Floating with the Clouds, a Treasury by movezerb

My white oval pendant, featured in a new Treasury!

A little break...

Maybe you've noticed that I've been away awhile. I've been really busy working to develop a new body of work, and keepin up with my day job and wholesale commitments. Because of all this, I'm going to give this blog a little break. I'll pop in once a while to mention new pots or jewelry items in my shop, or upcoming sales. When I come back, it will be with what I hope is a beautiful and exciting new body of work!

I heart The Studio Potter

Can I just tell you how much I love The Studio Potter? I do, I love it so much. If you're a clay person and you don't get Studio Potter, you're really missing something great...

Studio Potter is a ceramic arts journal that comes out twice a year. I first started getting it a few years ago, and I have to admit, at first it was a bit over my head. It's chock full of intellectual articles, and completely free of advertising. It's unlike any other clay magazine. The major difference between Studio Potter and the other clay magazines for me is that I will read and re-read Studio Potter. I've read some issues twenty times I bet. Out of each issue, there will be a handful of articles that are so insightful and profound for me, I have to read them over and over to really absorb the ideas and content.

My favorite articles from the most recent issue are Eyes Wide Open by Kari Radasch, and Empty Promises: Accountability and the MFA degree by Raymon Elozua. Radasch's article is profound for me right now, because I am in the midst of a huge upheaval of my work. If you're familiar with my work through Etsy, you might have noticed a bit of a drought in the pottery section of the store. The truth is, I have lots of work hanging around the studio, but most of it's not quite finished, and it's different than what I've been making for the last few years so it hasn't hit the public stage yet. Leaving behind a body of work is scary, and Kari's article perfectly sums up everything that goes along with such a huge change.

Elozua's article grabbed me because I've been seriously entertaining the idea of applying for an MFA program in ceramics. Elozua's article shifted my grad school thinking away from, "Will they like my work? Will they accept me? Can I afford to do this? Can I afford not to do this?" to "What am I going to get out of grad school? Is this the only way? Is focused study with a couple of people better than study with many different people in different places?" His article really brought up a lot of new questions for me, and made me realize that I have to be as discerning in looking at schools and my future education opportunities as they would be of me. As Elouza put it, I would essentially be hiring the faculty of a particular school for three years, for a cost of anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000. I better make damn well sure that they jive with me and my goals!

So, to put it simply, Studio Potter is fantastic because it always makes me think. And it always gives me comfort and courage to hear about the trials and tribulations of a life in clay straight from the potter's mouth. Check out studiopotter.org to become a member or check them out on Facebook!

A (mini) Clay Conference

Here's a little photo I grabbed from my new friend Judi's blog:


This is Chris Gustin and me discussing my work and my future plans in clay. He was tremendously helpful and informative. If you ever have a chance to take one of his workshops, do it!

PS-Check out Judi's shop, you'll love it!

Anderson Ranch: Day Five

Well, I came home from Anderson Ranch yesterday. Friday was a bit of a bittersweet day. Everyone in my class was a little sad that the workshop was already over. We all learned so many new things, and assimilated a ton of new information in a short period of time.

We spent Friday morning practicing design strategies by using india ink on greenware and bisqueware. The idea was to practice what we've learned in a commitment-free way, since the ink will burn off in the bisque kiln. We started by painting line drawings of our pots on newsprint. We turned up some music and all settled in to the rhythm of drawing the same pot over and over, until a certain jesture developed in the image, and we became comfortable with using the brush and the ink. After that, we took the whole pot image and painted it directly on the pots. I tried to use the jesture of my lines, because my pots were too small to fit an entire image. This was a very freeing exercise for the whole class. Knowing that the decoration wasn't permanent really allowed us to experiment more freely.

