Bunny on My Bed

 This is Momma Bunny.  Really original name, I know.  She looks a little wicked with the red eye going on.  She is an outdoor bunny who should really be a house bunny.  I used to have my bunnies in the house until I got allergic to them.  It's a shame.  She is an adorable bunny, very well behaved.  Sometimes I think she is a dog.  She loves to be petted.  Momma bun got to come inside today to get her toenails trimmed and to get a summer home in the basement where it is cool.  I tried to but her on her back and nestle her in the pillows to put her in a bunny trance for the procedure but she wasn't having any of it.  So I just gave her lots of nose rubs and gently pulled each foot out from under her and trimmed her nails.  She did great.  What a sweet bunny.  Nose kisses!  I brought her daughter in for the same treatment.  Not so good.  She is a super nervous bunny and she peed on the bed.  I at least got some of the longest nails trimmed.

Oh, I just want to hug her and love her up!  All this is part of my preparations for going away to Summer Arts at Fresno State.  I'm heading out in the morning.  I am going to try to get on the rode before it gets too hot.  I got to borrow a lap top from a great friend of mine so hopefully I will be able to post some images from my class, Clay as a Medium for Sculpture.  There is an incredible line up of artists who will be leading the class and I am excited to see what they have in store for us.  Better get my beauty rest.

Laying Down on the Job

 The office assistant doesn't think much about all the paperwork I spread out for her to work on today.

 

What?

I need to do my nails first.

Don't mezz with the offeece assistant!

I am warning you!

Hey, how did this pencil thingy get on MY bed anyways!

Ok, gotta go see if I can get those pots to load themselves into the kiln.  Wait, they need to glaze themselves up first!

Photo Lithography on Clay

Blogging seems to have taken a backseat to the gorgeous summer weather.  Of course, it doesn't help if I keep forgetting to take my camera to the studio with me when I go.  I've been riding my back to the studio which only takes a couple of minutes.  I actually wish it took longer.  There are so many flowers in bloom that it is an olfactory experience everyday.  Tonight I had to ride around the circular drive that goes around a huge magnolia tree just so I could keep smelling it.

I have been experimenting in the studio again.  This time it is photo lithography on clay.  Here is my very messy little setup.  I'm using a sheet of plexi underneath the ink.  I could have used glass but we have lots of plexi in the plaster room.  Just cleaned it up first.  My ink is linseed oil mixed with Mason stain 6600.  I have been watching the demo on Ceramic Arts Daily by Kristina Bogdanov.  It is a great demo and I finally had to try it out for myself.  I wont go into great detail here.  Kristina does a much better job.

Here is my printing plate.  I xeroxed this super cute little batty image for my test.  The plate is set into water and water is flooded over the top and then sponged off.  The wet paper repels the ink while the toner attracts it.

Here I am trying to roll the inked brayer and take a photo at the same time.  Not such a great idea.  I almost didn't notice that my plate was rolling around the brayer. After inking the plate it gets flooded and sponged off and then inked again.  One more flood of water to wash off the excess ink and it is ready to transfer.  The plate gets gently lifted by the corner and is placed image side down onto soft leather hard clay.  The transfer is left to sit for a minute and then burnished with the back of a spoon or soft rubber rib.

Pulling back a corner for a peek.  I actually could have placed the corner back down and burnished some more.  I didn't quite have all the detail I wanted but I was too impatient to see the image.  Also I have been having a hard time with the paper sticking to the clay and tearing so I thought I might try to peel it off sooner.

Looking pretty interesting so far.

Ooh, Ahh!

Ta Da!

Definitely go check out the link for more info.  I also have been reading the photo litho transfer method in Maureen Mills' book Surface Design for Ceramics.  What is interesting and different about her technique is that she uses polyester litho plates instead of paper.  This sounds more durable and I think I might try it.  The paper sticking to the clay will burn off but I want to layer images and I don't want the paper bits to get stuck in the way.  Who knows?  I need more practice and maybe I'll get the technique down better.  But it would still be fun to try the polyester litho paper because you can put it into a laser printing and print the artwork directly.  Has anyone else worked with this technique?  I'd love to hear any tricks or tips you might have.

I Really Do Make Things With Clay

The last week and a half has been a blur of cleaning up the ceramics studio at school.  I was beginning to wonder if I ever made things with clay but last night even though I was tired I made myself sit down and make something.  My friend  was making some cups with dimples in them and I liked them so much I stole the idea for these bowls.  I did tell her first that I was stealing the idea.  These are made out of some aged recycled clay but they still got some cracking on the dimples.  We just whipped up a new batch of recycle yesterday and I really tried to get some good plasticity going on.  I hope it worked.  I haven't tried any of the fresh stuff yet.

What I really want to make time for is some more hand built sculptures.  Here is a sneak peak of what I was starting before we got so crazy busy cleaning.  I am pretty pleased with myself for making these and I am loving how they turned out.  I am so accustomed to throwing on the wheel but I completely hand built these with slabs.  Yeah for me!  I'd like to get some more made before I head down to my month long stint at the summer arts program at Fresno State.  Well, I best be gettin' to bed.  I've got about another 500 pounds of recycled clay to mix up tomorrow.  Thank goodness I don't do it all myself!  Night, night, or good morning by the time many of you will read this.

