We cleaned it all up.

see it bigger HERE on youtube, RP clean up!

 

The clean up video is finally finished!  Please feel free to comment.

NCECA Project Space

Hey Everyone, Sorry for the lack of posts lately, we've all been busy with the end of semester business. I just wanted to drop a quick post and let everyone know that we submitted Repetitive Play to the NCECA (national ceramic educators council of america) project space. Today we were informed that we made the cut. So we in the spring we will be traveling to Seattle Washington to install our work during the conference. Big Deal! Hooray

Exhibition Farewell

Repetitive Play like all good things is coming to an end. TODAY! This afternoon around 4pm we will begin de-installing in the Centennial Student Union Gallery. Feel free to stop by and peer through the glass at us as we work, it should be quite a spectacle to behold.

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

Hopefully everyone remembers their guesses...
Blocks     Pyramids      Floating Forms
 2883           907                   120


Thanks again to everyone that made it to the opening!  We hope you enjoyed the show!  I will be calling/emailing the winners today.

Opening Night

Today is the day, Repetitive Play is going to be opening it's door. Just a reminder the opening reception start at 7:00 p.m. We have been working really hard and are anxious to show you all what we've been up to. We have a couple of surprises lined that you won't want to miss. We hope to see you all there, and bring all your friends.

Sneaky Peaky

Sneaks Peaks

Broc Smash

A taste...
see it BIGGER

Merricks Geometric Beauties.

Check out these textured beauties. Merk has been cranking these guys out pretty steady for the last 2+ months. Her process is a bit different than the process that Broc and I (Colin) use. She uses casting slip in combination with textured plaster slabs.

These things stack pretty nicely together. I think they look like little mountains.

Here is a peek at what Merk's process looks like. She is in her classic pink workin clothes. Keep checkin for a process video coming soon.

This is what the texture looks like close up. Take a guess at where you think we found this texture in the comment section.

CATASTROPHIC EVENT.

The other day Broc and Colin were unloading a kiln, and they decided it would be a good time to straighten up the work area  and tidy up a bit. So they were moving them around and you can probably guess what happened next. One row started to tumble followed by the next. Despite all the hootin and hollerin and the group of onlookers we were able to come away with a loss of only seven blocks which were actually knocked over after we had re-stacked them all. My fault.... oops.

So.... we ended up having to cut our protective barrier open and restack all the blocks. I held everything in place while Broc and Colin played legos/ jenga. It was actually a good time and not as stressful as you might think. We made a pretty good team, and these little blocks are tuffer than they look.

Update

So time is running short and we ran out of red slip for the blocks...  Currently we are trying to smooth out some ideas for set-up and take down.  Also we are going to try and record some of our own sounds to play during the opening. (and i suppose throughout the duration of the show)  Still trying to figure out some mixed media elements; possibly tape, paint, plastic, wood. Who knows what will happen?!?  Overall, the preparations are coming along fine.  Stay tuned for secrets and special items!

Not sure if anyone posted pictures of the tumble but this is about 20 minutes after we cleaned it up.  We only lost about 7 blocks in the mishap.

Repetitive Play Presents: Block Makins

SEE IT BIGGER HERE Block Makin

  

INTENSITY.

FOCUS.

FOCUS.

FOCUS.

!!!

Repetitive Play Exhibition Opening

Poster Design: Margaret Ireland

Some News in the Art World

So I had my first collaborative show last night in the CSU gallery called Vulture Culture.  It was a big success in my opinion and I hope everyone that reads this gets a chance to see it because it's quite the sight!  I think it's up until the 22nd?  I have never worked on such a large scale previous to this, and I plan to "one-up" it in the upcoming Repetitive Play Show.  For those of you who don't know what the show is/was about, here is the statement...

Living in a culture of scavengers sometimes we need to pick up the discarded pieces and make a meal of it. Nine artists collaborated to re-fashion a constrained space to hold an inventory of fragments such as objects, drawings, sculpture and other inventions. These inventions are here to challenge the viewers perception of the space and to create works that are not to be confined to the gallery walls.

Anyway, thought someone might be interested in seeing my (Broc's) work before the RP show!

Using the belt sander.

Colin is sanding some cups!  I just wanted to lay some numbers down if anyone is interested... So far we have gone through about 29 buckets of red slip.  At 60 lbs per bucket that's 1740 lbs of slip!  

