Vase of the Week

Awwwwww....!!!

2012-01-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

Srap-pile Heart for WCG Extremes! Show

These little Scrap-pile hearts, made from end of the day clay, have taken on a life of their own. I began making them for my local ceramics guild's "Extremes" show encouraging us to make work totally different than our normal fare. I think I succeeded.

After affixing this one onto a nice, inexpensive frame to finish it, it still didn't feel finished. It needed a title or something. The space looked about fortune cookie paper size. Looked through many saved fortunes with sentiments of "This week a financial breakthrough will come to you," and "Accept the next proposition you hear," and decided to write my own.

"Love comes in all shapes and sizes" fits with the idea that these hearts were made from what used to be scraps of clay.

On a technical note, the heart was wired into the frame rather than glued, since pottery and glue have a way of parting. Some of the other hearts were made to epoxy headless screws into them so they can be easy accents on the wall.

Business of Art Should Not Be All or Nothing

2012-01-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

There have been editorial commentaries being forwarded about on Facebook encouraging artists to disavow ourselves of giving artwork to charity auctions and commission-based galleries. While I agree with some of the arguments, I will not be making any such pledges. There is room in my life for a less black and white approach to my business and here are some off the cuff things that come to mind in this debate.

"Genesis" My last fundraiser donation

In my 30+ years as a potter, I've come to realize myself as the experiential/process oriented person I am. That means I will always try a little of this and a little of that, do it the wrong and slow way before learning the best and/or quicker way, and learn as I go.

Thus, I've consigned and wholesaled and had good and bad experiences with both. Most consignment galleries have paid on time within 30-days of the sale and in keeping places stocked with a good selection of my work I've formed nice relationships with gallery owners and managers. In the bad experiences side, I have had a gallery go out of business without telling me and before giving back work, and sometimes payments have been late or non-existent unless I press.

I stay in the consignment galleries where I have good relationships with people. The better you know them, the more enthusiastic they are as ambassadors of your work. Giving them some of my inventory motivates me to make more work--especially if I don't have any orders from my wholesale shops. Wholesale galleries are great, but not a panacea when you visit and see your artwork on a bargain table because it was marked up triple your regular retail price and marked down to its normal one. It's best to have a mix of both if one can.

Donating to Charity Auctions has been the same hit and miss. When work has sold at value or higher it's felt like a good thing. If I've received my regular artist commission on the sale price, that has been even better. If it's a podunk event that doesn't bother to send a personalized letter or give a personal appeal and it's a cause that isn't necessarily mine, I've learned not to give because there is usually no follow-up, nor thanks. When it is a cause that I believe strongly in, I give artwork to them for their fundraising efforts because I can’t write a big check. No matter what the eventual sales price is, I figure that someone will purchase it and give this worthy organization more $$ than I could've given myself and am just ok with it. So there are limits to my largess.

I think we also need to reconsider that we need to be marketing our work as much as possible to make a living, and charity auctions and consignment galleries get our work out in front of people who we may not be able to reach all on our own. As social media activities show us, the emphasis now is on making relationships and maintaining them on this funny life journey. A donated pot to a charity event is a way to make new or cement old relationships, and consignment galleries have the potential of getting more frequent feedback from the people on the frontline pushing our work for us. If that gallery is in a tourist location there can be a constant new audience for our work.

Traditional marketing/advertising meant printing expensive business cards and brochures, having multiple photographs and slide copies, placing expensive ads in publications. Social media activity and online internet shops means we can update images at the drop of a hat, and can meet many new people who are all sharing their interests with others. But a digital online photo of our pottery isn't the same as the real thing as a wonderfully made piece of pottery in the hand.

We need to make the most of all potential relationships however we are doing biz. When you donate a pot to a charity event, make sure you get a free invite to that event and then use the evening to meet potential new customers and see how people react to your work. It is an opportunity for people to see real art instead of just images on their computers. If you are in a consignment gallery, check in with their Facebook pages and repost things you think are of interest, and whenever you can, give a visit and get to know the people who are helping you sell your work.

So, I've toned down and tried to make coherent my reaction against the consignment and charity donation naysayers. Again, these are my semi-random thoughts . . . at least today.

I'm interested in hearing other people's thoughts on all of this.

Development of a Form

2011-12-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Progression of small Pitchers

Customer reminded me that I used to do small creamers and asked if I still make them? Of course that pattern is long gone so an opportunity to work out a slightly new shape.

I cut a paper pattern and used it to cut out the first pitcher and put it together. A little too petite.

Made second pattern slightly wider with a broader base for the next couple of pitchers, and then finally used the second pattern and cut about 1/2" wider still on the sides to get the final pieces. The spiral stamp decoration will be the only handle, which will save a lot of fussy construction time.

When I get more clay dried to the right consistency for slabs I'll try an even wider version to see just how far to take it. Plus, after shrinkage these may be smaller than I want them to be in the end. With my paper pattern all I have to do is just make them a little taller as well as wider for the next tweak.

