Who is she ?
Tip Toland (born May 9, 1950) is an American ceramic artist
and teacher who was born in Pottstown . Pennsylvania. She is famous for her Hyper
Realistic figures .
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| Artist |
Which school did she attend ?
B.F.A. Ceramics from University of Colorado in 1975
M.F.A. Ceramics from Montana State University in 1981
What is her background ?
Tip Toland is a ceramic artist whose work is
autobiographical within a frozen moment, teeming with humanity, exists a vessel
for her thoughts and feelings. She is a full time studio artist and a part-time
instructor in the Seattle area. In addition, she conducts workshops across the
United States. Her work has been shown in numerous galleries in New York City
and in Seattle .Toland’s spiritual life is central to her work. She follows
Mata Amritanandamayi, a Hindu spiritual leader and humanitarian, known
throughout the world as Amma, who offers a hug to all who seek comfort from her
. Toland first met her in 1990 . Toland said she was feeling self-indulgent as
an artist. She needed to hear directly from Amma that teaching and making art
had her approval. If she did not get it, she was ready to leave her career and
work with Amma caring for the poor. At a program with followers, which went
into the small hours of the morning, Toland submitted her questions to Amma in
writing. When she saw Amma was reading her questions she went to hear her
answers directly. Is it OK to be an artist? “Yes,” said Amma. Few years ago, a
grant allowed her to build a small studio filled with light. Her kiln and other
working space is in a daylight basement.
Which techniques and materials does she use ?
Techniques :
Toland's early works were wall reliefs in wood, clay and
pigment. Her more recent three dimensional stoneware sculptures are close to
life size, sometimes larger. She uses paint, encaustic technique and hair to
create figures . Toland makes realistic form of a Human. Her techniques to
detail has become one of her significant . She finishes her work with wax or
even sometimes using real human hair to show the realness of the piece. Toland shows
the wrinkles , the emotions in each feature of face. The hyper realism of
Toland's figures comes in the result of her detail and finishing by using
different materials. Toland works from live models. They pose, she measures
them and takes photographs, makes sketches and then creates the sculptures,
usually from stoneware, in her studio. She works with solid clay, using an
armature of plumbing pipe as support. Once the figure is complete, she cuts it
into segments, hollows it and removes the armature, and fires it in the kiln . It
takes Toland about four months to complete a sculpture. She uses traditional techniques of sculpting
with modern and natural materials .
Materials :
Stoneware , Paint , Chalk , Pastel , Clay , Synthetic Hair , Stoneware Clay , Concrete , Wax , Nail Polish , House paint , Tooth brushes .
What is scale / size of her work ?
Scale and size of Tip Toland’s sculpture are different from
each other . Every sculpture has its own scale and size . They are life size
sculptures or sometimes bigger than life size .
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| Jester , 27"h x 31"w x 18"d |
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| Beauty Parlor, 36 in. (91 cm) in length |
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| Cloud, 31 in. (79 cm) in length |
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| Refugee, 28 in. (71 cm) in diameter |
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| Remembrance, 4 ft. 8 in. (1.5 m) in height |
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| \Tantrum, 5 ft. 6 in. (1.7 m) in length |
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| African Child 30″H x 28″W x 19D |
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| , Africa 52″H x 9’11″W x 54″D |
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What is her statement, message or point of view?
I have loved the figure, especially the face for as long as
I can remember. All through my youth I spent hours reconfiguring the face and
each feature in endless doodles, never tiring of the possibilities. I love the
narrative and every one of the figures I make has a story. Usually I begin with
small, unedited thumb nail drawings and return to view them anywhere from one
week to one year after sketching them. Those figures that continue to hold my
attention and call out to me, become sculpture. I begin sculpting them with a
strong sense of their character, yet further into the process the figures
themselves often dictate to me how I need to develop them. In this way I feel akin
to a writer whose characters start to emerge on their own. This is very
captivating for me. Overall, my concern is to realize these figures as honest
and vulnerable, bringing what is overlooked, personal or uncomfortable to
light. This effort is to expose our shared humanity.