In 1994 I was chosen to be part of a show developed by the imaginative mind of Judith Wray, head of the New Jersey Visual Arts League. A video depicting the show can be found at the following link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8DJVPd8KUM. I’m somewhere around minute 4:10 . The show was a big hit and showed in a variety of venues in New Jersey and New York.

The work was done on clear plastic with colored magic markers.

From the time man first began to make meaningful marks and assemble stone, wood, clay and fibers, he has attempted to represent in two or three dimensions, the wonder mystery, respect and awe he felt for the inhabitants of the animal kingdom.

Animals compel our interest by virtue of the similarities of our parts and activities. They provide clues to how and why we act in certain ways. For those reason we make our attempts at creating their image.

We see, in some, an obvious beauty and in others, ungainly, comic and even absurd solutions to the basic functions of life. Sculpting animals forces you into heightened sense of observation, a fuller awareness of the details, recognition of a personality or attitude, or posture, as a result, a fuller appreciation for the creatures that share our world.

Here are some of the animal sculptures in my portfolio.

Imagery – Animals

  From the time mankind began to make marks and assemble stone, mud and sticks he has attempted to capture, in two or three dimensions, out of materials at hand, the wonder, respect and awe we feel for animals. From the caves at Lascoux to the sculptures created by modern artists is not such a big conceptual jump. Animals compel our attention by virtue of the similarities of their parts to our own. They provide clues as to how we are to act in this world. For that reason and others I sculpt them and present them to the viewer.

Imagery – Figures

  The body human is always in a state of response to life, even in repose. In its language of gesture it reflects our emotional, intellectual and physical state. In addition, it has the wonderful ability to store up a history of our responses to life in skin, muscle and bone and reveal them in a language all it’s own, universally understood and readily available for all to read at a glance. I like to think of my work as three dimensional poems in the language of the body.

Imagery – Abstract

  I think I began working abstractly when my emotional responses to the world around me simply outran my intellect. Perhaps, in my effort to interpret certain messages I was getting, I simply ran out of the language that representation allows. There seems to be some benefit for me in short-circuiting the connection to that part of the brain that demands recognition and relying on whatever takes control from that point to inform the work. Because the language of the abstract seems to be universally understood by those with the capacity to make that leap, I present them to the viewer, I do so with the understanding that the translation of each work is unique for each viewer and dependant upon what each viewer brings to the work.

Titles

  I am not very good at naming things. The skill that naming something demands is different then the skill it takes to conceive of it and create it. Sometimes, however, the naming of a piece is an essential ingredient to understanding it. Some of my works are well named and with others the title is merely descriptive. I feel no obligation to a title in most cases and if you have a work of mine the title of which does not adequately describe your reaction to the work, simply rename it to suit your response. It’s fine with me.

Poetry

  There are times when the static response of two or three dimensional forms is inadequate. Using words as a creative medium is something I have only toyed with, but words have allowed me to experience a flowing response to an idea from which I get a great deal of satisfaction. The blank page provides me with a canvas of such large scale that I can present a virtually unlimited response to an idea. I can add or delete, refine and pursue a thought within or without the confines of rhyme or the limits of substances and space. In a sense, it is not so different from working in two or three dimensions, in that each word or phrase elicits an image in my mind. Rather than the effect of a single image, I create using a myriad of these word images to create ever-changing word patterns that describe my emotional response to life that runs the gamut from spectacular to mundane.

 You can read some of my poems at my poetry blog –  http.poeticafterthoughts.blogspot.com  

The Artist – Daniel Noll

Truthfully, I haven’t kept track of where my art has been or who has purchased it, or of all the classes I’ve taken over the years, neither my life nor my mind has not been structured in a way that would make keeping a list of much of anything likely. The following includes information related to the total variety of art disciplines in which I have been involved – drawing, painting, sculpture, metal-smithing, ceramics and intaglio. Here’s the short list:

EXHIBITIONS IN THE U.S.

Galaxy Festival of Fine Arts – Galaxy Mall is part of a condo building across the river from the Midtown Manhatten (Barbara Streisand has a condo there. Very upscale) I won First Prize for sculpture. 1992.

