Delusion rules the world

In this piece known as

Delusion Rules the World - I wanted to play on the idea of creating a surrealist Lense into a world that is not far from our own. A world where dragons exist and the world is on fire, yet there is a sense of hope and removal from a situation that is not hopeful nor capable of escaping.

When designing this, I started off by using photoshop to collage different surrealist ideas (not pictured because the files are lost), but when it came down to the story I wanted to convey, I felt inclined to physically create this image through the eyes of someone witnessing it themselves. The dragon coming off the “page” was pinnacle for me as that gave it a true surrealist essence to the piece. Additionally, the flames, not only coming out of the dragon’s mouth, or flying through the buildings, but surrounding the image itself was important to the piece as it adds to the story itself. I believe this piece was very successful in captivating an audience and clearly telling a story of delusion and minor cases of arrogance.

I found my craftsmanship to be very well for the time frame I had to complete this piece, which was an accumulative 20 hours of work time. This piece is 20 x 30 inches and with firing taking up to 2-3 days, I felt rushed. With that being said, after painting, the image became clearer and was easier for me to distinguish the separate aspects of the piece. Overall, a well-done aspect on my part.

If I had to do this again, I would not have used acrylic paint. I feel as if it dulls the image, and I definitely did not get the clarity I would have liked. There are plenty of cracks, especially in the ground and within the frame. This can be avoided by not using as much water on the piece. And lastly, I would’ve loved to see the dragon in a different color and shown in a different position. What I had created was one wing flying out, when my intention was to have two wings flying off the “canvas”. The pink now would not have been my number one choice, but all in all, I love this piece. It was enjoyable to do, and definitely the largest ceramics piece I’ve done.