Pottery Sale December 20th 2009

Hello everyone! It has been a very long time since I have posted. I have been busy with teaching classes and also the everyday surprising things that come about in life. This fall I did get a chance to get into the studio and work on my own work. I had a pottery sale at Changing Hands Bookstore in November and it was successful. It was nice to hear feedback about my new work. Thank you to all who came out and supported me. I will be having a sale December 20th 10-4 at Changing Hands Bookstore 6428 S. McClintock Dr. Tempe, Arizona so come and say hi and check out my new work. Also, know you can also purchase my work at Made in Phoenix. Thanks again and hope to see you all soon!

These cynliders are a project I undertook this fall that I really enjoyed. I read an article in Ceramics Monthly about an artist who works on this form and fires them in a wood kiln. I tried to put my own personal touch to these cynliders and I fired them in a high fire gas kiln.

The bowls were a special request from a friend who wanted chili bowls. She requested jamaica clay. It fires this nice black color, which I left exposed on purpose. I glazed the inside oasis blue to hold her nice recipe for chili. In the past I have not used this clay much, but I enjoyed it.

You Can’t Play With This Toy: How to Make a Ceramic Sculpture

For my Spring Session at the Edna Vihel Center for the Arts, one of my favorite lessons I taught was having the students make a toy out of clay. The students needed to be true to the conventions used by the designer toy art world. The students became storytellers. By using different colors, expressions, and textures in their ceramic toy sculpture they revealed feelings, memories and moods through their art work putting their own personal spin on their sculpture.

Here are some of the Toy Sculptures in process. The students needed to have their toy stand and have an accessory that told a story about their toy.




Each student applied colored slips to their sculptures. The sculptures were fired to Cone 06 then Cone 5.

This student made a rock star. Notice the microphone.


This student made a tennis player.

This student made a snowman. I think he looks like he is dancing.

This student made an animal.

This student made super cat. Super cat has a cape that you can not see in this picture.

I'm very proud of my students.

Ceramics at the Phoenix Airport

My husband, Matt travels a lot for work and we always joke that are second home is the Phoenix Airport, terminal four. Terminal four has some of the best ceramic exhibits. If you ever have a layover in Phoenix or are visiting Arizona check out the ceramics at the airport. Over the years I have enjoyed viewing this wonderful ceramic collection as I wait for my lovely husband to arrive home.

"Unbound"

My coworker Bridget Harper had her solo show the week of NCECA at the Paul Scott Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a huge success. Here is some of her works from her show called "Unbound". The show will be up from April 9-23. Check out more of her work at http://bridgetcherie.com/ Congrats Bridget!!!

NCECA Exhibits

Over the course of the two days at NCECA I attended several exhibits. There was some exciting ceramics to be viewed and to be inspired by.

Many of the exhibits were held in the hotels in downtown Phoenix. This exhibit was held in the Wyndham Phoenix Hotel. There was some exceptional work that I enjoyed viewing. The work in the second row to the left is by one of my old teachers. The artists name is Seth Rainville. I took classes from him at the Mesa Art Center. I ran into him at the convention and he told me he is now in Boston in the process of opening a gallery. He has been teaching at UMASS the last year. His work is very detailed, concentrates on excellent craftsmanship and he pays special attention to having his work fit right in your hands.

This exhibit was held in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Phoenix. This was the undergraduate ASU ceramic show. The top piece is done by my good friend Melissa. Her work is very fun and creative.

This show was held in the Hyatt Regency hotel. It was the Maricopa Community Colleges Ceramic Exhibition. The piece to the left is by my friend Kaori Fujitani. The work to the right is by my friend Tom Budzak. They are both professors at community colleges in the state of Arizona. You can check out more work by Tom at his website http://www.tombudzak.com/

These two art pieces were in the project space at the convention center. The project space was a testing ground for experimentation and new ideas. There were emerging artists doing performances and collaborative/interactive exhibits that was fun to experience.

These are some cups from the seventeenth annual cup sale. My friend Tom's is in the right hand picture with the business cards in it. The annual cup sale is a fundraiser designed to provide opportunities for artistic growth through scholarships, residences and programs.

Here is two impressive pieces from the twelfth annual national K12 ceramic exhibit. There mission at NCECA is to bring the wonderful world of ceramic art being done by K12 schools across the United States. They gave out scholarships, awards and recognitions during the NCECA convention.

NCECA in Phoenix Arizona

I attended NCECA on Thursday and Friday of the four day convention. On Thursday my friend Tom and I took the light rail to Phoenix and got there early because I was like a school child the day of a field trip. Let's just say I was excited. After checking in we floated around to the talks, demonstrations, movies, manufacturer/supplier room, and exhibits. I loved that the event was informal. That way I could float from room to room and not miss anything.

The company Brent did demonstrations to sell their Brent wheels in the manufacturer/supplier room. Tom entered to win a Brent wheel, but did not win. It was fun to see tools I have never seem before and equipment I had only heard about. Tom loved going into this hall and was very excited by all the tools, books, and toys. He made me excited, it's catchy and I bought some mud tools that I'm excited to try out in the studio.

Here is some pictures of the first demonstration we went to and we did not find it very exciting. The two ceramic artists demonstrating were Takeshi Yasuda and Tara Wilson. Although I enjoy both of their work I felt their stage presence could have been better. I wanted more stories and explaining of their techniques.

The next demonstration we saw was Jin-Gyu Heo, Onggi potter from Korea. I found his method incredible. He did not speak English, but had a translated who was highly entertaining and taught us the names of the tools and techniques used in Korea. I found it educational. Onggi known as the ware that breaths, is the most representative cultural asset to Korea. He showed everyone how he makes large scale storing jars in a short span of time. He told us he makes 40 jars a day!

NCECA WEEK!

At ASU I visited the Harry Wood Gallery in the Art Building and saw two excellent shows. The image to the left is a show called Elevation Gain by Darien Johnson. The images on the pieces are detailed and carry a story all around the whole piece. The second show is called Mise en Place by Christian Tonsgard. In his artist statement he said that Mise en Place translated means to put in place. This artist created an environment that I wanted to crawl into and enjoy his ceramics in my daily life.

I visited the ASU library and I was pleasantly surprised to see a ceramic installation in front of the check out desk. It is by Xiaoping Luo and the piece is called Meeting. It is ceramic porcelain playing cards arranged in rows creating positive and negative space that makes for a interesting piece.

NCECA-National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts

First Friday at Pravus Gallery

Pravus gallery in downtown Phoenix has a ceramic exhibit that runs from April 3-26, 2009 that is part of the annual NCECA event going on April 8-11, 2009. NCECA expects 5,000 ceramic enthusiasts this year at the event. It is an exciting event that promotes, educates, and inspires all level of ceramic artists. Pravus gallery put together a fabulous show of ceramic artists including Max Esplin, Charles Krafft, Elyse Pignolet, Dana Smith Greta Zakrzewska, Janis Wunderlich, Anne Goodrich and much much more. If you are in town for NCECA it is a must on your stops around town. Here is a few photos that I took at open night!