Daniel Nolls One Man Art Show at the Interpretive Center at Liberty State Park which is right where you get on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty with the most incredible view of New York anywhere on the Hudson. 1992

National Juried Exhibition of Small Works – Montclair State Art Gallery, Montclair, New Jersey – 1992

One-of-a-Kind at the New Jersey Designer Craftsmen Gallery – New Brunswick, New Jersey – 1993

Summer Madness – Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, New Jersey -1992

Rituals – Alfieri Center, Main Gallery – Iselin, New Jersey – 1993

Pretense – William Carlos Williams Center for the Arts – Rutherford, New Jersey 1993

Rituals II at the Lincoln Center in New York City– Cork Gallery, Avery Fisher Hall – NY – 1992

To Touch, To Feel, To Move… – New Jersey Library for the Blind and Handicapped – New Brunswick, N.J. – 1993

Ocean Plastique at the Lincoln Center in New York City – Cork Gallery – Avery Fisher Hall – NY – 1993

Arizona Museum for Youth – City of Mesa – Mesa Arizona – 1997\

Wildlife Sculpture Series at Cypress Gardens in Winterhaven Florida 1998

Bay Park Press Annual Members Show – San Diego, California – 2002 (etchings)

Art and Opera in the Loft – A show of my sculpture, prints and drawings sponsored by Prudential Real Estate at our loft in Hillcrest, San Diego CA

EXHIBITIONS IN MEXICO:

Abstract Ajijic –

• A show I organized in association with Lloyds Bank of Mexico showing non-representational abstract artwork of my own and 15 area artists

Abstractos de Jalisco y Juegos de Ninos –

• Una coleccion de arte abstracto de artistas residentes en Jalisco, Mexico. This show of thirty abstract artists from the State of Jalisco was organized by myself and presented in conjunction with Secretario de Cultura del Estado de Jalisco – Senor Francisco Barreda. – en  El Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo.

Daniel Noll – Exposicion Solo

• A one man show of sculpture, intaglio, drawing and painting in La Casa de Culturas de Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.

PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS

The Phoenix Zoo – Phoenix, Arizona

• 15 life-size and life-like animals in polychrome concrete and bronze located in two settings and placed throughout the Zoo. This was part of a project called Feel the Difference that was designed to allow the visually impaired an opportunity to feel the size and shape of animals. This exhibit was won an award from the City of Phoenix.

Wigwam Outlet Center – Litchfield, Arizona

• This project was part of a project planned in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Wildlife as part of a plan to reintroduce black footed ferrets back into their natural habitat in northern Arizona. The sculptures were 14 feet long of polychrome concrete.

The Sojourner Center in Phoenix, Arizona 

• A  foot long Desert Tortoise in the childrens play area at this center for abused women and children.

The Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Phoenix, Arizona  

• A life-size metal sculpture of the Wells Fargo Bank Logo of four horses pulling a stagecoach

Phoenix Symphony Hall, The Mercado and Bank One – Phoenix, Arizona

• A Christmas installation of 8 foot high Decorations made of welded metal – a co-operative effort with Michael Levine of Aardvark Armadillo.

Sky Harbor International Airport  - Phoenix, Arizona

• A Greenman mask of glazed Ceramic – part of a series.

PRIVATE COLECTIONS

My work is in many private collections in the US and various countries throughout the world.

GALLERIES

Bay Park Press Gallery – San Diego, California

Vanier Fine Arts – Scottsdale, Arizona

Aspen Fine Arts – Flagstaff, Arizona

Rock Resources Gallery of Fine Sculpture – A source of unique sculpture suited for garden settings.

Dos Lunas Gallery – Ajijic, Mexico

Ardens of Ajijic– Ajijic, Mexico

Jenniferharwellart Studio and Gallery – Birmingham, Alabama

DESIGN PROJECTS

For Gaylord Entertainment – The Dallas Opreyland Hotel in Dallas, Texas

• Three one-eighth scale models depicting life on a wagon train.

For the City of Flagstaff Public Advisory Committee

• A proposal depicting an aspect of life of the men who built the railroads.

EDUCATION

San Diego State University – printing, intaglio, metalsmithing  - 2003-04

Scottsdale Artist School – with Dan Ostermiller, Stanley Blyfield, Richard McDonald and others

The Education Alliance – New York City with Paul Lucchese – 1990

Mason Gross School of Fine Arts of Rutgers University – New Brunswick, NJ – 1990

Parkland College with University of Illinois – Chanpagne/Urbana, Illinois 1988-89

Arizona State University – Tempe, Arizona with Randy Schmidt, Kurt Wieser and others – 1985-86

Al Collins School of Graphic Design – Phoeniz, Arizona – Associates Degree in Graphic Design – 1983

Scottsdale Community College – Scottsdale, Arizona 1983

Bemidji State University – Bemidji, Minnesota – design and painting – 1980-81

TEACHING

Scottsdale Artist School – sculpture

Private classes - sculpture and ceramics in US and Mexico.

Produced by Nollstudio, Jay Landis and Daniel Noll, and sponsored by the Prudential Real Estate Group, Art and Opera in the Loft, featuring the work of Daniel Noll from San Diego and Alfonso Arambula from Ensenada, Mexico, brought together the most interesting assortment of connosiours you’ve ever seen, the operatic talents of three of Mexicos finest young stars and an incredible assortment of hors de voirs (Whole Food in only 12 block away), that and valee parking, created an occassion not to be missed.