So we were playing around with the idea of having a guessing game for how many pieces were going to be in the show.  Special prize for the closest guess!!  We'll keep you posted.

On Collaboration: No Rockstars

This morning during my usual morning coffee/internet session, I came across a couple of posts/links that discussed the benefits of collaboration. So I thought it fitting to make a quick post about my experience thus far in collaboration with Broc and Merrick. We began our collaboration a little over a month ago in late August. Now we have a little less than a month before our exhibition opens, and we are in full studio output mode. Along the way we have had to adapt as a group, switch gears, change plans, but all in all this collaboration has been very beneficial and enriching. Having other colleagues to bounce ideas off and to ask for help is very reassuring, and has made the studio experience very pleasant. It's kind of like having one big party all the time in the studio.

 

 

 

 So all in all, I might only collaborate from here on out. Well maybe not, but it's a good support structure and has been a positive experience. We are all always churning out ideas and bringing em to the group. I wish I would have worked collaboratively sooner. 

Here are the couple links that I came across this morning. The Ken Robinson video mainly deals with education, but it does touch on collaboration and is a good watch anyways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
http://www.core77.com/blog/education/collaboration_no_rockstars_please_by_paul_backett_20547.asp

Broc's Second Blurb

Bad day yesterday. Colin and I are going to be making some more slip today. Twelve more buckets! approx 50 lbs x 12 buckets = 600 lbs of slip.

Studio Pictures

We have an abundance of pictures from the studio so I thought I would upload some of the funny ones. Hope you enjoy them.

Keepin Busy

So the last couple days were pretty busy, we got Merricks first kiln loaded and unloaded and then found a safe secret spot to hide/store them until the big day. Keep your eyes peeled for for more posts. A big announcement is coming soon, plus some fun things that our followers can participate in.

CHECK IT!

Well, here it goes...... I'm officially a Blogger!

SANDING, SANDING AND MORE SANDING

LOADING THE KILN!

BAM. FIRE IT UP!

Broc's Blurb

Hello all it's broc. Check out all of this stuff we are working on! On the left: Merrick's forms, in the middle on the left shelf near the fan: Colin's forms, in the middle on the middle shelf on the top: my secret project, on the table: blocks drying in the plaster mold, on the far right: completed blocks! Updated picture coming soon... check back in a few days!

Broc's Little Secret

Had to post this picture of side project that Broc is working on. It's looking pretty good so far.  Thought some of you might enjoy this.

A peak at Colin's Project

(Colin Here)- Today I thought I would give you a look at part of my contribution to the project. So to the left you are seeing images of some molds that have just been dumped out and then (lower left) is the form that comes out of the mold. This is an example of basic one part mold slip casting. 

I won't tell you how many I am going to make or whats gonna happen to them next. You'll have to wait and see. (Below) Me enjoying some delicious and a economical lunch in my studio space.  Thanks for looking and keep checking the Repetitive Play blog for more news.

Broc Hard at Work

This is what it looks like when Broc is hard at work.

Merrick in The Zone. ( That means she has headphones on and isn't to be disturbed) I was gonna post a picture of Broc workin but I couldn't find any.

This is Funny

This is Funnier. (someone was playin with the camera.)

Merc, Broc, and Col

          Just a bit about who we are, for those of you who are unawares. We are all currently students at Minnesota State University Mankato. Merrick and Broc are both undergraduate students in the ceramics department and I (Colin) am a first year grad student. We've been working alongside each other in studio classes for a little over three years and so this collaboration just seemed inevitable. 

          Broc come from Mankato originally, Merricks from the cities, and I'm from a bit further north. We all have similar interests, which so far makes working together a breeze. This is just meant to be a little tidbit and brief explanation of the characters involved in Repetitive Play. Hope your staying interested.
 

Making Casting Slip

Broc and I in the clay room at MSU, making some serious slip the other day. Since then we've made an additional 12 buckets, we are really goin through it. It's a pretty dusty dirty time consuming process but it goes a lot faster with two people. Me and Broc are a well oiled slip making machine now. (photo by Merrick Anderson)

Welcome from Repetive Play

Welcome everyone to Repetitive Play, a blog featuring a ceramic collaboration between Merrick Anderson, Broc Toft and myself (Colin Klimesh). We are a group of ceramic artists currently working on a collaborative ceramic installation project. We have been taking a bunch of pictures along the way to document the process and we thought it might be a good idea to share with people.