Gettin' it done.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have a deadline and a very specific to do list mapped out so there is no time for distraction.

I got tons of photos taken.  So many that I overheated my camera.

Many of these pieces will be in the show at the Matador this weekend.

I had a lot of fun making these little cups.

So much delicious contrast on these pitcher.  

We made it over hump day and were on the downward slide to the weekend.  Keep smiling.

Comfort Food

So, I am feeling pretty bleh today.  We have had unseasonably gorgeous weather here in Northern Ca. Last week it got up to about 77 degrees F.  Phew, in February, no less.  It has been truly wonderful.  Now there is a storm blowing in and who knows?  Maybe it just has me in a mood.  On the up side.  A friend of mine has ducks that have been giving him more eggs than he knows what to do with.  Who knew ducks keep producing eggs durring the winter?  So, I cheerfully agreed to take some off his hands. Now, people who know me will have their eyebrows lifted in a question mark.  Because when I think of eggs, I usually think, EEEWWW YUK.  Yea, I am not a big fan of eggs.  Unless, that is if I am baking with them.  I will eat them, though for protein when I am tired of tofu.  But it has to be like, a little egg with those veggies, please.  Like that veggie scramble up there in my delightful little Erin Paradis bowl that I got at Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC last spring.  Can you see any egg in there.  I didn't think so.  One egg and a whole lot of veggies, spices, salsa, and olives just to make sure.

Now, eggs are eggs are eggs.  But try as I might tell myself that they were just bigger, fresher, better versions of chicken eggs I was a little squeamish about using them.  So I figured it would be best to try them out in brownies first.  Yup.  I killed two birds with one stone.  Comfort food and new territory, albeit, a teeny tiny challenge.  Now they were scrumptious, but I don't think nearly as beautiful as this Sharon Virtue tile I picked up last summer at the ACGA show in Palo Alto, CA.

And...don't you think these images are fun?   I got a hand me down iPhone 4 so I could finally play with iPhone photo artistry.  Alright then, I am going to pull up my big girl panties and get out of the house!

My Micro Ceramics Studio

You really don't need a whole lot of space to make your art or craft.  My ceramic artist friend, Jenny Mendes, has a very small studio.  When I moved into my small duplex last summer I was inspired by Jenny to convert a corner of my tiny kitchen into a micro studio.  The space I am working in is only about 5 by 6 feet, or so.  I haven't actually measured it.  The slab roller just barely fits into the space between the refrigerator and the window.  My pottery wheel slides under the slab roller when not in use which also makes it easier to get out my back door which is right next to the window on the right.  On the wall opposite the wheel I have a shelf to hold work in progress but it is usually covered with tools, supplies, slips and random junk, causing me to occasionally spread out into the leaving room or out on the back porch in good weather.  I try to keep it really clean by mopping and wiping my shoes on a rug so I don't track clay throughout the house.  So far it is working great and I am getting a lot made.  Plus, I think everyone should have a great big refrigerator right next to the work space to post all sorts of inspirational material on.  The close proximity of food does not seem to distract me but I do enjoy sustaining my practice with the frequent consumption of dark chocolate!

Unfortunately, my studio does not have a kiln so I fire my work in a variety of places from friends studios to places like Penland School of Crafts.  I've often thought it would be fun to have a mobile studio on wheels since that's what my car feels like when I am transporting supplies, tools, and work in various stages around town.  But I actually really enjoy this chance to get out and be with other people and not be holed up in my studio like a hermit all the time.  I frequently make work in the studios of my friends which is great for socialization as well as inspiration and feedback.  

This is the most recent batch of work that has been happening in the micro studio the past couple of weeks.  These here are still wet today.  I was up until about 1am happily working away on these and watching movies on Netflix.  These will be going into the first soda firing of the 2013.  I can't wait to see how they turn out.  I am aiming to get the firing going next week or at the latest, the following.  

I just decided to incorporate some sgraffito into these pieces inspired by the tutelage of the fabulous Miss Kathy King when I was at Penland last spring.  I can't believe it has been almost a year already since I was there!  But not to fear, I am going back in May and June for a month to do some more studio assisting and I can't wait.  I am going to get to wood fire!  I will be working with Richard Burkett and Joe Molinaro in the first two week session and then I will be assisting Marc Leuthold in a second two week session for beginning and intermediate wheel throwers.  Both of these classes can be found on the Penland website.  I encourage everyone to take a class a Penland.  It is a blast!  