The Sculpture – Billy – a lifesize sculpture of the famous Phoenix Zoo Orangutan by the same name, was the featured work of the sculptor Daniel Noll. This copy was donated to the Orangutan Foundation and will be used to increase awareness of the plight of this incredible species.  The original bronze is part of the award winning series of work at the Phoenix Zoo called “Feel the Difference”. “I spent many hours in close proximity to Billy, although well out of arms reach, trying to capture both his likeness and personality, that is, perhaps, better explained as an attitude he had toward his situation.” stated the artist.

Check out the Post on the award winning FEEL THE DIFFERENCE project at the Phoenix Zoo.

The methods differ little from those used by their ancient predesessors working in clay:

• they find the clay,
• they dig the clay
• they process the clay,
• they form the clay,
• they decorate the clay and
• they fire the clay.

BEGINNER AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STUDENTS WELCOME

The classes will start at the beginner level and progress from there. None of them will require any more experience then that learned in the previous classes. At the end of the series you will have gained some skills, have taken part in a process that goes back millenia, gained an appreciation for the imagination and skill of the Mexican artisan both past and present and most importantly, brought out some of that creative drive that lies within each of us. The classes are not just about doing, or about the object. The classes will focus on creating an object with meaning, an object that you resonate with on some level beyond decoration.

THE CLASSES

CLASS DESCRIPTION

 Class 1 – (Beginner) - Creating a Spirit Stone – Day 1 – Using the simplist clay forming technique you will create two pinch pots from a ball of clay, then assemble them into a ball and form them into your own special Sprirt Stone. You will add little balls of clay to make it rattle and “stir your spirit” and add a written statement, it might be a “thank you” for blessings received or a wish, hope, dream or desire you want to have brought into your life. Day 2 – You will decorate the Sprit Stone, burnish its surface with a stone till it shines and commit it to the fire. What comes out of the fire will be a beautiful one-of-a-kind object that has a special meaning that you gave it, a small reminder of blessings received and blessings to come.

Class 2 – (Beginner) - Globos – Creating a Spherical Story - Day 1 - You will use a plaster mold to create two hemispheres and join them to create a globo (sphere). You will prepare the surface of the Globo so that you can use it to tell a story – personal, fictional, fanciful, abstact, mysterious, hideous, you choose. Day 2 – You will learn two ancient techniques for decoration – coloring using stains found in nature and etching the surface with a pin tool. Day 3 – You will complete your decoration,  burnish the surface to a high gloss and commit it to the fire. What comes out will be an object that just might convey something about yourself that only you know.

 Class 3 – (beginner) – The Story Vessel – Day 1 – Vessels often serve a three-fold purpose: 1. to store or serve food or drink and 2. as decoration and 3. as an object of veneration with spiritual significance. In these later 2 capacities, some artisans have gone to great lengths to make the aesthetic function exceed the utilitarian fuction of th vessel. We will start with a vessel assembled from a plaster mold. We will refine the surface of the vessel and make it ready to decorate. We will draw out a design on the vessel that depicts in a childlike manner an event of some import in oour lives. Day 2 – We will use stains and clays to decorate the vessel. We will etch a design into the vessel and finish it using a method called brunido, to a high shine and commit it to the fire. What comes out of the fire will be a practicle object that tells a story about an experience you have had.

Class 4 – (beginner) - The Animal Vessel - Day 1  - From the village of Colima, alongside an active volcanoe, come clay images of the hairless dog. Considered even today to have healing qualities, the Colima animal vessel has been a part of this culture for centuries. You will use simple clay forming techniques to creat the body, head and legs of our animal vessel. Day 2 – You will assemble the parts of your animal vessel, add tail and ears and give it a unique personality. Day 3 – You will decorate your animal vessel using natural stains or slip amd by etching ito the surface. You will commit it to the fire.

Class 5 – (intermediate) – Arbol de Vida - Day 1 - This unique art form comes from the village of Metapec in central Mexico. It uses the idea of the world tree, found in many cultures, as a way of depicting events. It is as though the tree and its branches were a stage on which are placed the actors and props. The idea may be personal, religeous, politcal, relate to nature or the cosmos or simply fantastically made up.  You will begin by creating your own “world tree”, the trunk, the branches and the little stages that hold the actors and props. Day 2 – You will create the props and characters of your story and arrange them around the tree. Day 3 – You will decorate the tree, acotrs and props and commit them to the fire. Day 4 – You will complete the decoration of the arbol de vida and assemble it using wire and glue. You will end up with a most unique expression of something significant to you.

Class 6 – (Intermediate) – The Verdant Mask or the Greenman - Day 1 – From cultures around the world comes the Greenman. You will learn about the source of this image and how it relates to our concerns about the natural world. From a plaster mold you will create a clay copy of a nondescript face. You will alter the face, giving it a personality.  Day 2 – You will choose a tree, bush or plant that you relate to in some way and gently remove about 3 or 4 leaves, capturing something of the personality of the plant in the process. You will trace the leaves into clay and cut them out and place them around the face to create your Greenman and give him personality. Day 3 – You will decorate the Greenman mask by using natural stains and etching the surface and commit it to the fire. What comes out will be your unique expression of appreciation for the green and growing things that we share this world with and upon which we depend.

