Acrylic Resist with Water Erosion on Porcelain

I've made progress on bowls that are part of the rewards for my Kickstarter fundraiser for my trip to Penland.  These are cone six porcelain that I have brushed acrylic medium on and then used the water erosion technique to achieve the texture.  I like to make two layers of texture which can be kind of dicey.  I started to see the inside of the bowl getting pretty wet in a couple of areas. Yikes!  I can't wait to see how transparent these will be when they are finished.

And here is the cute little covered jar from the last post with this technique.  Still needs some cleaning up but I love how it is progressing.

I also got started on some prototypes for some teapots.  When I finally get around to putting the handles on ( I've been misting them for four days) I will get some pics of those.  I don't have much experience with teapots so I am working on my learning curve.  On Friday, I did a fun demo with laser toner decal transfers and my students absolutely loved it!  I tried to shoot a video so that I could post it but I didn't have a large enough memory card and I had the resolution set too high.  I only got the first five minutes,  doh!  So yep, off to the store for the big mama sd card.  I think I will give it another try if I can keep myself focused.  Feel free to bug me if you don't see it sometime soon:P

Kickstarter Launch at Last!

Well everyone, I finally did it!  I got my video done and I officially launched my Kickstarter project, "Fly Me to Penland."   I can't say enough good things about Kickstarter.  This is such an incredible platform for all creative people to get their projects started by attracting funding through a rewards based program.  If you haven't been following my blog I was recently awarded an assistantship to work with ceramic artist, Kathy King, out at Penland School of Crafts.  I will be there for eight weeks and I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!

My project went live on the internet at about 9:30 pm.  Between now and Friday, March 3rd I will be working hard to raise $1150.  Kickstarter is unique in that is an all or nothing program.  So if I am even one dollar short of that goal I won't get a dime!  Yikes, and super yikes!  The great thing is that if I go over my pledge amount that is perfectly acceptable.

So I need your help to pass the word along to as many people as possible.  Thanks in advance for any way you are able to help out!

Kickstarter Preview

Well, I've finally come out of my doldrums.  Yay!  I am almost finished with the planning stages of my Kickstarter project, "Fly Me to Penland."  What's awesome about getting this setup is they give you a link to the preview so that you can share it and get feedback before the official launch.  I don't have the video up yet but I will be recording it tomorrow (oops, I guess that's today already.)  I am going to try to have it loaded up by the ended of the day.  So please go take a look, if you would be so kind, and let me know what you think.  Now that my fingers are frozen and I can barely type, I guess I better get some shut eye.  I don't need any bags under my eyes, that's for sure!

Celebrate Good Times!

I will preface this post by saying that I am a real person and I have lots of challenges.  Next Monday I need to go to Sacramento for a mediation conference with lawyers and claims adjusters and I am not looking forward to it.  It has the makings for an extremely stressful time.  That being said, I really do choose to try to focus on the positives. It is what keeps me going when the going gets tough.  I do a lot of deep breathing and affirmation exercises and then I rely on my friends to vent when I need to.  Dark chocolate really, really, I mean REALLY, helps too.

So now for the good stuff.  Drum roll, please.  This is the post about good and gooder, best and better, great and stupendous.  I got my last two grad school applications out in the mail today!  Yippie!  Happy dance!  Gonna have a party!

This tumbler made it into the Cups of Fire 2012 National Ceramics Competition, juried by ceramic artist, Susan Beiner.  She is a professor at Arizona State University and I absolutely love her work.  I got to see it in person at NCECA in Saint Petersburg, Florida last spring.  It is even more delicious than in pictures.  This exhibition is hosted by the Clay Gallery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  They posted the juror's comments on their website which was really nice and I was delighted to read what she had to say about the work.  If you go to the home page of the website you can find a link to the gallery's Facebook page where they have posted images of the work that was accepted.  I am in some pretty good company in this show with the likes of Jim Connell, Justin Rothshank, Monica Ripley and tons more.

But wait...there's more!  The team at Kickstarter got back to me today to say that they had taken another look at my proposal.  They apologized for making a hasty previous decision and gave me an awesome compliment on some of the work on my blog.  Bottom line is I AM IN! Kickstarter, YOU ROCK!  I will be recommending you to every creative person I meet.  My proposal has been accepted so now I need to get on the ball, make a video proposal and get all the reward goodies in order. Once that's done I can make the official launch of my fundraiser, "Fly Me to Penland."  Giddy with elation does not quite describe the mood I am in right now!  And a little tired from burning the midnight oil on those applications.  Gonna take a little rest and then get to work, baby!

Kickstarter Fundraiser "Fly Me to Penland"

Some of you already know that I will be going to Penland School of Crafts in March for eight weeks to work and study with ceramic artist, Kathy King. The class is titled "Looking Over Your Shoulder" and will include lessons in ceramic history, various surface decoration techniques and firing at cone 6 in oxidation and soda firings.  I can't wait for the soda firings!  I feel very blessed to be able to go to this class.  I had no way to afford the class, even with a work-study scholarship so I applied for the studio assistantship position.  And lo and behold, I GOT it!  My end of the bargain is working for 24-40 hours a week in exchange for my tuition, room and board.

The only thing my award does not cover is my travel expenses, materials costs and firing fees.  I also expect I will want to ship home some of the work I make while I am there.  In order to get the funds together I am starting a Kickstarter fundraising campaign.  Kickstarter is the most amazing program to raise funds for all manner of creative projects for artists, designers, dancers, musicians, and more.  The way kickstarter works is that participants offer rewards in exchange for the funds being donated.  These could be copies of work, limited editions, fun experiences, etc.  Tonight, a couple of minutes ago actually, I submitted my initial proposal for my project.  As soon as it is approved I will launch it and let everyone know.  I've got some wonderful rewards that I am thinking about offering so keep on the look out and start thinking about whether you and your friends would be interested in supporting my project.  Have a great weekend and stay warm and dry where here in Northern California we are finally getting rain but we are getting it all at once!

The road leading up to the main campus.

Almost there!

Yes, it really is this gorgeous here!  This is a view of the clay studio and kiln yard (middle buildings) and printmaking( in the back on the left.)  The great thing about being here is the inspiration from the surrounding landscape and the other studios where we are encouraged to do some cross disciplinary investigations and collaborate with other artists.  There are studios for glass, blacksmithing, metals and jewelry, textiles, clay, sculpture, woodworking, letterpress, and photography.  Let's see, did I forget anything?  It is just amazing and like no where else on earth!

Hope you can help out:)

-Love