A Speck of Sun

After yesterday's post I headed over to my friends studio to hang out with the Claymates and work on some of these fun mini vases.  It was mostly an ugly day yesterday but the sun came out just long enough for me to run these outside for a pic.  After I got home the deluge started up again.  I'm not sure why but the rain really bugged me yesterday.  It made me sort of anxious and then I realized the water was dripping loudly on a bucket outside so I moved that and it was a little better.  I also looked up the weather report for Massachusetts and Rhode Island where they are predicting a historical blizzard.  Suddenly, I didn't feel quite as bad.  I finished off the evening by cleaning up my studio so I can have a fresh start on some more work.  Now if I can just keep up the momentum I will have enough new work that I wont keep missing out on calls for artists.  Have a great weekend!

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.  

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.

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! 

Beach Bummin'

Carmel, CA

I have been so busy lately that it seems like yesterday that I last posted when in fact a whole month has slipped right on by.  Let's see if I can get y'all caught up.

Fort Ord Dunes State Park

Texture on the dunes

Sand City, CA

I am currently in Monterey at CSU Summer Arts taking a photography course called "Exploring Photography Through Three Centuries.  I've made it a point to get to the beach while I am here and have visited three so far.  I can't wait to go explore some more.

Taking a group photo.  Say Cheese!

The course is coordinated by Brian Taylor, professor and chair of the art department at CSU San Jose.

Professor Taylor has brought in three awesome guest artists for this two week class and we just finished up with artist, Dan Estabrook who is amazing!  He taught us salt, gelatin-salt, and gold toning, now considered an alternative process which was revolutionary in the 1880's when it was fist invented by William Henry Fox Talbot.  The three prints above are the ones I completed.  The first, on the left is from an image I shot (cough) about 18 years ago.  This one is a salt print.  The middle picture is the interior of the craft house from my recent trip to Penland and is a gold toned gelatin-salt print.  The last photo on the right is from a farmer's market picture of turnips and is a gelatin -salt print.  This process is quite user friendly I would like to explore it some more when the class is over.  

I am currently in the thick of mixed media with our second guest artist, Holly Roberts.  She is teaching the class mixed media techniques using photography, paint, and collage.

Susannah Israel

The weekend right before I left for Monterey I was able to attend a workshop with Susannah Israel who taught us coil building techniques for figurative sculpture.  I am so glad I was able to go to this as Susaanah is an absolute delight to work with and an incredible instructor!

My bunny sculpture from Susannah's workshop.

Soda kiln results

And then there was the soda firing.  It was a mere two weeks ago and already it seems like so long ago. 

I was able to participate in a couple of firings and I am truly addicted.  Phew, that's a lot of activity with more on the horizon.  I have another week in this class and then I will be starting the final two weeks with Clay as a Medium for Sculpture.  I'll try to keep you updated when I can find the time to breath!