WHAT IS PRIMITIVE POTTERY?

Primitive pottery describes a ceramic method that uses ancient techniques, with tools and materials found in the natural world. I spent the last four years in Mexico, admiring the artwork and observing the processes used by Mexican maestros. I discovered that their incredibly sophisticated looking work was the result of processes that were simple in the extreme and in fact, like those used by the ancestors of these maestros hundreds and even thousands of years ago. The modern maestros, which most often include several or all the members of a family, find local sources of clay , process the clay, form the clay by hand or with molds, decorate the clay with natural minerals, and fire the clay with wood in simple kilns or on the ground, all reflecting directly the same techniques and technologies of the ancient potters who came before them.

A LITTLE HISTORY OF CERAMICS IN MEXICO

Since the advent of the Olmec culture in Mexico between 1500 BC and 800 AD, ceramics has taken it’s place in the the lives of the people of what is now modern day Mexico by providing vessels for carying and storing food, as objects for decoration and objects of veneration with spiritual significance. Techniques for producing pottery were passed down through the Teotihuacans, the Aztecs, the Mixtecs and the Casas Grandes to modern Mexican meaestros. The artifacts, ancient and modern, give evidence not only of great facility with clay but a sensitivity to it’s expressive nature. It is that aspect which informs the primitive pottery classes offered here.

HOW TO FIND SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

Everyone of us responds in our own unique way to the world around us, some things may move us to tears that another person may easily ignore. The variety of responses to life is enormous. The best art combines the artists unique response to some aspect of life with a facility with materials or words or music. The work of art, in turn, elicits an emotional and/or intellectual response in us that is out of the ordinary and that heightens our sense of being alive in some way. So you need to discover what it is in life that moves you to tears, to laughter, to terror, to joy, to feelings of awe, admiration, desperation, dispair or hope. There is no forbidden response, all are acceptable. How do you decide?

A GOOD STARTING PLACE 

Most artists, even the greatest, are inspired by other artists work and lives. Looking at other artwork opens up avenues in our brains that broaden our idea of the possible. Finding art that you respond to provides insight into what ideas, emotions and images you may want to explore in your own work. It opens up creative pathways that lead to unique uses of materials or unusual associations of images, objects, materials and processes. So the best place to begin is to visit work that you have admired and try to figure what it is about that work that you rspond to, using that as a theme, create a variation of it that makes it relevant to you. Don’t worry about the audience, in the first place, it is likely to be samll and insignificant, in the second, they don’t matter, not yet.

ABOUT DANIEL NOLL

For the past four years I have lived in a small village called Ajijic, on the shores of Lake Chapala outside of Guadalajara, Mexico. I have been an active artist for most of the last 20 years. I have always found the expressive quality of clay to be appealing and have studied at ASU with Randy Schmidt and Kurt Weiser, also at Rutgers with Bob Cooke. My approach is mainly sculptural. It is what I am most proficient at. You can see some of my sculpture on the post in this Blog about animal sculptures.

WHAT I LEARNED IN MEXICO

 About six years ago I spent a week in Mata Ortiz, taking lessons from a family of gifted potters in this remote village of 2,000 people, 300 of whom work in clay. The work they produce is extremely sophisticated in design and execution. What amazed me most was, after working for days, weeks or even a month or more on some of these intricately designed pieces, they would take them outside, set them on three pieces of iron sticking out of the ground, place a metal bucket over them, pile cottonwood tree bark around the bucket, set the whole thing on fire and walk away. I realized then the small place technology needs to take in creating fine works of art and began researching artists whose methods were primitive but whose work was outstanding.  After moving to Mexico I came across a wonderful ceramics museum called the Refugio, in Tlacapaqui, a city that has been absorbed into Guadalajara. In the museum I discovered work by mexicans artist, living and dead, that was simply breathtaking. In almost every case the work was created using the simple technologies passed down for generations and termed primitive because of it’s use of only naturally occuring materials and a simple hand building process. I studied with several of the local maestros, learned their techniques and decided to pass on the information in workshops. The intent of the workshops are to give the student a simple effective method of producing a work of art, to give them a sense of appreciation for the simplicity of the method, provide a learning atmosphere and help inspire them to be creative in every part of their lives, and do it in a way that keeps everybody, myself included, entertained.

  I recently moved to Birmingham to be close to my son, his wife and my three lovely grandchildren. I look forward to becoming a contributing member of the art community in Alabama.

I have a new blog devoted to the classes in Primitive Pottery called Walk the Clay Path.