Movement into equilibrium. <back>

Alice and the horses prance in Patricia Izzo's second Balance collaborative photograph. Alice's upturned face and closed eyes are a contrast to the direct and questioning gaze presented in the first iteration <view photo 1> <view photo 2>.

Alice's changing relationship to her world, and to these two horses compelled me to create a stronger relationship between my horses for the final exchange in our Balance collaborative. They continue to sway out of the upright, reaching further away from a central point. As you move around the pair of works, it is as if they are turning. The curves of their silhouette, the arcs of the thrown parts from which they are made, the yin and yang symbols contained in the base, tie my horses to each other as are the two horses tethered to Alice in Izzo's photograph.

Like the ones for stage 2, these horses were built on ramps and needed time to dry before going through two firings on the ramps to preserve the posture. Clay softens when the kiln reaches temperature and gravity continues to be part of the equation, moving the work in ways I cannot control and see only after the fact.

As I glazed the two pieces, the sight of the horses standing upright on a non-horizontal surface increasingly intrigued me. The dynamism I sought to create with the horses off the ramps was there, without - or with - the firing base. I can see using non-horizontal bases in other new work.

My goal for this collaborative game was to experience another artist's energy and direct those forces into my work. I had no preconceptions and found that being paired with a photographer was challenging and rewarding. Izzo's photos are intriguing, her composition impeccable, and her choices both enigmatic and energizing.

Jeri Hollister