Using a paper pattern can help you tweak forms as you develop them.

Differences in the top from first to final shape

Wider profile fits better in the hand and leaves room for decoration

Is it a Series Yet?

2011-12-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Second Pod

I can blame the lack of production a little bit on the new pup in our household, but that would be wrong. It's really more a matter of not really knowing where these are going. The long lag time between making and firing and whether or not the glazing works out or not is being complicated even further by my desire to wire these up post-firing. That will certainly change their look and it's hard to know what it will be then. Unfinished work is so unnerving. Doesn't help that I kinda need a kiln load worth to be bisque fired at a longer and lower temp than my production stoneware.

The concept for the pod above came about on the back of an envelope after envisioning it strung with a spiderweb-like wiring that may or may not get papered.

Moonscape Pod

The moonscape pod was just a shape that turned into a moonscape along the way. Funny when that happens.

The pod below just came about and changed many times as it was being formed. Still a lot of finish shaping to do, but it's getting there. All three of these are a mix of sculpture and paper clay. The two pods on top have been layered with velvet underglazes

Shell-like Pod

Maybe after I get three of these finished I'll waste a little kiln space and fire them up so I can go to the next step.

So much Greenware, so little time...

2011-12-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

I've done it again... clogged my tiny studio with too much greenware I'm having to hop around and keep the dogs from running over. All are pieces I'm not sure how it to glaze/decorate now, and so they sit taking up valuable room and foam padding.

After so many years suggesting to students that one should have a vision of the completed piece in mind as one constructs, I rarely follow my own advice, instead just making shapes and hoping they'll turn out.

These pieces are the start of a couple stacking sculpture. I go back and forth wanting to glaze them differently than the bright colors, stripes and dots I've done before, and then worry that if I put too much thought into it I'll wreck the whole thing for sure. Too much time invested already for that.

If I can find the space, I may start Stacker #2 as some of these pieces may fit better into the next piece than this one. Maybe, just maybe that will help me decide how to bring Stacker #1 to a close.

How to be Extreme...?

2011-11-29T17:17:00.001-08:00

Big pile of scraps after cutting out a bunch of items. Thought, hey, maybe I should do something for the Ceramic Guild's Extreme Show with these, or in other words, attempt to PLAY with clay instead of just make stuff.

If I lived in Opposite World I would be making cutesy very saleable items with little hearts all over them. So, picked up a lump and started making what I hoped was a stylish heart.

THEN, mid-way I flipped it over and saw this little lovely:

Spent the rest of the day making Scrap-Pile Hearts allowing their humble beginnings to show. It was fun and totally different than my regular fare. Will see where this takes me...

Rainy Thursday Musings

2011-11-17T15:35:00.001-08:00

When a gallery owner invites one to be in a show and has a special request for a certain type of work, I'm not one to turn her down. Show opportunities are too few and far between.

The challenge is how to put a NEW spin on an old form. My stacking sculptures began as a way to create some organic shapes, get out the bright low-fire glazes and brushes and just have fun with how it all came together. I've never meant for them to be art per se, but last year I did challenge myself a bit more with the forms.

Now I'm working on the first stacker for the show with the idea of making some crisper shapes and slightly more complex forms. Here's how it's going so far. The base flower shape reminds me of a cock's comb, so think a top knot will have to repeat it on top. Last year I made some interlocking shapes that have become more refined and will have centerpieces rather than interlock since shrinkage and warping didn't play out too well.

So many possibilities for stacker number two.

What Inspires Us

2011-10-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Europe. No matter which way you turn there is art staring right back at you. Cornices, bridges, on the floor, in the cobblestone, lighting up above. I got to spend two fabulous weeks having time to walk about new streets and sit staring at the clouds passing by.

Perhaps our own home surroundings are just as full-o-art but we just don't have the time to see it as we zoom by. I'll try and keep on the look out more now that I'm back home.

Photos Below:
Bug eating plant at De Hortus horticulture gardens, Amsterdam.
Bridge on the canal, Amsterdam.

"Gluttony??" Small carving on a pew at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam.

Low-tech fancy lighting at an art show in Paris.

Floor of the Grand Palais, Paris, juxtaposed to some artwork at same show.

Phase One of a New Series

2011-09-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

This form, created a couple weeks ago, was bisque fired and received some color via oil paints mixed with cold wax medium. Hard to see in these photos, but when dry, the surface was buffed to a nice waxy sheen. Feels nice. Kept the colors simple. At some point it came to me that I was painting the colors of a big egg--one with concentric hollows inside.

WIred it up using some little tin weights from the fishing supply store and should've taken a photo with just the wire web before adding the tissue. But, impatient person that I am working in fits and starts, I just wanted to get down to adding the paper. First thought was using some old letters on air-gramme paper. Nice with the text on it but not thin enough. Next, tried my old high school graduation present bible's tissue paper pages, cutting out the GENESIS of the first page. (Calling Dr. Freud!). Still a little too thick. Settled on some tissue wrapping paper with some bits of text added for good measure.