After a final lunch together, we discussed an assignment Chris had given us earlier in the week. He gave us a handout with a list of questions about how we work in clay. There were technical questions about clay bodies and firing atmospheres, and then questions about scale, intended location of finished work, and time use and management, among other things. This workshop was called Architecture of the Pot, but I think it should be renamed "Throwing the Dart," because so many of the exercises were about throwing a wrench in the works of what you've been doing by selecting a design strategy at random (hence, throwing the dart) and seeing where it takes you in the progress of your work. As Chris said many times, "All of our choices in clay are arbitrary. Change one thing and you change your work."

While I'm glad to be home, I will miss the immersive, supportive atmosphere of this workshop. It was a terrific experience and I'm already thinking about going back next summer!

Anderson Ranch: Day Four

Wow, I can't believe my week at Anderson Ranch is almost over! It's gone so fast. I just have tomorrow and then I'm done.

Today, we took a field trip to Harvey/Meadows Gallery in Aspen. If you've seen the Artstream traveling art gallery at NCECA, then you've seen the precursor to this gallery. Owned and operated by ceramic artists Sam Harvey and Alleghany Meadows, this gallery features a wide range of contemporary sculptural and functional ceramic art, including some work by my teacher, Chris Gustin. Alleghany and Sam were so lovely to host us there. They talked extensively about their gallery's role in educating the public about ceramic art, as well as giving them the opportunity to purchase it. So many people have no idea what an amazing medium ceramics is, because it's dwarfed in the art world by painting and sculpture. But once people learn a bit about it and buy a piece or two, they're often hooked for life!

The main gallery space was full of amazing large pieces by Betty Woodman, Virginia Scotchie, Bobby Silverman, and numerous other fantastic artists. But my primary interest lay in the tiny backroom storage space. It was full of functional pottery, by every big name in the field right now. Andrew Martin, Julia Galloway, Christa Assad, Josh DeWeese, Lisa Orr, and many, many more, all there in one little room. As I looked through the cluttered shelves, I felt an awe and a reverence, as though I was inside the Notre Dame cathedral or viewing the Sistine Chapel ceiling. My love of pots is enormous at times!

I walked away today with a Sam Clarkson tumbler called "Speed of Life" and a Julia Galloway sugar and creamer set. I looked through tons of wonderful pots, but when I handled these pieces, I immediately fell in love. Especially when I discovered that the pillowy lid of the Galloway creamer has a tiny clay bead tucked inside, making it a little rattle! I love those little surprises in pots. And the Sam Clarkson tumbler was so lovely in the hand, I couldn't put it down. Sorry the photos aren't better, it's a bit dark here in my condo.

Tomorrow, I wrap up my workshop with an individual discussion with Chris about my work, and a group review of all the pieces we made this week. It's been an incredible experience, and I feel so lucky to have been here!

Anderson Ranch: Day Three

So, I just got home from Paul Soldner's house. That's right, THE Paul Soldner, father of American Raku, first student of Peter Voulkos, and creator of numerous hilarious pottery equipment print ads. Soldner founded Anderson Ranch in 1968 and has a home in nearby Aspen. He and his daughter Stephanie host open houses in the summer about every other week, and all of the students at Anderson Ranch are invited. I got to sit at the dining room table with Soldner for a few moments, and when I left I felt like I'd just met Madonna. It's electrifying just to be in the physical presence of a man so important to American ceramics. By the way, this image is of a poster that was hanging in his studio. I'm sorry it's a bit blurry. The tagline reads, "Entertainment for Potters." Don't you just love it?

Today was a busy day in the studio. With the open house tonight, we all buckled down and worked, worked, worked. I didn't even have any time to take any photos of the new work created today. Our only bisque kilns get loaded early tomorrow morning, so everything had to get transferred to the drying room, which is a wood shed of sorts loaded with heat lamps and fans. It's kept at about 95 degrees and a night in that room will sure dry out any pot! It's like a little pottery sauna.

I feel like I've made some tremendous progress in these three short days. Aside from the fact that I miss my husband, pets, and my own bed, I really don't want to go home! This is such a truly fabulous opportunity to drop out of daily life for a short period of time and really surround yourself with great teachers and fellow artists. I may just come here every summer!