But wait, that's not all.  I will also be assisting Jenny Mendes in her workshop, Surface Navigation, at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in July.  It is going to be a very, very busy, busy year as I will also be traveling to Houston for the annual ceramics conference, NCECA, and I will be packing and moving across the country to go to grad school.  Wish me luck and lots of energy!

Soda Love

Remember a couple of posts ago when I was working on my paper stencil patterns at my computer table?  Well, here are the beauties!  Yes, it has taken me almost a month to get them photographed.  The firing was right before Christmas!  I think I have an aversion to my somewhat bulky photo shoot set up.   

Time to tackle that problem and make a mini version that doesn't take over my tiny living room.

But all that aside, I am really excited with the progress I am making with these.  It was a crazy long firing because the kiln door bricks and furniture got wet in a wild downpour so we had to "dry" out the kiln first.  It went for sixteen or eighteen hours or so when it should have only been about 12.  We did finally get the kiln firing much more evenly but I messed with the flew damper enough to knock a bunch of junk down into some of my pieces.  I've ground out a bunch of it and will try touching up the glaze and re-firing them in another cone 10 firing, or even cone 6 electric to see how that might work.

I'm busy making more work so that hopefully I can get another soda firing going by the first of February. Keeping my fingers crossed about that one.  I'm not exactly sure if I'll have access to the same kiln but if that doesn't work out I can always take some work out to Penland!  Yep, I'm headed out there again in May for a month to do some more studio assisting.  I can't wait!  And I am also going out to Arrowmont for my very first time!

Side A

Here is another one of my favorite pieces that I made last fall.  I stuck this in with my besties and started using it right away.  Somehow I just forgot that I wanted to document it.

Side B

I actually made two of these and the other one was fabulous also, that is until I sacrificed it to the soda kiln.  I was so positive it would come out great but I was not at all happy with it.  The underglaze fumed and bled and the clay body went very grey.  It's interesting and I'm sure someone would like it but me?  Not so much.  I'm glad I took this photo.  Something about seeing them in the right light on a nice backdrop has freshened my determination to make a few more.  

Drink This!

Life is moving on a pretty rapid clip as my semester as teaching assistant at Chico State is coming to a close.  I am so excited that I have been accepted to two great shows coming up very soon.  Here is the poster for the first show, Drink This! The Workhouse International Ceramic Cup Show, juried by Linda Arbuckle.  Linda is a wonderful ceramic artist who shares so much information with the ceramics community.  I am truly honored to have been accepted into this show.  Thanks Linda and Workhouse! 

Paper Clay Adventures

Right now I feel like I am participating in a mini, self-imposed, paper clay residency.  I got really fascinated by this when Rebecca Hutchinson taught at CSU Summer Arts in July.  Rebecca encouraged me to try this technique of stenciling, painting, and silk screening on a slab of plaster and then pouring a layer of paper clay slip on top.  I was so wrapped up in my installation project that I never got around to trying this out.  So now I am making up and giving it a whirl.

I want to expose a screen next but first I thought I would start off with a hand cut stencil.  I actually forgot about drawing directly on the plaster so I probably would have started with that.  Here I am using a thick porcelain slip made from my throwing leftovers to which I have added toilet paper.  I took a small amount of it and tinted it with turquoise stain.  

I had to let go of my ocd, perfectionistic tendencies with this whole process.  The stencil is not precise and the slip kind of likes to spread under the stencil a bit.

The crazy part is when you pick up the bucket of paper clay slip and pour a thick layer over the whole slab, obscuring the image in the process.  By the way, don't stop pouring and run to get your camera as the leading edge of the slip will start to dry out and will leave a line of demarcation after you pour the rest of the slip.  This line will have a tendency to want to crack later when you are manipulating the slab.  Good to know, just pour it all at once and spread it quickly and thick.

After a few hours, depending on weather (it was a hundred degrees when I did this), a half inch thick pour of slip will have turned into a quarter inch thick sheet that can be peeled pack from the plaster.  I was so excited to see that it actually worked and didn't tear.

I had some extra so I used a commercial stencil on this smaller plaster slab.

This close up shows the paper fibers pretty well.

