Drawing made to commemorate this year's world environment day. The theme for 2020 was diversity and this drawing is a call to action, a call to reflect on our actions and make positive changes to our daily lives.
Maria-Christina Predescu is a 24 year old artist and breast cancer survivor. She is a living epitome of how life is a fragile gift, so we make the most out of it to fully cherish what was given to us.
"Unthought-of Frailties cheat us in the Wise."
~ Alexander Pope, Moral Essays (1731-35), Epistle To Temple, line 69.
I really had to ponder this quote and figure out how to illustrate it. A spider came to mind...so tiny and fragile in comparison yet invokes so much fear. Then considered a daddy long leg.
A whimsical yet haunting reflection on the passage of time, From Time to Time imagines a fragile machine built to bend reality itself. The “Tempus Machina” stands as both invention and relic — humming with promise but tethered by a frayed cord and a warning: Watch Your Step. The cracked wall, warped floorboards, and distorted clock hint that tampering with time comes at a cost. Blending humor, nostalgia, and existential tension, Patmore’s work transforms a steampunk curiosity into a metaphor for our human impulse to repair, rewind, and relive what’s already slipping away.
"Industrial Timeout" presents a meticulously rendered scene of solitude and tension within a utilitarian setting. The composition is split between a vast, empty white space and a tightly constrained, detailed industrial corner. In the foreground, a single, unassuming cardboard box sits on a pallet. It is labeled "FRAGILE" and "M.P.C." (possibly a reference to 'Minimum Package Content' or a similar industrial acronym), suggesting a precious, yet standardized, cargo awaiting movement.
The first stage of clay is slip. Slip is watery clay; it is most often used to "slip and score", which I used to attach the features of the mug to the mug itself.
The second stage of clay is wet. Wet is moist, very plastic clay. Wet is the type of clay I love to use, just because it feels so fresh, and because it is moist enough that I don't have to soften it with water.
The third stage of clay is leather hard. Leather hard is the stage my mug was in after being left on the shelf for twenty-four hours or so. It is easier to cut but very difficult to sculpt.
The fourth stage of clay is greenware. Greenware is completely dry clay that is fragile and breakable. I would say that greenware is an overdose of leather hard for the clay. In other words, leaving clay out for a longer amount of time can turn leather hard clay into greenware.
The fifth stage of clay is bisque. This is the clay after its first firing. If it was grey clay, it is now white in this stage. It is now completely hard and no longer soft in any way. Bisque, luckily, is only one stage away from glaze...
The sixth stage of clay is glaze. This is the final firing and results in a smooth texture and a shiny look. I loved the way my glaze came out. While I was painting the mug, it was more of a ruddy red-brown but when it glazed, it turned out to be this beautiful spotted green.
