wrapping it up...

2008, and my tiny studio. the outdoor portion of the indoor/outdoor space is not so comfortable in winter. so i'm putting up removable plastic panels to keep in the heat. hope they'll keep slip and slabs from freezing and make my ceramics efforts a year-round endeavor. best wishes to all in the coming year. please stay healthy and happy!

what's up with the bowl?

the ever-photogenic bowl makes another etsy treasury (thank you soule!). this one also features one of my very favorite clay artists rae dunn (the quirky cutlery plaque).

things we said today...

is the name of this etsy treasury from chuck of downtothewiredesigns. my spiral bowl is definitely in good company (especially the wonderful piece by oneblackbird.) i'm also in total awe of chuck's decision to quit his day job!

next....

i'll be demonstrating handbuilt pitchers on saturday december 11th at w.w. treenware co. the following saturday, december 20th, will be my last show of the year. fabulous jeweler barry perez has invited me to bring my work to his annual studio show, 12 pm - 8 pm, 621 lexington rd. in elgin, texas. In addition to barry's fine jewelry, work by anna stanley, patricia day, and other artists and artisans will be on display. you can also walk a labyrinth built by artist rafala green.

happy thanksgiving!

friday and saturay i'll be at the harvest arts festival in bastrop, texas. (1308 chestnut street at the 1832 farmer's market if you're in the neighborhood .) cloud will be guarding the studio while i'm away.

w.w.treenware company...

in elgin, texas is now selling my work! the shop, at 106 n. main, is owned in part by treenmaker nancy lou webster. 'treen' is an old generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. in 2006, the texas commission on the arts awarded nancy lou the distinction of being a texas original artist. the award is limited to individuals who exhibit excellence in art through work that is unique to the state of texas. less than fifty texans have received the distinction. i'm honored and excited to be in such good company.

one of my favorite color combinations

etsy treasury from tracylacytrinkets. thanks for featuring my bowl.

pendants for pets or people

new in my etsy store. 1 1/8 inch diameter porcelain shapes with onglaze decals. attach one to your pet's collar or to a bead chain and wear it yourself. you and your dog or cat could also sport matching jewelry.

19th annual pearls art show

part of elgin's hogeye festival, an event designed to celebrate texas' "sausage capital." and yes, the show used to be called pearls before swine. i'll have two pieces in the juried art exhibit at kingfisher gallery. artists reception will be held on thursday, october 23 from 7 to 9 pm.

and now for something completely different...

i've been trying to realize these concepts on paper and in mixed media, without success. thanks to jasna and stepanka, i see it can be done in clay. 5" by 7" by 1" porcelain "blocks" are designed to hang.

something new....

in my etsy store. stamped retro-flavored block vases. glazed on the inside, unglazed on the outside, which gives a sugar-cube-like texture and sheen. matching salt and pepper shakers will be posted soon.

peep show

"is a brilliant scheme set in motion by skutt ceramic products inc. to shamelessly promote their kilns while at the same time develop a private collection of the most valuable peep hole plugs on earth for pennies on the dollar." the 20 finalists' work will be on display at the skutt booth at nceca 2009 in phoenix, arizona. learn how to enter your plug here. photo gallery of submitted peep plugs here. pictured submission by diane mann, maker of "agrarian-inspired contemporary art."

spiralmania

thanks to etsy seller lpjewelry for including my black and white bowl in her spiral treasury!

seeing red

because i don't trust the kiln sitter to mind my firings, i use pyrometric cones. (for the ceramics-challenged see wikipedia here.) the only problem is, trying to see whether cones have dropped or not is like peering into the bowels of hell.

pretty (?) mugs all in a row

as promised, i've been making mugs to go with the new teapots.

there's just something satisfying seeing so many identical items lined up in rows!

another serving of tea

here are three of the new teapots, glaze-fired and spruced-up with decals.

the flower decals are commercially available products.

the fishing lure decals were made by me.

i'm using a print gocco to make the decals.

it's so much quicker and easier than decals i've made previously with

conventional silkscreen techniques! i'm looking forward to doing more!
the teapots are for sale at my etsy shop.

to a tea

lately, my work has been taking lots of diferent directions:
scrafitto, colored clay, applied texture and more recently overglaze
decals and a return to sculptural forms. not sure where i'll end up.
but, one thing remains constant. my love of making teapots.
here's a batch ready for bisque firing.

rock on

i try to recycle my broken ceramics into jewelry or mosaics, but have fallen way behind with several large boxes and a trash can now full of shards. i only wish this guy lived in my neighborhood.

thirty-six years ago, nek chand, a transport official in chandigarh, india, began to clear a little patch of jungle to make himself a small garden. he set stones around the little clearing and sculpted a few figures from recyclable materials he found and carted home on his bicycle.

chand worked at night, in total secrecy for fear of being discovered by the authorities because he did not own the land where his creation was growing. The once-tiny garden soon covered several acres filled with hundreds of sculptures in a series of interlinking courtyards.

when chand's garden was dicovered, local government officials decided not to demolish the work, instead giving chand a salary and a team of fifty laborers so he could concentrate full-time on the site. now more than twenty five acres of several thousand sculptures set in large mosaic courtyards linked by walled paths and deep gorges punctuated by waterfalls, the rock garden of chandigarh hosts 5,000 visitors a day.

(top photo from koshyk's flickr site)

elgin art walk

on june 14th, i'll be showing at the elgin (texas) art walk in the historic owen bogart building. hours are from noon to nine. there will be loads of artists and artisans displaying their work in shops and galleries thoughout town, and musicians at either end of main street.

elgin always throws a great party! more info available here.

special order

teapots need a lot of separate pieces....nine for this design.

a tenth piece, a purchased cane hande, will be added after glazing.

and i usually make two pots for each one custom-ordered, in case one has an accident!

stamp happy

ahhh... a long weekend, two hundred pounds of clay and six boxes of rubber stamps.

ceramics tees

ayumi horie is a fantastic potter working in new york's hudson valley. in addition to her whimsical animal-inspired ceramics, she's now selling two great t-shirts for the clay-inclined.

• 'brennofenkatastrophenangst' translates roughly as "the fear and anxiety one feels when something goes horribly wrong in the kiln, yet the results are unclear and one has to wait and wonder through sleepless nights, many hours or days, for the kiln to be cool enough to open."

yes, i bought one of each!

survivor

these elliptical porcelain teapots have a high mortality rate.

only one in five survives.

this one was worth the sacrifice.

seen at smithville's first saturday sale

it's nice to see people express their true feelings out in public.