This week I went to NCECA for my very first time! Which I would like to say was just purely amazing. Especially for my first time! I saw so much amazing work, and went to so many amazing and helpful demonstrations, lectures, and panel discussions. I believe I left NCECA with so much knowledge that I really just needed for my body of work.
For starters I went Cristina Cordova and Alessandro Gallo's demonstrations on how to make figurative work. Cristina Cordova showed how to make the figure from the use of slabs. Alessandro Gallo showed how to make the figure from a solid form on an armature for supporting the figure from drooping from gravity. He later showed how to hallow the figure out and reconnect the figure. I learned so much from this demonstration, and I am completely grateful that I got the chance to go to this.
Another good demonstration that I went to was how to make portraitures/busts using traditional technique from Carlos Prado. Which again I am so glad I got to go to this demonstration.
Also another demonstration I really enjoyed was casting with glaze by Jamie Bates Slone. Here she showed us how she casts her hand for her body of work, and how she only uses glaze to do cast. After seeing what she did, I quickly realized I was already doing this without making a mold and casting it. My work that I was originally making, marine life, was making pools of glaze, but sticking to the sand laid down under my piece. I thought it was sick as could be, but did not know how or why there were these chunks of color under my work.
I also really enjoyed the panel discussion Unspoken, Unseen: InVisible. The panel consisted of Sara Morales-Morgan, Ashleigh Christelis, and Jamie Bates Slone. They wanted to talk about their mental and physical illnesses and end the stigma and silence. I feel like that was amazing to listen to for my work. It was raw and real. I loved every moment of it.
I also went to a handful of exhibitions, the Mattress Factory Museum, the Warhol Museum, and the Children's Museum. All were super cool!