It's funny when a piece is filled with so much symbology that just happened due to the materials on hand. As the start of a new series of work, an egg-shaped Genesis is pretty funny as well as apropo.

Expanding an Idea

2011-08-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Behold... something new from the studio. (Ha! doesn't it feel that monumental some days!)

These are first editions for The Arts Center's Portals show later on this year.

Last month attended the mini-workshop hosted by Gale Everett-Stahlke of the StickStones PaperStew Blog. She showed how to create wire sculptures with either layered paper or gut skins. It was a process that I thought could be a nice variation on the "inside/outside" theme I've toyed with over the years on the sculptures with 23k gold leaf (see example below).

Anyhoo, these two porcelain beauties have had some holes made in them for wiring up after they've been fired. Both were pinch pots that just grew organically as I pinched. On the first one I tried to smooth out my finger marks and on the second one I accentuated them. I'm going to low-fire cook them so that the clay will accept some cold wax/oil paint treatment after they've been fired.

Will be interesting to see where this goes from here.

Potters, pottery everywhere...

2011-08-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Just became a part of the Studio Potters Team on Etsy and it's an association/community that feels very nice.

Some fantastic work being done by so many of the potters whose work I'm now getting to know. And since joining this team the traffic back and forth and sharing has been phenomenal. Yikes, I can't keep up!

Yesterday my "Meditation" was included in a Treasury of work featuring Eva Funderburgh who makes the most incredible wood-fired sculpture you'll see almost anywhere. I hope you'll give a gander and then go to Eva's Shop, Woodfired Beasts.

What Inspires Us?

2011-08-01T15:10:00.001-07:00

Walking the Iron Mtn/Cone Peak Trails in the Cascades over the weekend we came upon this wonderful tangle of peeled sticks. They had been jammed up when the stream was running high and were left high and dry by the time we passed. Could I or any other human have created a nicer sculpture than this one the water made as it smashed twigs and rocks up against this tree root? Then juxtaposed with more roots in the background and the jagged basalt rocks to the side, it was just a photo op waiting to be snapped.

Sorry the photos is a little fuzzy...

I often wonder what type of sculpture I could make to respond to this, but it would take some wire and twigs and other detris instead of clay, I think.

Better or Worse?

2011-06-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

The dilemma for those of us with the woodfire bug is that we often have a beautiful pot that has something not quite right with it. Either a little too dry and ashy and/or didn't get hot enough to be vitrified (won't be tight enough to hold water) or they got too hot and distorted or kissed another pot, or, or... It really sounds like quibbling I know.

So, I've now got a basement-load of these and have decided to do a bit of refiring to tempt the fates into giving me something even worse--but Hopefully, something a bit better.

I'll let you decide on these. Above the two "before" pots and below the "after."

Next refiring I'll go even hotter to get all the ash to melt...

Art in the Garden in Photos

2011-05-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my annual studio sale that I hold in the garden. It was our least sunny year but one of our best sales... You just never know how it's going to go.

Photos here include one of my stacking sculptures, a lovely arrangement of Louie Gizyn's work and a table of Jerri Bartholomews glass creations.

Had at least one customer just happen to see our sale on the way to the co-op. He bought a sculpture before getting his grocery shopping done! Another customer saw one of my "basement art collection reduction bargains" over a decade ago at Ceramic Showcase and remembered it from then. It was really nice selling one of my older feminine gold leaf sculptures to her.

People came celebrating their birthdays, their moms, themselves. Other came by just to be friendly and lend some support to the day.

Thanks to all who came by and to everyone who help support the arts!

Six months of Etsy

2011-05-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

At the sixth month mark of being an Etsy seller I'm employing only 1/10th of the tools out there to increase sales. One that seems to be working is the cross promotion that comes via the Treasuries. Buyers and sellers alike create themed mini-collections. They help bring visibility of our work to a broader audience. This one was entitled "Brown" and is lovely.

A month ago I joined a Treasury Team that requires members create a treasury of team members' work at least once a month. So far I've been included in 1-3 treasuries each day! (See links in the sidebar.) I've also had a few more sales in the past week--my first since the first of the year--so perhaps this extra traffic helps. Of course, if I could manage to list a new piece or two more often that would help, too. Watching traffic on Google Analytics shows that each new listing brings a spike in viewership that drops off after 3-4 days.

Ceramic Showcase 2011

2011-05-06T08:00:00.001-07:00

Ceramic Showcase is a pottery mecca for three days every year in Portland. Not only is it a chance to sell some work, but it is also incredibly inspiring to see all the new work that our peers are making.

A few booths blew me away with incredibly clever displays (Brenda Scott) or outta sight work (Brad Mildrexler yet again). Sorry no photos... More and more wood fire is coming to the show. Glad that there more iterations than just "asian knock-off". Most of us are Amis for goodness sake...

Thoroughly enjoyed myself even tho still exhausted five days later.

Ceramic Bowls Finished Product

2011-04-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here is how my roly-poly bowls look after being glaze fired. I'm enjoying making them even tho they're time consuming, they're certainly different than a thrown bowl--different than most all other bowls for that matter.

Will people like or dislike their river rock-like bottoms?

A show in two weeks will let me know...

Promoting Art on Etsy

2011-04-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

One of the ways Etsy is nicer over some of the other "catalog" art sales sites is the cross-promotion by all the artists and buyers who use the site. We all chose favorites that we promote by "liking" and hope that our work gets picked up in other people's favorites. Another way people promote work they like is in Treasuries -- little "mini-shops" of work people chose based on themes. Themes can be about color, the season, humor, bawdiness, horses, dog, cats, bird, books, movies...whatever people chose to group together. Needless to say there are thousands of Treasuries on Etsy.

I've been lucky to have been picked up in a couple of Treasuries and I've made a couple of my own. Below are some recent groupings in which my work has been featured. (To go directly to the Etsy page, use the link below the screenshot.) Would love it if you took a look at these collections and see what you like.

"Ceramics Treasury #3"

"Breakfast is Ready"

"For the Dogs"

"My Name is Ozymandias"

"Buttery Treasury"

And one I created with pieces showing some off-beat humor. "Washing out the Sunday Blues"

All this cross-promotion has brought many new viewers to my Etsy shop and hopefully one day it will translate into more sales for all of us liking each other's work.

2011-03-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post in video format. It could use some background music...

Comedy for Throwers: Handbuilding a Bowl

2011-03-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

It takes about 16-17 separate steps to handbuild a simple roly-poly bottom bowl, even though there are only two shapes to cut out. The first is a circle that is slumped into a mold to get the concave shape, the second shape is a long strip of clay cut to the height you want for the sides of the bowl, and the length that will go around the inside edge of your bowl bottom.

Let the bottom concave circle set up to leather hard, but keep the side strip moist and fairly pliable. Once the bottom has set up it is time to put them together. Bevel the short edges of the strip and then seal them together to form a ring of clay.

Attach the side ring to the base, giving yourself a little bit of overlapping edge on the outside.

When it's all together it'll look like this.

Then using your thumb and forefinger compress the side ring to the bowl base with as much pressure as you can to make the attachment secure and begin to smooth out the transition inside. Here is where the bit of overlap on the outside helps keep the sides attached to the base with all the inside compression outward.

I use a piable rib to shape the inside of the bowl, and then use a piece of plastic to compress the rim of the bowl.

Done.

Because the base and sides are slightly different moisture contents good idea to cover loosely with plastic so it can dry slowly and the seam can relax without distorting as it dries.

By now all the potters who throw are probably having a good chuckle at how long this took.

What Inspires Us?

2011-02-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

Oooh, to make beautiful sculpture as nice as this weathered log. Saw some beauties on the Big Island this year. This one was at a sweet little beach at Waialea Bay. Gentle waves the day we were there but the trade winds were blowing just enough to drive us off the beach a little earlier than we'd planned. We're wimps.

Undulations and smoothness, little surprises in places, and one big dramatic flourish.

What more could one want in a sculpture?

Now, how to translate into something I can actually make in my studio...

New Bowls

2011-01-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

Was looking at my larger oval serving bowls the other day and thought it'd be nice to have a smaller, deeper serving bowl. Cut out an oval and used my hump form to set up the bottom piece and while it was setting up, cut out 2 sides and bent them into curved U shapes to stretch around each side, and finally a small 1/2" flange circle for the foot.

Voila, bowls with 8 separate construction steps! (Please, no sniggering from the throwing crowd...)

For phase-2 bowls I'll accentuate the two side seams for a bit more pizzazz.

I could also make some three sides bowls in this style to go with the three sided plates. Maybe they don't have to have the flange foot?!? Possibilities are probably, as always, endless.

In the Doyenne of Dirt's Garden

2011-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

A few years back Ketzel Levine purchased one of my stacking sculptures from Ceramic Showcase. (She of NPR Weekend Edition fame.) This isn't the exact piece but a similar one that was commissioned to have slightly different colors and decoration.

Well, this month that sculpture made the 'big time' in an article about Ketzel's garden in Portland. The article is in the February issue of SUNSET magazine....page 54! Thanks to M'liss Runyon for being the first to give me a heads up.

According to Ketzel the magazine has gotten a few inquiries about the piece so will be interesting if anyone actually gives me a ring about ordering one.

Now, gotta remember to pick one up from the store before it's too late.

Experiments

2011-01-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

Time for some new work or at least work glazed and decorated differently. What better than a bunch of little cups to try out in various permutations of the many ideas I have.

The eye opener was that it was harder to make a symmetrical cone shape than it looks. Cut out shape after shape and they all had a short side.

