The Project:

The 30 Sheep Project is my entry into the Blue Line Arts upcoming 30 x 30 show.

20 artists were chosen.
Each artist must create 30 works in a 30 day period. The pieces must measure 4 inches by 6 inches and hang on the wall.

For my entry, I decided to use a press mold I had created for another work as a jump-off point.

I'll be interpreting sheep, lambs and rams in art, folklore, literature, mythology culture and religion.

I'll use earthenware clay, and a variety of surface and firing techniques.

Finding enough ideas has been challenging, and I'm not quite there, but I need to get started, so it's going to be a crazy 30 days!
I must deliver my completed entry to the Blue Line gallery November 16, 2013.

The show will run November 21st, 2013 through December 28th, 2013.
Reception December 21st, 2013, 7:oo pm - 9:00 pm.
All works will be available for purchase individually or in groups.

I'm hoping to update this blog as each piece is complete, and will include references for each piece.

Wish me luck!
Cathi Newlin
www.CNewlin.com

Notes:

30. Wrapped in Pride - the Ewe people

Wrapped in Pride;

The Ewe People of Ghana

The Inspiration:

The Ewe people are one of Ghana’s main ethnic groups located in the southeast region of Ghana, the Volta Region in southern Togo and western Benin. They speak the Ewe language, and they are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon and the Aja of Togo and Benin.

They are traditionally weavers and produce Kente - some of the most well-known and recognizable cloth patterns in Africa.

Look here to better understand my inspiration...

Notes:
Eaethenware  with commercial glazes.

Progress Photos:

29. Jacob Sheep

Jacob Sheep

The Inspiration:

The origins of the Jacob are obscure, but it is certainly a very old breed. Piebald sheep have been described throughout history, appearing in works of art from the Far East, Middle East, and Mediterranean regions. A piebald breed of sheep probably existed in the Levant, specifically in the area that is now known as Syria, about three thousand years ago.

Among the many accounts of ancient breeds of piebald sheep is the story of Jacob from the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. According to the Book of Genesis (Genesis 30:31–43), in what may be the earliest recorded attempt at selective breeding, Jacob took every speckled and spotted sheep from his father-in-law's (Laban's) flock and bred them. The Jacob is named for the Biblical figure of Jacob. The resulting breed may have accompanied the westward expansion of human civilization through Northern Africa, Sicily, Spain and eventually England. However, it was not until the 20th century when the breed acquired the name "Jacob sheep".

There's tons more.
This is a pretty cool critter!

Notes:

#1 The Jacob Sheep, glazed and ready for the raku firing.
I'm working on greenware, but want to try as naked raku technique on the face, so the bare clay parts should smoke dark, while I'm hoping to paint a slip over the shellacked parts that can act as a mask and be removed after firing.

Progress Photos:

28. Sheep May Safely Graze

Sheep Can Safely Graze

(Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)

The Inspiration:

Sheep may safely graze
All the wolves have been rounded up
And put to bed

Sheep may safely graze
There are only days of happiness
Up ahead

Sheep may safely graze, my boy
All the crocodiles have been hunted
From your dreams

Sheep may safely graze
While the lambs are gambolling
By the streams

Sheep may safely graze
All the lost children will be found
In time

Sheep may safely graze, my boy
Close your eyes
Your daddy is by your side

And if by chance, you wake at night
The hollow sorrow that lingers
And you grab at the tails of your dreams
But they scuttle through your fingers
All you can hear outside
Is the roar of a city being raised
That's just the powers that be
Making it safe to graze

Sheep may safely graze
The bluebirds have chased the vultures
From the sky

Sheep may safely graze
The day has merely gone now
And closed its eyes

Sheep may safely graze, my boy
All the fishes are leaping
Into the net

Sheep may safely graze
Yes my darling
This is as good as it gets

Sheep may safely graze
All the lost children will be found
In time

Sheep may safely graze, my boy
Close your eyes
Your daddy is by your side

And you should wake tomorrow
The fences are all torn down
The woods are full of howling beasts
And there ain't nobody around
And everything seems foreign
To your little ways
That's just the Gods above
Making it safe to graze

The fox has its hole
The bird has its nest
But the sun out has no place
To lay his head and graze

here, listen...

Notes:

Earthenware with underglazes, gold patina and sparkles.

Progress Photos:

27. Lamb's Ear

Lamb's Ear

The Inspiration:

Lamb's Ear flowers in late spring and early summer, plants produce tall spike-like stems with a few reduced leaves. The flowers are small and either white or pink.Appropriately named for its characteristic pubescent (fuzzy), gray-green leaves. Will form a silvery, wooly mat along the ground. The foliage is even fragrant.

Notes:
#1 Decided covering the entire face with leaves muddied the concept. I think this is much cleaner and to the point.

Earthenware with undergalzes and commercial glazes
Progress Photos:

26. Lambchop

Lambchop

The Inspiration:

Anyone of an age knows it would be unthinkable to do this project and not include Lambchop, but for those of you too young to be in on the secret...

"Lamb Chop is a sock puppet sheep created by late comedian and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. In 1957, Lamb Chop, a ewe, first appeared with Lewis on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WNBC in New York.

Lamb Chop has been described as a "6-year-old girl, very intuitive and very feisty, a combination of obstinacy and vulnerability...you know how they say fools rush in where wise men fear to go? Well, Lamb Chop would rush in, then scream for help." Lamb Chop, in all her shows, had referred to her close friend, a girl named Lolly Pincus."