So, I learned that it is good to plan what you are going to do with your sheet of clay before you make it so you aren't running around scratching your head while your sheet starts to dry.  I am not so sure that utilitarian pieces are the best use of this process but I didn't have a sculptural project in mind.  I also learned that paper clay cuts a whole lot easier with scissors than with a blade or wire.  

I love this "rolled" foot.  I enjoyed experimenting with this because it forced me to let go.  I also like that their where certain things the porcelain slab would and wouldn't do.  Because of this,  the evidence of the process is necessarily revealed such as the cracking of the surface of the clay as it was formed.  Hmm, I'm kind of liking this.  It will be interesting to see where it leads me.  

If you want to know more about working with paper clay, an excellant resource is Rosette Gault's book on the subject.

Paperclay Vessel

All the beautiful flowers blooming and the early morning coolness on my front porch enticed me to stay home and experiment with some paperclay ideas.  In July I was able to work with ceramic installation artist, and professor at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Rebecca Hutchinson.  She was our last visiting artist in Clay as a Medium for Sculpture at CSU Summer Arts in Monterey, CA.  She taught us an amazing array of techniques for "breaking the rules" when working with clay. She taught us about the different kind of cellulose fibers to use and what kind of stuff to dip into paper clay slip.  She also showed us how to make durable, non-fired pieces and how to incorporate silkscreen and stencil use with colored slips for surface decoration.  It was a ton to cover in just three days.  If you ever get and opportunity to go to one of her workshops I would highly recommend it!

I thought I would start out simple with these little clay medallions I made by dropping dollops of paperclay onto a plaster slab to stiffen up.  Need more plaster slabs!  And minions to make these little cookies while I construct the forms.

The construction process was oh so delightful! I started the base out on an upturned bowl covered with paper.  I left it out in the sun to stiffen up and then took it off the mold, turned it over and started adding my cookie "shingles."  This stuff is amazing.  I love that you can add wet pieces to bone dry work.  It is also really easy to rehydrate areas with a spritz of water as the paper keeps the clay from weakening.

Day two.  You can see where the bottom section has dried and I continued shingling on the fairly dry rim.

I really wanted to continue and make the form even larger if it wasn't for a few crucial factors.  One, I ran out of slip!  Two, I needed to make the base thicker and better able to take the weight of the piece and not be topsy.  Since I started out with all these cookies of pretty uniform thickness there just isn't enough weight at the bottom.  I think the next one will have a thicker pinch or coil base to start working on. The last issue is transportation.  Oh yeah, when one does not have a kiln...  You get the idea.

I love how the interior looks like scales.  I might flip the cookies around on the next piece so the flat, scale-like surface is on the outside.  Now to figure out how I want to finish and fire this piece.  I am thinking of the soda kiln but not sure if it will fit.  I might need to make some smaller ones for that little kiln for sure.

Recent Soda Firing

Opening up last week's kiln load. Or was it longer ago than that?  I'm not sure where the time keeps slipping away from me!  Anywho, check out those cones on the bottom.  Cone 12 maybe?  All I know is my tumblers were on the bottom and I had a lot of bloating.  Maybe B-mix at this temp is not so good.  Or maybe we just need to figure out how to get the kiln firing a wee bit more even.  I know!  I'll just put my stuff on the top next time.  What a concept.  I know, sometimes I'm a tad slow.

Here are the four tumblers that came out good.  One still is pretty bloated but I turned it around for the shot.  I actually had eight tumblers but four of them cracked.  Pretty weird cracks too.  I'll have to get some pics of those too show y'all.  Could use some postulating on causes.  I have a theory but we'll see.  

I've got some bowls just like these tumblers going into the kiln next week plus I think I'll put in a couple of porcelain pieces and see how they do.  B-mix on the top, not sure where to place the porcelain but I think it would withstand the bottom.  Hey, I could put a porcelain one on the top, one in the middle and one on the bottom.  I astound even myself sometimes.  Just kidding!  Oh, and as for surface technique, that is paper stencil with a baur flashing slip brushed on.  I also used the little sewing wheel thingy texture maker and then bisqued.  Then a black slip was rubbed into the texture.  I glazed the inside with celadon but it doesn't look as good as I'd like.  Maybe not enough reduction on the bottom.

The recycle clay is liking the soda.  And check out that design and texture!  Wish I could claim those as mine.  I am thinking of stealing, ahem, borrowing, the technique.

