"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!

MADE ART BOUTIQUE

FIRST FRIDAY IN PHOENIX

First Friday happens every first Friday in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is a free self-guided tour where participants can enjoy the hundreds of galleries, studios and art spaces. Made is part of first Friday and where I have some of my ceramics for sale. Here are a couple of pictures of me Made pointing to some of my creations. My pieces are mixed in with other local ceramic artists.

Here I'm pointing to my goblets and the big bowl on the top shelf.

Here I'm pointing to my berry bowls. I look really silly in this photo.

Winter Session Classes

Youth Ceramic Classes

I just recently finished teaching my eight week winter youth ceramic classes at the Viehl Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona. I'm very proud of my students and their accomplishments this semester. Here is some of their work.

The assignment for this piece, was to make a teapot that had personal meaning to the student. The head is the lid and one of the arms is the spout. I think the end result turned out fantastic!

For this assignment, the students used the coil method to make a face jug. We talked about Appalachian Face Jugs and how they used pottery jugs to store food because plastic containers hadn't been invented yet. This student payed close attention to the detail of the face and captured a great expression.

The assignment for this piece, was to make your favorite food. We used color slips to add color to our food. This student made sushi rolls, chopsticks and rice to create her favorite food. She used pinch, coil and slab methods to create her assignment.

For this assignment, the students were at the pottery wheels exploring pouring vessel forms. They were to create a form that included a spout and a handle. The vessels poured well after coming out the glaze firing.

Most of my students enjoy making miniatures. Here are some of my favorite!