A Day Well Spent

Today was a busy day and in the middle of it I am not sure if I specifically noticed that it was a good day.  Now at the end of it all I can sit down with a sigh and appreciate all that I got done and the fun I had.   Lots of ceramic work got done, the kiln shelf cleaning kind.  Errands, paperwork and phone calls and then back to the studio for more work.  After all the work was done we had some girl time.  The school studio has three Lockerbie kick wheels outside that no one uses.  We had cleaned the patio earlier and had the place all to ourselves so music, throwing, good conversation and good laughs ensued.  Then we all decided we needed to head off to the Farmer's market for some dinner and frozen yogurt.  Ah yes, it was a good day.

Lazy Day

Today was a pretty laze day all around.  But I have a good excuse.  It was my birthday and I just felt like being lazy.  Ok, I wasn't totally lazy.  I went to the studio and unloaded the clay I brought up from Sacramento on Wednesday.  I got some more cone 6 porcelain and a cone 6 stoneware to try out.  I also got a cone 04 white.  Yeah, Eric at IMCO screwed up his eyes and said not to put it in with the cone 6.  Duh!  I didn't give him a bad time for it.  I actually had met him in 2000 in Penryn at a wood fire at Rodney Mott's.  He told me there is another wood firing coming up in a couple of weeks.  It is a tempting thought but I probably need to stay focused on what I need to get done here in June.  You see, I will be gone for a month at Fresno Summer Arts.  Oh Yeah!  Two days ago I found out that I got a full scholarship for the program.  Yippie!  Alright, I could keep going with other minor things I got done today but this is starting to sound like a blah, blah, blah, post.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

A rose from my old garden.

Lately I've been pondering on this little saying, "bloom where you are planted."  It has served me pretty well in getting through trials and making the best of the situations I am in, good or bad.  For example, I used to live on a 3/4 acre parcel that was sandwiched between a metal fabricator and a landscape business.  It wasn't exactly the quiet peaceful environment that I would prefer for my creative thought processes.  What it did have was a complete ceramics studio and lots of space to grow a garden.  I had no idea how long I would be living there but I wanted to make the most of it.  I actually had studio space on the property five years before I moved onto the place and this gave me ample to time to experiment with gardening.  By the time I moved in I had a gorgeous garden of vegetables and flowers.  I immediately went about planting fruit trees for fun, food and shade.  The property was hotter than blazes in the summertime which was great for the garden but hard on the people.

 Gifts from the garden.

I lived there for another five years enjoying the fruits of my labors, making pottery and playing with my cats.  When extreme life circumstances made it necessary for me to move it was extremely difficult.  I had to give up everything.  The cats, the garden, all the studio equipment.  But hey!  It was a necessary step down another path.  I know that it is important to have the right perspectives.  That doesn't mean it is easy.  I can't really garden anymore.  No sun.  I could have a shade garden but somehow that doesn't really motivate me.  What has been motivating me is to focus more on my art which has been great.  I find myself creating my blooms on my pottery and coming up with fresh ideas that I would have no time for if I was out in my garden so much.  I hope to have a garden again some day and maybe another studio.  For now, I have the university studio which suits me just fine and good friends.  Oh yeah, I did get to keep one of the cats and we snuggle a lot!

Tazzie waiting for birds. I don't have this sweet girl anymore.

Etsy Treasury Number Three!

Oh for Muddy Sakes! by terraworks

I have NEVER posted three times in one day. But what am I supposed to do?  My work is in another Etsy Treasury.  It's time to PAARRTY!

Two Etsy Treasuries in One Day!

Black and White by AlteredAbbey

My work made it into another Etsy Treasury tonight, or this morning depending on your location.  That's my porcelain sculpture on the second row on the left. Wow, I'm just giddy.  Go over and give this treasury some clicks and views.  It would be incredible to make it to Etsy's Frontpage.  But we can't do it without your help.  By the way, Chrysti Hydeck at AlteredAbbey has some gorgeous photography and she is having an incredible sale so check out her shop too!  Thanks, Chrysti.

Red, White and Oooooooo!

That's it. I am officially finished with school for the semester.  I can do whatever I want!  Well, sort of, maybe for a little while.  But it sure does feel great.  As soon as I got home I decided to check my email and Etsy store and found out my little red and white porcelain mug  was featured in this incredible showcase by the talented cinderelish.  All the artists in this showcase make beautiful work and I am honored to by in this showcase with them.  Yeah!  I'm looking forward to this weekend and just playing with the clay for awhile.  What is everyone else up to?

Cats and Clay

It seems like every time I turn around there is a cat trying to get involved with something in the studio!

This time it was during the photo shoot of my new work.  I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and looked over to see this in the back of the light tent.  Cat toenails on my backdrop seems like a really good thing!

Oops! I've been caught. I'm outta here!

Finals are finally over for me.  Yippie!  Just some studio clean up time and I still have work study which is a nice thing.  Then it will be back to the quiet studio for some new work.

I won the Jack Windsor Ceramics Award!

Last night was the reception and awards ceremony for both the Student Art Show and the 7th Ink/Clay at the Janet Turner Print Museum.  I had a piece in the Turner and I won the Jack Windsor Award.  I am sooo excited!  I forgot to take a picture last night so I've got to run over there today and get one to post.

I also just listed this fun porcelain pedestal bowl in my Etsy store.  I'm thinking Hot Fudge Sundae here I come.  It's has been about 85 degrees already and summer is just around the corner.  I had my last critique and now we just have studio clean up days.  I also got accepted into the CSU Summer Arts Program, Clay as a Medium for  Sculpture.  I am going to have the opportunity to learn from Patsy Cox, Jason Briggs, Tip Toland, Heather Mae Erickson and Holly Hanessian.  This is going to be an intensive, two week program.  I can't wait!

Summer break is almost here!  I met with my BFA adviser yesterday and had ceramics critiques.  Today I have my printmaking critique and I am really excited to hear what everyone has to say about my final project.  I will post some pictures of my prints after everything is graded.  In the meantime, I finally took photos of my latest pottery pieces.  These are made from cone 6 porcelain from IMCO.  I am enjoying the graphic qualities of these pieces and can't wait to work on some more sculptures in a similar theme.

I made a number of different shaped mugs in an effort to come up with some new designs.  I don't think I'm nearly done working on shape but I think this one might end up in my cupboard.  This one is shorter and a little wide and I really like the balance and the way it feels in my hand.  I don't think I truly appreciated what  goes into a mug design.

I am really trying to break out of some clay making ruts that I have been in for a long time.  Just playing around and altering the rim here is a good first step in the right direction.  I would like to venture into some non round forms and see if I can't get my brain out of the entrenched wheel throwing mode.  Throwing on the wheel was my first love and I fall back into it for relaxation, when I'm stressed or when I can't think of what else I want to do.  Quick, someone put a lock on that wheel.  I'm headed to the mold room and the slab roller.  We'll see what fun stuff I turn out next.

I'm looking forward to the studio time this summer.  It won't be crowded with students and I should have more space to spread out for a little while.  I will also be attending summer arts at CSU Fresno where there will be some awesome ceramics instructors and some intense work getting done.  I can't wait!

I haven't decided if this is an amoeba shape or a sea creature but i love the way it flows around the mug.  I am going to continue working with this shape.  I have already incorporated it into my print work and now I want to bring the print work into my ceramics by combining print with sculpture so that the two relate to each other.  My instructors have led me down some good thought paths about the direction my work my take so my brain is all a buzz with ideas.  It is going to take some focus to narrow down the ideas and maybe make some small pieces to work out the concepts.  Have a good day everyone and you can see these pieces in my Etsy shop.  I will be listing more every day so keep checking back with the shop.

CCACA Ceramic Artist Photos

Phew!  Well I finally caught my breath after last weekends whirlwind conference only to have a panic attack today about my printmaking final.  A perfectionist attitude combined with a gemini personality along with too many choices made a muck of my idea generating process.  Then I was saved when our delightful instructor, Eileen MacDonald informed me that there were tons of silkscreens available and it would be a shame if I didn't do another silkscreen project.  Yeah!  Narrowing the focus is such a wonderful thing.  So I spent the last couple of hours listening to relaxing music and drawing some really interesting shapes.  The worst part for me is the planning stage.  After that it is just a lot of hard work but I can deal with that.  Being busily engaged in a project is what keeps me sane.  I think?

So, at the request of a loyal follower, I finally have some more images from the CCACA ceramics conference!  Enjoy.  I will get an album uploaded soon to my facebook.

 Monica Van Den Dool

Simon Dwire, Sandi Escobar, Cameron Crawford, Cory Condry

Taco Tongue

Sandi Escobar

Racheil Wenner hanging her Fetuses

Arthur Gonzales

Admiring Meaghan Gates work

Shenny Phillips Cruces

Detail

Demise of Education, Detail

Paula Moran

Well, that's all for now.  And it's a good thing.  I got to go to bed!  Too much work and printmaking tomorrow.  But it should be fun.  Zzzz...

Karl McDade Silkscreen Transfers on Clay

Karl McDade Demonstrating Silkscreen Transfers for Clay 

I made it back from CCACA in Davis, CA!  This was an incredible ceramics conference hosted by the John Natsoulas Gallery.  It was a great weekend of workshops, lectures and shows.  I'm so tuckered out that I don't think I can post too much.  However, the first workshop of the conference was by Karl McDade and it was incredible.  I was planning on doing some silkscreen on clay for my final project in my printmaking class and this was just the resource I needed.  Thanks, Karl!

Peeling the paper back from the first transfer

I'll try to get more posted soon.  I have final critiques coming up next week.  Yikes!  Already?  Where did the semester go to?  Plus I have a show to do on Mother's Day.  Wish me luck.  I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather as much as I am.  Goodnight.

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.