Happy mugsy.  My tumbler in the back, otherwise known as a giant test tile.

My New Obession - Soda Kiln Firing

I am so excited to finally be taking photos of my new soda fired work!  I really was starting to question what was wrong with me.  I didn't want to take photos, or post them to the web, or to my Etsy store, or to my Facebook page.  Truth is, I've been in kind of a funk for the past few weeks.  Maybe it has been a bit of a let down after having been to so many wonderful workshops over the past few months.  Coming back home and having to face the real world and try to catch up with things has affected me more than I thought it would.  

But I think I am finally starting to feel a bit better.  The new semester started and I am a teaching assistant in ceramics at Chico State University.  Plus, choir started and I get to do some singing which is always cathartic and uplifting for me.  On top of this, I moved into a new place where I finally have sun in my yard.  I moved in just days before going to Monterey for CSU Summer Arts.  I've been home for about three and half weeks and I guess I am nesting.  Furnishing and decorating my new digs and rushing a winter veggie garden in before I run out of time.  Oh, and the flowers.  I HAD, HAD, HAD to plant flowers! 

Cat Sgraffito

I started to tackle the back of the candy dish outside but it was too cold and windy and lying on the bedroom floor with stacks of squishy pillows and a cat sounded more appealing.  And this was before I set my laptop next too me and put on the headphones.  I felt pretty smart.  I'm sure it was quite a sight.  I should have had someone snap a pic of me.  I do a lot of art work on my bedroom floor.  It is often my studio of choice.

Tiger says, "You gonna do some scratchin' on that thing?  I think I haz sharper tools.  You want some help?  Mebe I just supervise."

I rather like the way the back turned out.  Maybe I will make it the front next time.  I can't wait to see how it fires out.  I'm not sure if I want to put a gloss or satin glaze on.

Test Tile Madness!

First off, I don't feel like superwoman today.  Bummer, I know.  It's almost ten thirty in the morning and I am laying on an ice pack.  But hey, it gives me an excuse to update my blog.  No, I didn't get hurt, so to speak.  I keep forgetting that I have a tendency towards hyper mobile joints.  I have been doing a lot of stretching in the mornings to loosen up my back and my calfs. I also have been doing a lot of bike riding.  Well the stretching was working so well for a while that I think I have been over stretching without doing enough muscle strengthening exercises to compensate.  Combine that with my bicycle seat which I don't seem to be able to get the right shape, size, or comfort but I ride anyways and BAMB!  Yep, muscle spasms.

The upside?

Test Tiles!  Wait, did I say yesterday that I LOVE test tiles?  Oh yeah, but every time I make them I forget how LONG they take.  Of course, sometimes I do have a tendency to go overboard. Thank goodness I already had some color tests mixed up from about a year ago that I had never made tiles for.  So in between sessions of icing my back I kept myself pretty busy. This is Molly Hatch's vitreous engobe recipe that I got off Ceramic Arts Daily.  It is for use at cone 04-6 and I  have a bunch of different stains mixed in . I have used these to silkscreen directly onto leather hard clay and then fired to cone 04 and they looked great.  Now I will have test tiles of the engobe applied to leather hard and I will make some with the engobe applied as washes to bisque tiles.  I will fire them all in the cone 5-6 range.  

After finishing these tiles in the front I took some of the dry ones and applied terra sig which is normally used only in the low-fire range.  However, since I put it on my bowls and I decided I didn't want to sacrifice them as tests, tiles would be a good idea.  It will be interesting to see how they fire out at Cone 5-6.

And what post would be complete without out the kitty pics?  This girl is twelve years old and starting to slow down a little.  I've had her since she was three weeks old and I had to bottle feed her.  To say she is spoiled would be an understatement. She thinks the bed is hers and how can I blame her?  I spend maybe eight hours in it while she spends about twenty hours nested in blissful comfort, that is, when the light isn't too bright.  Yesterday, while I was laying on the ice, she kept kicking me with her back feet because there wasn't enough room for her to stretch out across the bed with me in her way.  Poor thing! Do you think I should upgrade to a queen or king size from the apparently tiny full size?

Having the bed right under the window does make for a perfect environment for a kitty.  All she needs to do is chill and watch the world go by.  Ah, sometimes that is a good philosophy to remind myself of from time to time.  So, peace be with you this weekend and remember to chill out. I know I certainly am, literally!