Ceramics Conference

I wish I had time to post but I have been running amuk lately.  I've been busy putting work through the kilns for my Mother's Day show at Cory's Country Inn.  I finally got the work out of the glaze kiln and I am in love with the new designs I have been working on.  I just pulled them out this morning but I have been rushing around getting supplies for the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Arts (CCACA) down in Davis,CA.  All the colleges from the area set up shows of student work and I will be there with Chico State.  It should be a weekend of fun.  There will be wonderful guest artist workshops and lectures and lots of ceramic art to see.  I can't wait.  But I better get to bed.  I've got to get up early to pack up and head out.

I'll leave you with this picture from last years conference.  After a long day painting and prepping, students and teachers pause to appreciate the work and beautiful set up.  Watch out people!  I'm taking more photos this year.  hahaha

All Work and No Play...

It has been such an incredibly gorgeous weekend!  It almost felt like summer today.  I have actually been way too obsessed with clay lately to take time for myself.  Not that I have to be that obsessed, just that I have been having lots of fun.  So yesterday, I decided "I need to get out of this studio!"  I was feeling like, all work and no play makes me a dull girl indeed.  I headed out to walk home and was thinking about where I might want to go.  Then I crossed the footbridge on campus and thought, "Why do I need to go anywhere when this is right here?"  Besides that, my feet were killing me and the cold water of the creek looked much too inviting.

I thought it would feel excellent to soak my toes in the water so I climbed down to some rocks and took my shoes off.  It is really great that campus is situated right next to this wonderful creek.  Because of the recent rains, it was really full.  And, it was really cold!  It took a little while to get my feet used to the cold and then I just soaked them until they were numb.  It was extremely refreshing and my feet thanked me. 

It was so relaxing and the sound of the water flowing by started to make me sleepy.  If there had been a place to lie down I would have let the creek lull me to sleep.  But then the mosquitoes found me and I wasn't prepared for them so I put my shoes on and headed up the tiny hill.  Oops, it was kind of hard walking with numb feet.  I am going to do it again soon!

Decorating Plates in Bed

 The girly, flowery experiment.

So, what is a person supposed to do when it is rainy and ugly outside, one has been sick for five days and one is trying to procrastinate heading off to school in this nasty weather?  Why, decorate those plates that I dragged home last night!  And then put them on the bedspread and take pictures.  Then sit down with a bowl of soup and post to my blog and then suddenly remember that I have to run off to school and enter something in the student show before it is too late.  Yikes!

The organic, biomorphic experiment.

Sculpture from my solo show.

 

I have a head cold today and I'm not feeling so hot but here are some shots of the gallery were I had my very first solo show.  This is the view from the entrance to the gallery.  This piece in the front is porcelain fired to cone 10.

These pieces are earthenware with underglaze and sgrafitto.

The two pieces here in the foreground are porcelain and the two behind are stoneware.  I had a hard time taking these pictures because of the lighting. I had a mix of natural light, fluorescent and halogen.  I also had some depth of field issues.  I might go back and try to shoot some more shots before I take the show down on Thursday. 

Tiles and Pedastal Bowls

 

 

I'm not entirely certain how a whole week went by without a post.  Maybe it has something to do with my slow internet connection.  I just haven't felt like dealing with it.  Here are some quick pics of what I have been up to.  Making progress on decorating my tiles and working on some cone 6 pieces.  I love these pedestal bowls.  I'm thinking ice cream!  Ok, got to be to class in ten minutes!

Terra Sigillata Love!

Ok, it's official.  I am in love!  Oh, terra sigillata, how I love thee.  Let me count the ways.  This MIGHT even be better than chocolate.  Wait, what am I saying?  Have I lost my mind!  That could be possible.

I owe this new wave of insanity to Jenny Mendes.  She is an absolutely wonderful ceramic artist who decorates her work primarily using terra sig.  She spent a month at Chico State working and sharing her knowledge with the students.  There was a wonderful article about her techniques published in March on Ceramic Arts Daily.  Jenny left this week and gave us her terra sig to play and experiment with. So far I have just put the red terra sig, made from redart, on these new tile tests.  It felt like I was brushing silk onto my tiles!  I've never worked with this before and let me say, I was really missing out.  Thank you, Jenny!  I have been sworn by my instructors to share all experiments and results.  How can I not?  This is soooo much fun!  I want everyone to try it out.  I found myself fondling my tiles last night.  They were so smooth and soft.  Did I tell you? I have gone nutz!  In the picture above you can see the difference in the before and after.  The lighter tile on the bottom left is a funny, pink recycled clay I made last spring.  All the other ones have the terra sig.  Now, if I can just figure out what else I want to do with them.  So many colors of terra sig to choose from.  What will I ever do?

Fibromyalgia and Internet Issues!

Yesterday I made these gorgeous tiles in a unique shape created with one of my snowflake cutouts.  The downside was using my body in a way I am not used to and then in doing to many at once because I was excited with them and having a great time.  Time just flew by (time really does fly when you are having fun!) and it was late when I looked up at the clock.  I could tell that my elbow was  hurting.  When I woke up this morning I was in real pain.  That all over ache like when  you get the flu.  That's fibromyalgia for you.  Most of the time I can ignore the fibro, especially by keeping busy and I mostly don't feel it.  Then there are days like yesterday when I do something that my body is not used to.  Then I overdo it on top of that and I am quickly reminded of my limitations.  Slow and steady should be my motto.  I had that tender all over feeling and I wouldn't even let my cat initiate her morning ritual of walking all over me.  She tried but it just hurt too much.

I haven't been taking photos too much lately.  I have been feeling kind of obsessed with ceramics.  In a good way, I think.  Here is a photo I took about a month ago of the handrail on the footbridge to campus.  I like the design and the graphic qualities.  I am at campus right now, using the computer.  I finally gave up on mine at home.  It does a lot of things great as long as I don't get on the internet.  I'm not sure what is wrong with our internet at home or if it is a combo of the internet and my old computer.  The last couple of days, hours have been wasted just waiting for pages to load.  This  morning I couldn't get anything no matter how I tried to connect.  I feeling like borrowing somebody's computer just to make sure whether or not it is my computer or the connection.

I'm actually in a relatively good mood, at least that's what I keep telling myself.  But I am tired and sore and in my fogginess I left my keys at home when I ran off to school at 8am.  I was all ready to get into the printmaking lab and work on something extra that was due today.  But without a key, I can't get into my locker to get my supplies.  It's only a ten minute walk home so I'll be heading out soon to go retrieve them.  I think I'll stop and buy a bike lock first in the school bookstore and then I can get back and forth even quicker.  Oh, and a bike helmet too.  But I got to go to the bikestore for that.  Thanks for listening to me ramble today.  Sometimes, you just gotta vent.  Have a great one!

My New Website

I'm soooo excited!  I finally have my very own website, kellylynndaniels.com. Goody, goody.  A huge thank you goes out to my friend and fellow artist, Erin Lizardo, for designing it for me.  I have been wanting this for a long time but I didn't know where to start.  With the reception for my first solo show coming up this Thursday,  I wanted to have my website up with new business cards to promote it. It was definitely last minute and Erin is doing a great rush job for me. Plus, she was excited about doing something kind of pretty and girly for me. I owe you, Erin!