:

Artist stamps, artistamps, cinderellas, fantasy stamps, faux postage, mail art, micronation stamps.

Copyright by the artist.


Ancient Horse and Rider Motifs

                                                                                                                                               
Horse and Rider
1992
earth paints on terracotta
by Eric Whollem

HORSE AND RIDER: ACROSS CULTURE & TIME

The motif of rider on horseback is a very ancient traditional image in diverse cultures spread across thousands of years. The horse is a symbol of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and represents the power of the ocean tides. Another of Poseidon's animal manifestations was the dolphin.


The sculpture you see here was painted with my own homemade earth paints made from
 pigments gathered in rural areas of Northern California.

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My brushes used for painting these sculptures are in fact sticks. The paint is thick and opaque,  and it's coarse gritty quality would quickly wear down a fine artist's brush. The technique is related to that used by peoples such as the Australian Aborigines, who used stick brushes to do their earth art on the plains of the ancient continent of the South.


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Although my paintings made of natural earths often used milk glue to bind the earth, I discerned that a more robust binder was needed for sculpture, so I used polymer emulsion on my ceramics. It is very tough and water resistant.

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Readers interested in my approaches to Earth Paints should view this link:

Minoan and Cycladic Elements in the Work of Whollem/ AN ARCHETYPE OF THE SEA



                                                         
Minoan Goddess
1989
raw ochre and green raku glaze on white clay
by Eric Whollem
Collection of the artist
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST


SEA GODDESS

This sculpture is of a Sea Goddess.  Her child is born from the top of
her head. She is based loosely on the famous Snake Goddess of
Crete.

Her gown is a modern interpretation of the clothing of the civilization
of the Minoans.                                                 
                                                     





Readers may want to view my posts of CERAMIC SCULPTURE:
http://artblogericwhollem.blogospot.com/search/label/ceramic%20sculpture

BELOW IS A VIDEO
FEATURING
MY
CERAMIC SCULPTURE

ERIC WHOLLEM                                

Other posts on CYLCLADIC ART may be accessed here:

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Moera, Mother, Fate & Goddess of the Sea

                      

     
                                                    Moera
                                                    1992
                                                    earth paints on terracotta
                                                    by Eric Whollem
                                                    Private Collection
                                                    photo copyright by the artist



Minoan and Cycladic Elements
in the Work of  Eric Whollem

It is well known that Picasso established the first major artistic interest in the
sculpture of the Cyclades, the Greek islands of the Mediterranean. His cubist
work of the harp player is familiar to many. It was based on a Cycladic sculpture.

Cyclades is pronounced "kick-la-dees" with the accent on the first syllable. 
Crete, of course, is the famous isle that was home of the Minoan culture.

The roots of modern sculpture lie in Cycladic simplicity.

I have taken the flounced skirts and bare midriffs of archaic Minoa and
created works that bear affinity to the ancients.

My work, "Minoan Goddess," notably has round, fish-like eyes, a stylistic
element that rose from my subconscious.  Later in my studies I ascertained
the close resemblance to the round eyes of the oceanic divinities of
Mesopotamia, as well as to the fish gods of Lepenski Vir, the most ancient
city site on the European mainland.

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Readers interested in my Ceramic Sculptures should view this link:

Posts dealing with the Goddess concept can be found here:

Check out Wikipedia for their article on the Goddess:

My posts on Mermaids may be accessed here:

Those interested in Anthropology may want to see: