ARTIST OF THE MONTH
CLAY THAT FOOLS THE EYE
How did you first get involved in art?
When I was little, my friends and I used to go into our basement playroom and spend hours drawing and painting. This
fascination with art continued throughout my childhood.
How did you come to do this award-winning
ceramic sculpture?
It was an art assignment during my sophomore year.
One of the mediums we had to explore was ceramics.
We had to create a sculpture, either a gargoyle,
a working teapot, or a type of shoe. I chose
to create shoes.
How did you get your idea?
I wanted to create shoes with a lot of
character to them. At first I thought
I’d make a pair of ballet slippers.
Then I noticed one of my friends
had a pair of fairly new red
Converse sneakers. I knew immediately I had to sculpt those shoes
instead. They were distinctive and
could tell a story.
Why did you sculpt shoes that
look so beat up?
I wanted to inject my childhood into
my sculpture. When I was young, I was
a tomboy. If I wasn’t down in the basement, I was outside climbing trees or
playing basketball and football with my
friends. All my sneakers were old and
dirty. I’d fall in love with a pair and
refuse to get new ones. My laces were
frayed, broken, and usually untied. The
tips of my shoes were always caked in
mud. They looked just like these.
Did you work from memory, or use real sneakers?
I used sneakers at the very beginning to get the basic shape
right. The rest was pretty much from memory.
What impression did you want the viewer to have
when they saw your sculpture?
I wanted them to feel a sense of fun. That’s why I named this
piece Playmates. I wanted viewers to remember when they
were children, running, jumping, and splashing in the
mud in two shoes that are like two best friends.
Most people smile or laugh when they see
these shoes because they can relate to
them, which makes me feel good.
How did you go about creating
your sculpture?
I started with the soles, cutting them
out of a slab of clay. Then I cut the
thick sides along the bottom of the
shoes—the white rubber part—and used
slip to mold it onto the soles. Next I cut
out the toe, the canvas sides, and the
ASHLEY RANDALL
“I wanted viewers to remember when they were children
running, jumping, and splashing in the mud in two shoes
that are like two best friends.”
12 SCHOLASTIC ART
tongue from slabs of clay and used slip to add them to the
sculpture. As I assembled the shoes, I kept the clay damp so
it could be molded. I also used supports, stuffing paper in the
toe to keep it from collapsing. I leaned the canvas sides on a
paper-towel roll until they were dry enough to stand up.
Then what did you do?
After the shoes were assembled, I did the details. I made the
holes for the eyelets, then took small round pieces of clay
and made the grommets around the holes. Finally, using
small clay tools, I created the pattern along the rubber sides
and the bottom of the soles. That part took a long time and
was really tedious. After I was done, I fired the shoes.
Ashley Randall b. 1986. Playmates, 2003.
W
hen people first set eyes on Ashley Randall’s award-winning
ceramic shoes, their reaction stunned her. “They picked them up
and thought they were real,” 17-year-old Ashley recalls in amusement. “I never thought I could create something so realistic it would fool
people. I didn’t think I had that kind of ability.”
Surprising herself with what she can accomplish is part of the thrill of
creating art for Ashley, a junior at the Asheville School, in Asheville, North
Carolina. Art also gives her a way to escape when she needs it. “It takes
my mind off any problems I may be struggling with and lets me be free to
do whatever my imagination leads me to,” says Ashley. “When I create art
it takes over my whole mind process. I’m so focused on the details, I can’t
think about anything else. I love that feeling, when art just carries me away.”
How did you make the sneakers look worn?
After they were fired, I painted them red, white, silver (for
the grommets) and black. When the shoes dried, I took a
blend of brown, gold, and green paints and mixed in red
clay dirt. When the mixture was right, I used it to paint dirt
on the toe and sides of the shoe. After that, I used a crochet
hook to lace the shoes, fraying the laces at the ends. I took
the shoes outside and put on the finishing touches by rubbing them in dirt and adding grass stains. I also rubbed dirt
on the laces to get rid of the new white color. When the
shoes looked beat up enough, they were finished.
What advice do you have for other aspiring
artists like yourself?
Trust your instincts. When I was creating these shoes,
I knew immediately I wanted them to look old and dirty.
I also knew what color they should be to look realistic.
A lot of my friends thought it would be cool to paint them
bright orange so they would look more abstract. That didn’t feel right, so I stuck with my plan. Second-guessing
yourself can really ruin a piece, and also spoil the process
of creating. Stick with your initial thoughts, and you’ll
create better art.
To find out more about The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards,
ask your teacher to write to:The Alliance for Young Artists &
Writers, Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999 or phone
212-343-6892. www.scholastic.com/artandwriting
DECEMBER 2004/JANUARY 2005
• SCHOLASTIC ART 13