Well, these are just glaze/decoration experiments so guess I shouldn't let their off-center shape bother me...even tho it does a little...

Piling on the Awards...

2011-01-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

It's almost getting embarrassing... Another award was bestowed today via The Alchemist Weekly's Reader Poll. Best Potter/Sculptor this time. I'm not sure how I got nominated in either this or the Gazette-Time's poll, but it feels swell. Potters are seldom noticed at all, let alone win awards over other artists...

Now I gotta live up to all this hype!

Thanks everyone who voted.

Are Customers Always Right?

2010-12-27T16:35:00.001-08:00

Have spent many years working to create a signature look for my pottery that relies on spiral embellishments and additions that add to the personality of each piece. More and more people ask for my work without the "fronds" or "arms" or "curly-cues" and in an effort to accommodate I've been trying to make the forms work without.

This version of my tulip vase reworked has a bit wider opening and slightly more feminine curves. She looks like she can stand on her own without my additions.

No matter what it takes, it's good to push ourselves a little bit outside our boxes now and then.

Small Tulip Vase - $36

First Etsy Sale

2010-12-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

Something I've done since my first art fair is "prime the pump" with a purchase of my own as soon as I'm set up and ready to take sales.

Give a little to get a little.

So, finally after getting 14 items in my Etsy shop (which makes it look full at least on the front page of the shop), I thought it was time for me to make a purchase of my own.

While shopping I found a lovely silver crane necklace created to look like an origami crane. The perfect thing to gift the person who hand-folded almost 1000 cranes for our wedding. (People attending our party the night before the big day were able to whip up the balance.)
Then SURPRISE, this week my first sale came through after being on Etsy for less than a month. Three stars are on their way to Brooklyn. With the Etsy fee, the Paypal fee and mailing costs I'm just barely clearing 50%, which is my goal.
I hope to have time to read more of the Etsy blog posts about maximizing all the many tools there to generate sales. Coupons, specials, BOGO offers, etc. There is so much to learn. Some of it can be used in other areas of our art businesses, so it's well worth it to tune in.

If only there were more hours in the day...

Fun New Audience

2010-12-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Now that I know how to search for the "good stuff" on Etsy it just gets better and better. Looking up artist's favorites and seeing who has added them to their favorites, then to the favorites that have chosen them can eat up the better part of a day if you let it. There are fascinating finds everywhere.

On the flip side, when I post an item and someone adds it to their favorites it'll get seen by a whole new group of people I couldn't even imagine before. People from all over the world!

"Menopausal Mind" was a piece I did a few years ago that still makes me chuckle. Even tho there is slim chance it'll ever sell, for only 20 cents I'm giving it a whole new audience. The Edvard Munch decals were sitting around the house for a long time before this perfect use of them over the gold leaf. It's elicited some fun comments from people.

To see it at my shop and read my pithy description, head on over to my Etsy shop right this minute!

Going Etsy

2010-11-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

Why have I succumbed?

Community! It's what Etsy is all about.

Heard a very inspiring talk by Mandy of ZillowPillows and how she's made Etsy work for her business. She talked about how it is quirky and offers different methods for shopping besides the old fashioned "category" method most of us are used to. It uses social media and connections with other people to get noticed and recommend what you like. It is indeed a true community of people helping each other be successful.

Different than having our work in galleries and other "catalog" websites, one can control how work gets seen in various photo poses we take and how it's presented and written about. Etsy's commerce site is a super-highway of web traffic and there Etsy and other artists help you negotiate ways to direct some of it to our work.

What was I waiting for?!?

Kept track of my time and it took about 4-5 hours to get a shop set up, create a shop header, anguish over the text, set-up shop info, get a premium PayPal account set up AND take photos of a few pieces to "list." The first item took an hour to list; by the fourth item it took only about 15 minutes.

The shipping piece is still a bit frightening and figure I'll "eat" some costs until I figure it all out.

TIP: even though I took all the photos at one setting, in the first piece I listed the background colors turned out a bit different in each shot after I changed the sizes to their recommended pixels, fixed contrast and SHARPENED them. When I manipulated the photos for the next few items I left all of them open in my Photoshop "project bin" so I could align their placements within the frame and make sure they all had same background tone.

Here's my new Etsy Shop: "NicePots" by Cynthia Spencer.

More to come...

Finally, the Spring Order Complete!

2010-10-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

Finally got two butter dishes completed -- and it only took me 5 months!

Sometimes special orders have a way of going wrong, very, very wrong... My first dishes were too small as I didn't figure the clay shrinkage correctly and were too small to fit over a cube of butter. The second attempts came out horribly in the glaze firing. Then the festival (my other job) began to loom and time in the studio dribbled to a few pieces a week. Finally got enough pots completed for a kiln load and got these out yesterday.

The smaller one is sleeker and easier to lift off the dish. The other one has a nice hefty feel. I'll have to remember to make the indentions deeper on future models so there is a good solid place to grip the top.

