Yes, that is indeed a giant gold baby, what of it?
This is just one of many baby boys that Matt Wedel uses in his work. They are generally rather simply detailed, huge and glazed or lustred in wild colours. I think I may need to come back to this entry in a few days as I'm pretty sure my mind has literally been blown today.
Matt produces these huge pieces at such a prolific rate that he is working on up to a dozen pieces simultaneously, circling the area and doing a couple of inches on each, working the way up and gradually constructing a world around him. We had the privilege of watching him work today and I have never seen a ceramicist that works with such an obsessive driving force.
Matt's work has wonderful implied narratives that run through his work, however it is really hard at this stage to get past his amazing building technique and glazing methods. The colours of his glazes are absolutely amazing and although they look good in photographs they are nothing compared to what they look like in person.
There is a very childlike element to Matt's work which may be one of the reasons I am so drawn to it. The pieces look almost like discarded toys that have evolved and developed into massive creatures. The main thing I have taken from today is that it is becoming clear to me from this program that I need to make my work a lot bigger for my own sanity, and that I need to be freer with the surface qualities and not restrict myself to my own tried and tested methods. Matt was the straw that broke my back (in a good way) over this!
Also he makes pieces with painfully intricate sculpted patterns, which is always a win as far as I am concerned.
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