(upbeat percussive music) (upbeat rock music) - [Matt] See the delightfully weird ceramics of artist Mindy McDaniel.

- I want people to walk by and be like, "What is that?"

♪ Do I need you ♪ - [Matt] And catch a performance from Janine Ouderkirk.

It's all ahead on this episode of "AHA!"

♪ 'Deed I do ♪ - [Narrator] Funding for "AHA!"

has been provided by your contribution, and by contributions to the WMHT venture fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi and the Robison Family Foundation.

(relaxed electronic music) (upbeat electronic music) (relaxed electronic music) (dramatic whooshing) - Hi, I'm Matt Ragowicz and this is "AHA!

A House for Arts," a place for all things creative.

Mindy McDaniel enjoys taking an alternate approach in her work, whether that's through sculpting photographs or creating hybrid ceramic forms.

We visited Mindy's studio in Albany, New York to learn more about her sweet and subversive art.

(upbeat rock music) - I like to break processes apart and put them back together again in new ways.

(upbeat rock music) The art that I make is sculpture, essentially.

(upbeat rock music) I want people to walk by and be like, "What is that?"

Or, "That's ridiculous."

(upbeat rock music) I just wanna bring a little more of that weirdness to people's every day that may not necessarily be looking for it.

(upbeat rock music) (relaxed rock music) It all started with me being a yearbook photographer in high school, so I was a bit of a dork, which I, you know, have a lot of pride for now, of course.

When I went into college, I was like, "Oh, I'll just do photography," and it took me a little while to figure out that that was part of an art program.

(relaxed rock music) Eventually, I found my way and, you know, got into the dark room and, you know, was messing around with what I could do with film inside the camera, like, making a lot of double exposures.

(upbeat rock music) My parents were, like... I think they were shocked, they were like, "What are you doing?

Make these giant photos of your..." "You have such a nice face, like, why would you make these deformed images of your face?"

(laughs) And so, I just... I was, like... I was like, "This is so cool because this feels more like me."

(upbeat rock music) That led to grad school, which was nonstop experimentation, so trying to figure out how to make an image without using a camera, trying to figure out how to make an image without using film.

What if I do this constantly?

And so, I came to these other more tactile processes where I was like, "Well, what happens if I see what an image looks like if I stack a bunch of pieces of image together and I just look at the edge of the paper?"

Basically, I was getting to a point where the sculpture was kind of taking over to the point that there was no image anymore.

(relaxed percussive music) When I was working at Russell Sage College, a colleague of mine, Billy Fillmore, he's the... He was a sculpture professor, he had acquired these plaster molds, somebody had just donated them.

I had gone down to the studio and was like, "What are these?

Like, these are so cool," and I was like, "What are you going to do with these?"

And he's like, "I don't really know.

You know, I want my students to hand-build things, I want them to make forms on their own, you know, these are kind of about something else."

and I said, "No, I totally get it," I said, "Well, can you show me how to use them?

Can you show me how to pour, you know...?"

"Like, make stuff with them?"

And he was like, "Yeah, sure," so he gave me the very, you know, bare bones of it, and I just started pouring them, and then, I was like, "Oh, well, what if?

What if I take these pieces and these pieces and start mashing them together?"

I was like, "Oh, this is so..." This is a new way to tell stories, you know?

This is a new way to kind of, like, I don't know, have these little actors act out these scenarios because it would be so interesting when one would suddenly be next to another, and then, people would be like, "Oh, it looks like they're having this moment together," I was like, "Oh, yeah, they're having a moment."

And so, I just was off and running.

(upbeat rock music) I'll usually, like, go downstairs and kind of look through my library of molds, sometimes I'm looking for a specific form, and sometimes I'll just choose things at random.

You know, the plaster mold has to be kind of bound, I'm pouring liquid clay inside, I have to wait a certain amount of time, and then, I can un... You know, open the mold to get the positive out, so my goal is to really get a bunch of positive forms out of these molds so that then I can start, you know, like, assembling this form with this form and so on.

I have to kind of score both pieces of figure, and then, I'm using slip... I'm kind of, like, painting the slip on both of those scored areas, you know, and kind of, like, squishing it one onto the other, and then, smoothing it out with, like, brushes and things like that so that it looks totally seamless, then the final piece has to dry, it has to completely dry, and then, it'll go into the kiln for something called a bisque firing, and what the bisque firing is do is it's removing all of the water that is still in that dried piece completely out, and then, it also makes that clay ready for glaze.

(upbeat rock music) That painting process is kind of tedious because I'm hand-painting them on, and it's not just one pass, I have to do it three times, so I have to paint everything three times, and then, that has to dry, and then, it goes into the kiln again for the glaze firing.

(gentle orchestral music) It's like Christmas, opening the kiln after a glaze firing because everything is so brilliantly colored and shiny.

(gentle orchestral music) I like to make what I call armies of kind of collaged figurines.

So there'll be a... You know, this similar object that's appearing over and over again in the group or in the installation.

My work, it has a lot of ways to enter it, for me, there's kind of some political undertones going on, but for, you know, someone else, they might be like, "Oh, that flying banana's really funny."

And it is.

It is funny, so... (laughs) (upbeat orchestral music) - Please welcome Janine Ouderkirk.

(upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) ♪ Softly, yes, in a morning sunrise ♪ ♪ A lot of love comes stealing into a newborn day ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Flaming with all the glow of sunrise ♪ ♪ A burning kiss comes sealing ♪ ♪ The vow that all betray ♪ ♪ Oh, the passions that thrill love ♪ ♪ And lift you high to heaven ♪ ♪ Are the passions that kill love ♪ ♪ And let you fall to hell ♪ ♪ So ends each story ♪ ♪ Softly, as in an evening sunset ♪ ♪ The light that gave you glory ♪ ♪ Will take it all the way ♪ (Janine scatting) (upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) ♪ Softly, as in a morning sunrise ♪ ♪ The light of love comes stealing into a newborn day ♪ ♪ Flaming with all the glow of sunrise ♪ ♪ A burning kiss comes sealing ♪ ♪ The vow that all betray ♪ ♪ Oh, the passions that thrill love ♪ ♪ And lift you high to heaven ♪ ♪ Are the passions that kill love ♪ ♪ And let you fall to hell ♪ ♪ So ends each story ♪ ♪ Softly, as in an evening sunset ♪ ♪ The light that gave you glory ♪ ♪ Will take it all away ♪ ♪ The light that gave you glory ♪ ♪ Will take it all away ♪ ♪ The light that gave you glory ♪ ♪ Will take it all away ♪ - One, two.

One, two, three.

(upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) ♪ Do I want you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, 'deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ And do I need you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, 'deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ I'm glad that I'm the one that found you ♪ ♪ That's why I'm always, always hanging around you ♪ ♪ Do I love you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, 'deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (Janine scatting) ♪ And do I want you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, 'deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ And do I need you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, 'deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ I'm glad that I'm the one that found you ♪ ♪ That's why I'm always, always hanging around you ♪ ♪ Do I love you ♪ ♪ Oh my, do I ♪ ♪ Honey, oh, honey ♪ ♪ Do I love you, honey ♪ ♪ 'Deed I do ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ My heart is sad and lonely ♪ ♪ For you I pine ♪ ♪ For you dear, only ♪ ♪ I tell you I mean it ♪ ♪ I'm all for you, body and soul ♪ (relaxed bass music) ♪ I spend my days in longing ♪ ♪ And wondering why it's me you're... ♪ (indistinct) ♪ Why haven't you seen it ♪ ♪ I'm all for you, body and soul ♪ ♪ I can't believe it ♪ ♪ It's hard to conceive it ♪ ♪ That you turn away romance ♪ ♪ Are you pretending ♪ ♪ It looks like the ending ♪ ♪ Oh, unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear ♪ ♪ My life a wreck, you're making ♪ ♪ You know I'm yours for just the taking ♪ ♪ I'd gladly surrender myself for you, body and soul ♪ (relaxed bass music) (relaxed bass music continues) (relaxed bass music continues) (relaxed bass music continues) (relaxed bass music continues) (relaxed bass music continues) (relaxed bass music continues) ♪ I can't believe it ♪ ♪ It's hard to conceive it ♪ ♪ That you turn away romance ♪ (relaxed bass music) ♪ Are you pretending ♪ ♪ It looks like the ending ♪ ♪ Oh, unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear ♪ ♪ My life a wreck, you're making ♪ ♪ You know I'm yours for just the taking ♪ ♪ I gladly surrender myself for you, body and soul ♪ (upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Appetizing young love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Love that's fresh and still unspoiled ♪ ♪ Love that's only slightly soiled ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Who will buy ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Who would like to sample my supply ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Who's prepared to pay the price ♪ ♪ For a trip to paradise ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Let the poets pipe of love in their childish way ♪ ♪ I know every type of love better far than they ♪ ♪ If you want the thrill of love ♪ ♪ I've been through the mill of love ♪ ♪ Oh, love, new love ♪ ♪ Every love but true love ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Appetizing young love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ If you want to buy my wares ♪ ♪ Follow me and climb the stairs ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ (Janine scatting) (upbeat bass music) (Janine scatting) (upbeat bass music) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) (upbeat bass music continues) ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Appetizing young love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Love that's fresh and still unspoiled ♪ ♪ Love that's only slightly soiled ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ ♪ Oh, but who will buy ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Who would like to sample my supply ♪ (upbeat bass music) ♪ Who's prepared to pay the price ♪ ♪ For a trip to paradise ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ ♪ Let the poets pipe of love in their childish way ♪ ♪ I know every type of love better far than they ♪ ♪ If you want the thrill of love ♪ ♪ I've been through the mill of love ♪ ♪ Oh, love, new love ♪ (Janine scatting) ♪ Love for sale ♪ ♪ Appetizing young love for sale ♪ ♪ If you want to buy my wares ♪ ♪ Follow me and climb the stairs ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ ♪ Love for sale ♪ (upbeat bass music) (Janine vocalizing) (upbeat bass music) (upbeat piano music) - Thanks for joining us.

For more arts, visit wmht.org/aha and be sure to connect with us on social.

I'm Matt Ragowicz, thanks for watching.

(upbeat piano music) (upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) (upbeat electronic music continues) - [Narrator] Funding for "AHA!"

has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT venture fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi and the Robison Family Foundation.