$40-$45.

Top Potter in the Valley

2010-10-29T08:12:00.001-07:00

Imagine my surprise this morning to see my name in the paper. (And no, not in the Crime Watch!) There I sat innocently sipping my tea, reading the paper version of the Corvallis Gazette-Times, already basking in the glory that the festival I spend so much time organizing got TWO Top honors in the Top of the Valley Poll...and having just blogged, tweeted and Facebooked it all over the place... and Yes, there was my name as Top Potter!!! Ahead of long-timer Dale Donovan and buddies Keith Moses and Jeff Gunn... Ho-ho!

I entered the poll and voted in many categories, but hadn't noticed any of the art, music, gallery categories, so it was a double surprise. The past few years I have barely gotten it together to do one or two shows, keep a couple galleries stocked and have always felt fairly under the radar when it comes to marketing my own work in Corvallis. Quite a honor to be plucked from anonymity to Fame (and fortune?!!) in the Gazette-Times.

Believe me, I'll be milking this for the next twelve months!!!!

Wonder if I get a crown or anything?

To see some of my AWARD Winning Work go to my other blog "Spencer Work in Clay"

Thanks all!

What our Art Collections Teach Us

2010-09-19T05:09:00.001-07:00

Like many of us, I have artwork treasures I’ve purchased, traded for, been given and accumulated from my own making. Day in and day out these pieces bring joy and beauty to our home life and I tend to take them for granted. But several pieces have called to me lately and have given me pause enough to look closer at all the rest. (My apologies for a photo of only one...)

“Exit Stage Left -- the Lovers” is an abstract painting I purchased from a friend’s fundraiser sale for cancer treatment. Sid‘s wild abstract lines, images, colors and energetic treatment of the paint seemed totally foreign to my way of thinking when I first became acquainted with her work -- chaotic and troubled. It was a piece I could afford from those being offered, had a great title that I could related to, and we could support my friend with our purchase. I liked it but didn’t know why.

For several years a lovely Glenn Burris abstract glazed tile piece was hung next to it because his piece seemed to be an ordered “simple” abstract next to a complex one, and yes, the colors related. After I moved the Burris abstract to a new location Sid’s painting seemed to come into focus as a very systematic grouping of character types. I remember how she used to apply the paint with such energy and speed, yet how organized and harmonic the finished painting. Is this just a function of my brain persisting in making order of chaos until it gets it? Or was its simple layout there all along? She knew when to quit.

Many of the pottery pieces we have are styles I could never begin to do or master. Pieces with hours of decorative work, or special glaze effects requiring years of trial and error are prized possessions. During my teaching years any particularly interesting contruction method was acquired as an illustration for another thing for the students to try and gave me a fairly good excuse to support many potters.

Above our stove is this Wally Schwab platter with a lively dotted decoration that would be mind numbing glazing for my taste. Under Wally's mastery it comes alive. This plate called to me from an entire booth of similarly decorated wares--many larger and brighter glazed than this one. Wally chose to place the hanger so the glaze drips are going “up” rather than the “down” as one might expect. Sometimes I wonder at that as I stir or watch a pot. It causes a yin/yang dialogue in my brain of whether or not it’s hanging “right” that tickles me when I realize I’m thinking about it for the hundreth time.

As potters, many of our works are treasures because of the maker as much or more as the pot. Time and use have taken their toll on some pieces. When a favorite plate got a major chip knocked off, I superglued it back so I could still use it because this potter no longer is doing pottery. Some of our pottery pieces have just the right heft. Others are fun to use on special occasions. All are reminders of the super greater arts community that I belong to.

What Inspires Us?

2010-08-07T07:00:00.001-07:00

On a quick trip North we happened upon the 100th Birthday Celebration of the Hawthorne Bridge in downtown Portland. Beautiful flowing textile installation on the bridge was lit up in a techno-colorful way that was hard to capture with my digital camera and rusty photography skills. It is inspiring to know that people have visions this large and can get them financed--even if they are just a temporary moral booster like this was.

Our other detour was up to see the Johnston Ridge observatory 5 miles away from where Mt. Saint Helens blew out her northside in 1980. We were living in Portland when it was all happening and watched the roiling plumes that clear May day. Seeing the new landscape we were reminded of the tremendous energy that caused the blast, landslide, ash and gas storm. Makes one feel incredibly small. We were witnesses to a huge geographic event that was just a blip in the timeline of this earth.

It was lovely up there in a sobering way.

Happy Children Sculptures

2010-07-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

About the time I think I may have made my last Happy Child I get an order for one or two. Lucky for me, my last last call was for four of them!

Gail and Cynthia from Fine Eye Gallery (Sutter Creek, CA) called and told me that Fine Eye was celebrating 20 years in business and that they wanted to order several sculptures for the gallery's anniversary. I met them both many moons ago at an ACC Wholesale Market and was so very glad to know they were still going strong. Over the years they've found homes for quite a few of my sculptures.

