new and upcoming

it's been awhile since i participated in any kind of winter seasonal craft show. this year i'm stepping up and out at Craft Cartel. bands, beer, food, and lots of greta local handmade. the first bunch of folks through the door get a swag bag & here's the ornaments i made for said bags....if you come & come early you might find one of these rare items in your possession (made os paper clay, light & strong!):

here is a quick shot of a new favourite. have really been slip trailing alot lately and loving it, although it is more work for glazing. and so playing with hand writing...

and here a cake platter i made after that class at MISSA. so slightly wavy lines of the bottom rim of the platter. i am quite happy with it, except a little cloudiness in the glazing. i hope to make more of these, soon. the clouds are another current favourite image floating through my work.

a little playtime

i was lucky enough to spend all of last week at the Metchosin International Summer School for the Arts, I took a one day class with Samantha Dickie, on making paper-plaster molds, and a 5 day class with Deborah Schwartzkopf experimenting with combining handbuilt pieces and thrown pieces.

The mold class was great because what i really needed was some time just making holds! this is really going to let me help students at Camosun better when they want to make molds... and i the paper adde to the outside layer plaster is a positive step forward for mold making - lighter & stronger!

Deb's class was challenging in a fun way. While i handbuild & throw in my studio, i rarely combine them; those kids of combinations don't come naturally - obvious from my level of frustration some days! i took the class really, to just find some ways to subtly alter a few of my forms and/or find ways to make some things i've been meaning to make but haven't quite envisioned yet. so i came away form the class with a few pots that i made, a long list of things to make & try, and less fear of cutting things up! today, after throwing mugs for a few hours, i even managed to make a little new something...we'll see how is comes out in the end.

of course another great thing about these classes is hanging out with other folks interested in the same things and all the chatter that goes on while everyone is working. met some great folks!

i did have my camera with me all week....but kept forgetting to take photos! i was on a pretty tight schedule & did feel more like working than photoing...i had to leave right on time each day in order to pick up N from the various friends and grandparents she was hanging out with everyday.

so these are few photos i took of a couple things that were made. perhaps they will reappear in later posts as finished, fired pieces ( i did make them with a clay that i could high-fire in the gas kiln).

i just unloaded the kiln to see i lost the bottom on the vase...wah.

fresh from the kiln

well it's always exciting to be experimenting with new ideas, trying to push the regular work a little further.
these are a couple of pieces i made the week after my workshop at MISSA (did I mention how great MISSA is? check it out!)
it looks a little rough, but will sort itself out with a few more attempts. definitely will be adding more colour! enjoying the paperclay i bought for course, although i find it a little tough to rewedge when it's not super fresh & of course would like it a darker brown. so will try out making some of my own using my lovely chocolatey clay body.
so these are after thinking of picture frames & ways to make texture. did these two "frames" with wheels of one tricycle & one kids bike.
let me know what you think!

taking time

well, about a month ago i was blessed with the opportunity to spend a week at the Metchosin International Summer School for the Arts (MISSA). Wow! a whole week just to make new objects, learn techniques, play, and visit with others potters and artists - how luxurious!

the course was hand-building with paper clay with Cory McCrory.here's one of Cory's fun pieces

 

the absolutely best thing i came away with was using lino cuts for surface texture. and i had the chance to sculpt, which i never do! most of the class worked on mermaids. i made a mermaid in a bathtub. what a challenge, but great to have Cory walk through the various stages and the things to think about. as i make largely functional pieces and some wall pieces, thinking in 3D was really fun.

naturally, a few days in, i started pondering if and how i would use these ideas in my own studio practice. finally in the last hours, as i worked on a teapot, it came it me. at least a place to start. will post images in days to come of the first pieces i have made and fired.

in the mean time here are some pieces i made on the first day. raw, then with underglaze. still need to take photos of the final products...

and here are a couple of the mermaid, raw (still haven't painted her yet!)