This little guy or gal lives on my red hibiscus plant full time! For weeks now I check several times a day and I can always find him on this one plant. I love it that he chows down on the bugs that like my hibiscus!
It is the first time I have been looking at an insect and realized it was actually looking back with its triangular head and big eyes. Hope he sticks around as I am becoming rather attached....
Familiarizing myself with both the institution where my work is going, the people that work in the space and the actual site where the work will be shown, is all part of my preparation for a show or for a commissioned piece.
I have always loved this Richard Hunt sculpture that greets one at the entrance of the museum.
Behind the glass inset, on the bottom level of the Museum, is the gallery space where my work will be on display.
One of the things that has always drawn me to the architecture of the Greenville Museum is the way the concrete building material has been used. The texture from the wooden forms imprinted in the concrete walls appears to record the building process. What you see outside as a surface, is what you see inside. Somehow, it connects the inside space with the outside surface of the building in a way that twists our perception of what is outside and what is inside... I also enjoy the quiet yet dramatic use of unusual angles.
What I said about the architecture of the museum can also be said about the beautiful exhibition space at the base of the stairs, Lower Gallery 1, where my work will be installed. The ceiling is as high as the museum is tall The suspended lighting adds a touch of drama. Then there is the most unique feature of this space. The open landings at the center of the museum allow for the viewer to see the work while looking down from the open balconies above the space...
The museum staff has been supportive, informative and enthusiastic.
So it is back to the studio to forge ahead creating the final pieces for consideration for the show that will complete a cohesive body of work that also makes use of the special qualities of the space where they will be displayed...
Carving...
adding....
modeling....
Final details before drying...
Thank you Ian for your support, your friendship and for creating my beautiful web site that I have enjoyed all these years!!!!!!! www.aliceballard.com
Ian Borsook and his photographer wife Alice came to visit my studio many years ago while visiting our friend, Anne Barr, here in Greenville, SC. It was one of those instant "likes" that developed into long-distance friendship. Ian was pretty insistent, if I remember correctly, that he could do a much better job on my web site than the one I had at the time. Well, he was absolutely right! Over the years, I have had and continue to have constant complements on this elegant site. It has been a great source of pride for me and a marvelous tool for sharing my work and advancing my career. I will never be able to thank him enough for this generous gift but this is a stab at it.
I want very much to keep this site in place to provide a broader look at my work over the years but would also like to add this new site/blog with Squarespace. My son Ryan Munn felt it was time for me to start being more actively involved in the benefits of social media and the age of technology. If you read the first blog post, you know all about the process we went through to get to this point. The resulting blog and site on Squarespace allows me to manage current and up coming events in a timely fashion. It is also a better way for me to manage the inventory of work.
In the future, you will be able to find a link for www.aliceballard.com in the left hand column under links. I hope you will visit this site to enjoy what Ian created for me and for my work. In addition he created a beautiful site for my husband Roger Dalrymple www.rogerdalrymple.com . We will forever be grateful to Ian for our elegant, thoughtful and professionally done web sites and hope to see them often in the future on their visits to South Carolina.
With warmest regards and special thanks to Ian and Alice for their friendship and support...
Alice Ballard's studio
Tending to the goldfish while their pond gets cleaned...
I love this image - the face of "Peace". . .
“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”
What can I say except the experience of teaching 4 Vessels for 4 Seasons at the Bascom was exceptional in every way! Of course it always starts with a vision of excellence for a program and Frank Vickery, in charge to the clay program, has that and the knowledge, experience and energy to go with it! The workshop was well organized, every imaginable tool was available, there was help that anticipated our every need and the "icing on the cake" was the participants. The were fabulous! Each participant gave something special that added to the class experience.
Corbin Tucker was the "brightly burning candle on the cake". Though her title was assistant, with all her experience and expertise with clay, she could easily teach this workshop. Best of all was the fun we had planning this workshop. Together, I feel we were able to share our excitement not only about the medium of clay but about our mutual love of the environment, especially the lush mountain environment of the Highlands! Of course, having the benefit of her husband Robert's splendid garden at our fingertips and the surrounding forest as a resource for harvesting spectacular leaves, pods, flowers and branches, made it extra special.
Let's not forget the first morning and the mesmerizing performance of Ralph Deville, owner of the Stone Lantern, who shared his knowledge of the art of Ikebana along with the tools and special tricks of arranging plant materials in a variety of containers.
Ralph's demo plus his explanation of the major points of the philosophy and history behind the art of Ikebana proved to be inspirational as we tried our hand with available plant materials...
And of course the splendor of the Botanical Gardens set us on our journey and path for the day...
Sallie, a special thank you for hosting the potluck at your fabulous home. So sorry I didn't have my camera but one thing I remember is all the moss, ferns, and moss gardens for your grandchildren. Looking out over the lake was like dream vision of beauty...
Yeah!!!!! Our 1st bisque firing....
For me, the energy and ambiance of the class allowed me to be both teacher and student... It just does not get any better than that. Thank you to all involved. And thank you for my special Ralph recommended Ikebana scissors and fabulous "frog"! I will remember all of you and our experience together whenever I use them....
Oh yes, the outline for the class - I promised it would be loose but that we would attempt to cover the important points along with special requests. Hope we succeeded! What we didn't cover, we can cover in 2016!
Look for more pictures from the workshop this weekend.
