In the window

 I'm pretty sure Bryan Adams saw my work when it was in the window at Handwork.  I saw his tour bus parked out front of the State Theater in Ithaca which is right across the street.

After my exhibit in Corning I brought my work home for a week until Lise suggested I put it up at the store where I sell my pottery.  Many people have never seen my sculptural work so it was great exposure.  The members of the artist cooperative got to know me better too.

And I got a candid view of people's expressions as they looked at the work while I dusted the glass ware just inside the store behind the window.  The relationship between the store window and a temple frieze is remarkably similar.  I wish I had had a web cam for those first few days the pieces went up.  Maybe a grant funded project has just been conceived.  Crossroads deadline here I come...

Seconds For Sale

The semi annual second sale starts Friday morning, January 14, 10am at Handwork in Ithaca.  I helped set up three tables full of coop members cast offs.  It's really fun to glimpse into the artist's process by picking through their not-so-good work.  Naturally, I had many pieces to contribute (three bins full).  I had almost one whole kiln load that I didn't like. I also still have three circus teapot sets left from when we lived in Green Bay.  Every time I see those monkeys, lions and bears (oh my) I can't believe I made them.  First, my son was about 8 weeks old when I began sneaking off to the studio in the evening to have clay time. That I could be as productive as I was that year is truly amazing.  Second, I am really not a big fan of circuses, however, I did feel like I needed a reason to use color.  Of course now that doesn't stop me.  It's surprising how quickly the pieces fly out the door.  Never fear there is always more so stop by often if you can.

Precious Melon Photo

I took this when I was consumed with blogging.  I should really show all three shots so you can get the full effect.  There must be a genre for these artful yet practical visuals.   You should see what I can do with a recycled cereal box when I'm not getting enough studio time.

What's Cooking

During the last class of teen wheel we baked sugar cookies in the test kiln. I have always wanted to roll out dough in the studio slab roller for cut out cookies. I used silicone baking liners to sandwich the dough before steam rolling it as thin as possible. They then cooked two at a time on a sheet of parchment. The kiln seemed to only cook the top surface which turned brown and crisp but very gooey underneath. Some we flipped over to cook the other side and some we took our chances and just ate raw.

I think next session we'll go back to making s'mores. The marshmallows get obscenely large in the kiln and I miss the chocolate!  Sign up for class at 171 Cedar Arts.  We start up again on January 3rd for 7 weeks of sculpting mayhem.

Sticker Risks

For weeks I have been in overdrive producing Christmas wares. Every time I enter this zone of mass production or hyper output my mind wanders and I actually become more creative.  Just today, while shopping at Big Lots the creative force lured me into the craft aisle where what to my wondering eyes do appear but Thickers, thick stickers. They remind me of the puffy stickers from my youth. I had a whole sheet of Ziggy stickers with quote bubbles. Ziggy is a little like Dilbert and Maxine. He's definitely got a chip.  By the way I also purchased Thickers in chip board and foil covered chipboard as shown.

I am going to attempt to use them with clay. If you have seen my pottery each piece is quite unique in part due to my creative A.D.D.  It is impossible for me to let myself make the same thing twice. I need to learn something new each time I make a piece or I get bored.  And if I am bored chances are you will be too.

So we'll see what comes of my new tools.  I can add them to a plaster mold before I cast it with a soft slab or lay out a design to impress on a flattened slab before constructing it into a cylinder to create the body of a mug or vase. The decorative corner pieces are going to become feet for my square dishes. Oh, if only I had bought another package I could use them on my hexagonal and octagonal dishes as well. Yikes, I may have to go back to the store which means I may find more toys to play with.

I'll try real hard to focus and keep to my studio for the next couple of days.

Needs More Cow Bell

It's nice to be back in the studio after the holiday break. I actually got an early Christmas gift (or a late birthday present). I have been rockin out all morning to Pandora on my new Sony Dash. It came yesterday in the mail and my husband and I stayed up late creating different stations.

I'm a little disappointed with my Eye of the Tiger Station. I was counting on it to wake me up and get me moving in the studio. It's one of my favorite tunes on Just Dance. For those of you who play my high score is 11,476. That song is a huge confidence booster and a great warm up (the dance version) when I get a little chilled in my subterranean studio. I frequently take warm up breaks making a cup of tea, checking email or playing Wii. However, I skipped so many of the preselected Pandora tunes that I ran out of skips. It kept playing John Lee Hooker type songs. Go figure. I was sure to thumbs up my favorite tunes, Police, Foreigner, Guns n'Roses, then I noticed how much I really like the cow bell.  I wish there was a way to create a station around this instrument. It is perfect for getting in the decorating rhythm. And I was doing a lot of decorating this morning. My shelves are filling up fast for another pre- Christmas firing but not quite as fast as if I had more cow bell.  Now I know what to ask Santa for!

Sweet Beast

Here's the little beastie himself
at the show posing with his finished
piece. I never saw this piece truly
vertical until it was hung on the
pristine gallery wall the night before
the opening. As you'll see below the
piece was built on a giant easel which
was slightly tilted.

I actually built this to look more hefty
and solid than the other two mural
pieces in the show. However, the
weightiness contradicts the tone of the
subject which is why I chose to paint it
like a cloud alternating layers of
translucent blues and yellows.

The detail to the left is an earlier blue layer.
The thick french cleat adhered to the back
of the piece suspends it from the wall so it
floats about an inch off the surface.

I love the depth within the image, the
vulnerability of the dangling arm and the
intrusive high relief of the wild boar.
Many of the Greek metopes are miniature
scenic sculptures with figures carved in full
dimension on a shallow plane rather than
contrived relief.    It was somewhat difficult
to stay true to this method of composing.
I made many small clay sketches to visualize
and correct the proper pose and tension.

The easel is still flat while the clay sets up.  Once firm it can be tilted almost vertical.  I started modeling from a thick slab slicing through and stuffing with shredded paper to plump out the figures.  The arm was coiled from the shoulder down to the hand.  When dry it was fired flat in one piece in an electric car kiln (my dream kiln) which happens to be the same identical size as the trunk of my car.