I've not kept the most immaculate records, but it appears I've made between 75 and 80 of these little sculpture. They've evolved quite a bit from the first rough, but personality-filled figures. Some have had carved hearts; some have had commemorative inscriptions. Friends who know me best laugh that I make such a "cute" thing, but to me they have been a constant process of learning clay as each is a meditative pinch pot from the feet up.

If you want one to dance in your home or garden, here's more about them on my catalog website. $350-$500 retail depending on size.

Measure twice, cut once

2010-06-25T14:06:00.001-07:00

Sometimes these maxims are true for a reason. My first attempt making a butter dish is a case in point. I measured a "standard cube" and figured for shrinkage, but didn't take into account that as a lid or half-sphere, the total inside dimensions would shrink, too. By the time they were high fired only a skinny cube with the end cut off could fit.

The maddening thing is that my volume-challenged husband immediately saw they were too small when he saw them. Argh!

Guess "back to the drawing board" should be one of my major subject categories for this blog.

Once I get one to work, probably in the $40-45 range.

June Firing

2010-06-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Finally a firing after May's big push for Showcase and studio sale. Pieces I'm cooking today are mostly dinnerware again--much of it for Trillium Gallery, some a special order and the rest to take to Real Mother Goose if it turns out. Hope there are good samples of everything for a nice mix & match table setting.

This sunny morning is making it hard to stay in the studio--especially with this box of flowers waiting to be potted.

Three cones down, cone 5 is the next to go...

Back in the Studio

2010-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's always nice to have orders for motivating back into the studio. Trillium Gallery on the Coast wants plates, bowls and the new leaf boat serving dishes. A customer from a few years ago asked me if I'd try my hand at making a handle-less butter dish that would match a sugar and creamer she has.

Here's what I came up with... Looks a little like Kermit the Frog... good or bad?!?

Studio Sale Post Script

2010-05-25T02:41:00.001-07:00

We couldn't have asked for better weather for a backyard sale...sunny and warm but not too warm. Our cooler spring meant more was blooming in the garden at the same time than ever before: peonies and rhodies at the same time the dogwood was still pinkish. Thanks to the fertile mix added to beds in March everything seemed to be just a little more lush. All those April and May showers probably helped with that, too.

People came! A good rush of new faces and familiar awaited us when we opened our doors.

The stacking sculpture that greeted everyone out front had been in the Edible Garden at the Oregon Gardens for many years so I was happy it went home with a friend who liked its weathered look. Thanks to a recent Portland Monthly photograph, got to name drop the fact that one of these is in Ketzel Levine's collection.

Thanks to all who took the time to come by to visit and help support we three artists. The little video walk through was done by journalist and budding videographer, Gail Oberst, pottery sale helper extraordinaire!

Art in the Garden

2010-05-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

Studio sales are a bit like hosting a party and a bit of... "I should've had my head examined!" A lot of work, but can be a lot of fun and rewarding, too.

The past 18 years I've had an outdoor studio sale in a garden setting. This means not only do you have to have a lot of artwork, but the garden itself can't be the beds of neglect that begin appearing as the summer progresses--at least at our place. We were hosted at the beautiful LeBlanc gardens Harold and Cathy so generously made beautiful and loaned for 14 summers. For the past 4 we've had a Spring sale so people come to my house before everything in our yard has plopped. I team up with Louie Gizyn (mixed media sculpture) and Jerri Bartholomew (fused glass) so there is more than just pots to see.

Since we're in the outdoors there are worries about the weather (wet or boil-o), what will be blooming or not, how to get the garage in shape enough to have people come through (cover most of it up with cloths!) and where to put all the artwork to best show it off. Will people actually COME once we've gone to all of this effort?!? And just now I remembered that I need to get REFRESHMENTS! Add it to the list...

This year's sale is tomorrow, May 15. 11 am - 4 pm.
We usually do this two weeks post-Ceramic Showcase in May if you're in the Corvallis, OR area.

Showcase 2010

2010-05-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

It was the 28th annual (and my 23rd) Ceramic Showcase over the weekend. A day back from the extravaganza in Portland and am exhausted. If you missed it, here is a photo of my booth to give you an idea of what it's all about: trying to show the world the best of my clay work.

I brought flower vessels and all my new serving ware, as well as the two sculptures I completed for the Sitka Invitational. Sold a little of this and a little of that. More of the new leaf/boat bowls and plates. No dinnerware commissions taken but at least a couple possible bites on them. Would've been nice to have sold a "big one" or two.

Got feedback from fellow potters that my backdrop cloths need to change with my newer glazes. My old blue/green glaze used to pop in front of this fabric but the new sages and tans fade into the background a little too much.

Always something to tweak with an art fair booth. And need to MAKE More NEW Designs!

My hats off to the artists who do fairs weekly to make a living!

