john brickels celebrates the hidden beauty of entropy

Dilapidated barns, rusty old trucks and cars, factories on the brink of collapse – all are fair game for John Brickels who is inspired by “the hidden beauty of entropy.” The Vermont artist rescues rusted pedal cars and trucks, rebuilding the guts of the cars in stoneware. The tires (flat tires too!), dashboards, chassis, steering wheels, engines – even old tools strewn on the car’s floor in his Claymobiles are all made from clay.

Green Mountain Barn, clay, 23 x 18 x 12

Old Betsy, bicycle body, clay, 32 x 24 x 42

Garton, pedal car body, clay, 36 x 18 x 36

Murray,  pedal car body, clay, 36 x 18 x 36

Passaic Paint, clay 28 x 20 x 20

Brickels’ work is informed by architecture, automobiles, machines, nostalgia and all things that show the effects of time and weather. Before creating one of his buildings he takes photos of old barns and gathers images from the internet and libraries.  Next, he cuts walls from clay slabs, inscribes bricks, adds texture, boards and shingles (extruded from a clay gun).  Each building takes a month or more to dry before being fired. The attention to detail on Brickels’ buildings, claymobiles, robots and machines is astounding.

Read some of Brickels’ thoughts about work, play, life and making a living making art in Ceramic Arts Daily

More at Lazy Pear Gallery

via Ronna Sarvas Weltman