More at Wikipedia.
Or you could just watch this...

Notes:
Earthenware with commercial glazes and graphite

Progress Photos:

25. Sheepsquatch

Sheepsquatch

The Inspiration:

"This bizarre, multi-horned, wooly, white beast is said to stalk the forested areas of Virginia and West Virginia, and remains one of the most enigmatic, large mammals as yet undiscovered in the wilds of the U.S.

The border between southwest Virginia and West Virginia is a densely forested mountainous region dotted with old coal mines and deep, dark, dangerous forests. The region is shrouded in mystery and rich in folklore, but few legends are more unusual and intriguing than that of the ..."

You know you wanna know more, right?

And that entry is no fluke - do your own Google search and see what comes up!

Notes:
Earthenware with commercial glazes.

Progress Photos:

24. Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

The Inspiration:

The Ghent Altarpiece (also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb or The Lamb of God, Dutch:Het Lam Gods) is a very large and complex early 15th century Early Flemish polyptych panel painting. It comprises an altarpiece of 12 panels, eight of which are hinged shutters. These wings are painted on both sides, giving two very distinct views depending on whether they are open or closed.

We're concerned with the center panel:
The lamb stands on an altar, facing the viewer and is surrounded by 14 angels arranged in a circle, some holding symbols of Christ's Passion, and two swing censers. The lamb has a wound on its breast from which blood gushes into a golden chalice, yet it shows no outward expression of pain, a reference to Christ's sacrifice...

The dove of the Holy Spirit hovers low in the sky directly above the lamb, surrounded by concentric semicircles of white and yellow hues of varying luminosity, the outermost of which resembles nimbus clouds.

Read more
See more

Notes:
Earthenware with wheel thrown additions, glazes and gold leaf. Raku fired.

Progress Photos:

23. Pink Floyd's "Sheep"

Pink Floyd's "Sheep"

The Inspiration:

What happens when the sheep rebel?
That's the idea I took from Pink Floyd's :Sheep" - a track from their "Animals" album.

Read much more here, 
And DO listen to this...

Notes:
#1 the dogs on each of the 3 versions I created are different. This one is an homage to artist Rene Martucci, who's work I just love.

Earthenware with commercial glazes.

Progress Photos:

22. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

The Inspiration:

From The Annotated Lamb Lies Down on Broadway:

The following is taken from Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography by Spence Bright, 1988, pub. 1989 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, ISBN 0-7472-3231-8.

""The Lamb" was intended to be like a "Pilgrim's Progress"," said Peter, "an adventure through which one gets a better understanding of self -- the transformation theme. I was trying to give it a street slant, and that was before punk happened. I felt an energy in that direction, and it seemed that prancing around in fairyland was rapidly becoming obsolete." Rael, the character around which "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" revolves, was as far removed from fairyland as possible. He was a streetwise Puerto Rican from the ghettos of the Bronx, and provided a transatlantic antidote to the English-ness of "Selling England By The Pound" and much of Genesis' previous work. Rael was Gabriel's made-up name. It was similar enough to the popular Spanish name Raoul to fit in with the character, but English enough to suggest both reality and fantasy. At the time Peter was credited with the major contribution on the album. Since then all concerned have stressed their role in what is Genesis' most controversial and for many most inspiring album. The lyrics were mainly Peter's, but he felt he was never given enough credit for his contribution to the music as well. He regards his composition 'The Carpet Crawlers' as one of his favourite melodies and the title track's chorus was also his composition with the use of the 'On Broadway' theme.

Though Rael was portrayed by Gabriel on stage as a punk wearing leather jacket and jeans, the imagery of the lyrics owes more to the supernatural than subways and sidewalks. Rael's journey through his subconscious to eventual self-discovery includes a confrontation with death..."

You might want to listen to this...

Notes:
Earthenware with glue, gold dust, silver wax and glass.

This one was the toughest to interpret. Not sure how successful I was.
But I tried...

Progress Photos:

 

21. Khnum

Khnum

The Inspiration:

Khnum (/kəˈnuːm/; also spelled Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He later was described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles Divine Potter and Lord of created things from himself.

Want more?

Notes:
Earthenware with commercial glazes and gold leaf.

Progress Photos:

 

20. Bo Peep

Bo Peep

The Inspiration:

A little more grizzly than you might remember...

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, and they'll come home,

Bringing their tails behind them.

Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,

And dreamt she heard them bleating;

But when she awoke, she found it a joke,

For they were still all fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook,

Determined for to find them;

She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,

For they'd left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray

Into a meadow hard by,

There she espied their tails, side by side,

All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye,

And over the hillocks she raced;

And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,

That each tail be properly placed.

~Mother Goose

Notes:
Earthenware with underglazes, wire, graphite and plastic sheep.

Progress Photos:

19. March

March

The Inspiration:

It's said March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
The Farmer's Almanac seems to agree...

Notes:
Earthenware with underglazes and paint.

Progress Photos:

 

18. Tongue Twister

Tongue Twister

The Inspiration:

"The Sixth sick Sheik's sixth sheep's sick"
Fun Fact: This holds the Guinness World Record as the hardest tongue twister ever.

Really!

Notes:
Earthenware with commercial glazes, gold wax and temporary tattoos,
Reduction.

Progress Photos: