Ready, set, glaze!

Dinner set is ready to glaze. I'm excited to see this as a finished piece. I'm sure my commissioner will be happy too.

Pondering pinch pots

 "The artist is to sing up the earth"*

A new year, new ideas, a blank slate.

Tomorrow I start teaching at Holyoke Community College. I am thankful for this opportunity for a number of different reasons. Teaching clay infuses my life with creative energy that comes from giving and learning from others. I have loved the time that I have to work alone in the studio these past few years, but am interested to see what lessons this new challenge brings to my work. As I research ideas for projects, looking at historical and contemporary ceramics, I am finding new and older inspiration to share with my students, write about in my blog, and feed into new ideas and techniques in the studio.

*Paulus Berensohn

Sitting in the sun with cats, books, and computer, thinking about pinch pot projects to teach at HCC, I started looking at Paulus Berensohn. Paulus Berensohn is clay artist and writer whose words often speak to the nurturing, spiritual, and poetic aspects of creating. I stumbled on to this interview from YouTube by  Paulus called Why we create.
*" It isn't to make a career. It isn't to be famous. It's to sing up the earth." I think that we can and have to consider the financial logistics of making a living as an artist. It is impossible not to. What strikes me when I hear Paulus Berensohn's words is continually to remember that beautiful awkward fleshy feeling that we all had when we fell in love with clay for the first time. I guess this can relate to all aspects of our lives.

The beginning of a textile adventure

After the big push to make work for shows for the holidays I find myself a bit sluggish in the studio. It doesn't help that it's dark and cold out. One thing I have found important is to remember to reload creatively. This might mean not being in the studio for a few days, and give time to reflect and tap into sources of inspiration. I started this with a trip to a second hand store to look at textiles. A little shopping can't hurt either. Here is some of what I found.

Preview

Big bold polka dots

I like going to thrift stores to look at textiles, because you can touch, and  try things on. A very different experience of seeing how a pattern stretches over the contours of the body. And like pots the clothes are there to be used, making the feel of the cloth as integral to its function as the look of it.

Pitchers for Craftboston

With the Craftboston Holiday Show less than a week away now, I have been burning some midnight oil to get work finished. It can be satisfying to spend so much time in the studio, but it can be draining too.

As I have been putting in long hours, I remember how fun it was to have the place all cleaned up for Open Studios a few weeks ago.
Here is a shot of some pitchers I had on display (and sold!) that weekend.

Those seemed to be very popular so I have created about a dozen more for the Craftboston show. I really enjoy decorating these: there is something about the simplicity of the basic form that makes decoration so exciting.

Here's the group of them ready for first firing.

I'll let you know how they came out!

Considering candlesticks

There are less then two weeks till the Craft Boston Holiday and I ran out of clay. It is the clay goddess that is constantly teaching us potters patience. But clay is what I love and the amazing part of it is it can be found right outside my door. Well almost.

It comes in these neat 50lb boxes from Sheffield Pottery Supply. 

And then strewn into my vehicle.

It does actually start from here. Cool eh?

Of course I couldn't resist the colors.
And I do have a thing for those little orange sponges. 

Actually, it's a long story, but sponges are a slightly annoying part of my process. Those of you who have taken my workshop will know what I'm talking about.

Candelabra found on This Next. 

As we get closer to the Holidays, I have been trying to come up with something new and fun to make and new fun to buy this December. At the beginning of the month of November many of us lost power due to wet heavy snow on trees that still had their leaves. My roommate was prepared with candles, but we ended up rigging ways to keep the candle sticks upright. So I have been thinking about making candle stick holders. Whether this actually happens now in the frenzy of holiday making or later in the darkness of our January and February winter, here are a few that I have found so far.

Candle sticks by potter Emily Reason that I found on Ceramic Arts Daily 

These Candlesticks from Ross Emerson an artist from the UK.

Scandinavian design from The Deco Spot : a blog about interior design and beautiful things in general. I love that!

Open Studio at the Arts & Industry building in Florence

Open studios at the Arts and Industry building gave the opportunity to stop, clean up, put out some food, and display some work. The last pieces I will have finished for open studios are these sugar jars. I love making these jars. I like the opportunity the lid provides to create hidden designs underneath that are discovered as you use the pot.

I have been thinking about how to bring the colors, patterns, and layered effects that I use in my work from my interest in textile design into the forms of my pots. I've been making small bisque stamps out of antique buttons to use as details on pots. Here I am using them on the finials of these jars.

Thursday

One of the things that I wrestle with, that many of you can relate to, is the amount of time that I spend on the computer. I have to admit that I like figuring out stuff. Like now for example, I am working on this blog. The same post that I was working on last night. I have to admit that I am enjoying this. Although I know that anyone out there with some design knowledge is shaking there head right now, I am enjoying messing around with background colors, fonts, and pictures.

This effort is part of my plan to work on internet marketing. As I write and rewrite this, I know I'll have to be careful, as I may end up with a great blog and no pots. To think positively about this, It's good to mix things up. The seesaw weighing heavier on the studio side then the on the computer side.

I have started posting work on my Etsy page. I plan on posting new pieces every week. I will keep you updated on new postings, and talk more about my ideas behind the patterns and colors as well.

I moved to the Arts and Industry building in Florence, MA this fall. It's a beautiful building. I'll post pictures later. After moving a studio twice this year, I have spent a lot of this fall catching up with work for galleries. I now have a decent display at the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts online store, Pinch Gallery in Northampton, 13 Forrest Gallery, and Decordova's gift shop.

I love my studio. It's a beautiful space, with windows that look over a river. Come visit me and check out my new studio at my next show which is an open studio at the Arts and Industry building, November 12 and 13th. It will be a great time.