New images posted recently: SpencerWorkInClay.com

Crumbly Lemonade

2010-04-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

I thought this piece was dry enough and that my firing cycle long enough to dry it thoroughly through and through... but in the very first rise of the kiln up to 200 degrees, when water begins to boil, there were some pockets of wet deep within, and that little bit of steam caused all this mess.

The bad news was that about $20+ worth of underglazes were layered onto this sucker and it wasted a bunch of energy blowing it up and then turning it into gravel.

The good news, if there is any, is that this was a piece that I wasn't so sure about. I'm saved several hours of sanding and mess and another firing. And there's one less big, heavy piece to haul up to the show--tho I'm SURE it would've sold if I'd had it there. It was still an interesting piece to work on and learn from during the forming process.

The longer I'm a potter the more I learn what silly mistakes I can make.

Harvest from Spring Anagama Firing

2010-04-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest things about woodfiring is waiting a week to let it cool down before being able to see the pots. Friday we unloaded the Digger Mtn Anagama Kiln after a very long seven days.

Everyone was positively giddy when we saw the first pieces come out with great ash coverage, many crystals and sugary surfaces. As you can see from the top photo, the ash flash was on most every piece. Digger Mtn kiln's Jay Widmer believes it is our particular mix of fir, maple and wet wood (this year alder) that helps develop the colors and crystals we get.

Fellow fire-ers liked the glitzy bumpy vase in the middle, but my favorite for now is the quieter fluted vase at the bottom since it has color and markings that fit the shape well. Got some great color on other pieces and will have to see if the brightness of it all grows on me.

Variations in a Single Firing

2010-04-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

This past month I've been working on a set of dinnerware: eight big plates, small plates, smaller plates and bowls. I'm never done so many pieces that were all supposed to match. Luckily the folks buying this set knew that from top to bottom they would get some differences in the glaze and the way the clay looked. That is sure what they're going to get.

The above images illustrate just how broad these variations can be. The three plates on the shelf go from regular reduced atmosphere in the front to very oxidized in the back. The bowls also show how each one dried and warped a bit differently as well as getting different finishes from the firing. Never a dull moment when it comes to pottery...

Below is a complete dinner set that matches pretty well considering.

New Versions of Old Favorites

2010-03-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Since I was glazing a kiln load of plates and bowls with the new green version of my drippy Alberta Slip glaze, decided to just spray the rest of the lot with the same glaze. This was the result. This watercan, basket and "tulip vase" all have a fresh look, and one that will stand out from the darker blues and browns of my other work when I take it all to Ceramic Showcase next month.

Dinnerware Commission

2010-03-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

Fired most of the dinnerware set over the weekend. All the plates and a couple of larger serving pieces got in, but the bowls just didn't make it.

Haven't fired that many plates all at one time and tighter stack and extra shelves changed the way my kiln fired a bit... Everything came out a bit darker due to be reduced* during the firing, but I think the darker color will look nice with food. Waiting to hear from the family who ordered them before I begin the boxing/shipping process.

*when the kiln is starved of oxygen the fire seeks it from the chemicals within the claybody, giving stonewares a darker/richer hue.

Leaf Bowls-Phase Three

2010-03-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

The first set of leaf bowls turned out nice. The second set warped as they dried and then rocked after they were glaze fired and were generally a pretty motley bunch. With this third set I've made the dart cuts even deeper and the impressed foot smaller to try and make them more of a bowl than a deep plate. Turned them upside down on a flat surface and paddled the foot in hopes that gives them a good non-wacky start to drying.

...feeling like a potter again

2010-03-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

It's time to do a glaze firing when the pink pots fill up every shelf and are getting stacked on the floor...All OVER the floor, with no room to walk.

Thanks to a dinner set order that came in during busy Showcase production, I've made more pots in the past month than I have in a long time. Orders make us get into the studio to make things! The thing with handformed plates is that you always need to make many more than the 8 piece place setting to ensure you get 8 that are passable. I know enough not to expect a miracle, but hope no disasters! Hopefully 6 of everything will be excellent and only 2 with flaws but only that I see. Or maybe all the plates will be ok and the bowls iffy. Anyways, the complete set is all in that pepto-bismal stage that we potters detest. "Put some Glaze on us, would you!" they're all crying out.

8 piece place setting - $1000-ish.
8 dinner, salad and bread plates
8 triangular plates
8 leaf bowls
1 leaf serving bowl set
1 pedestal bowl

What inspires us?

2010-03-08T16:21:00.001-08:00

This kiln shelf has all the color, drama and element of surprise that I would cherish on any pot of mine should it turn out looking like this. And it just happened that way in the firing through nothing we did, and we will grind off all of this beautiful decoration for the next firing. The marks are left from wads that keep our pottery from sticking to the shelf and from flame and ash that swirled all around.

Beautiful shelf. Hope the pots I'm making for spring woodfire turn out half as good.

New Webpage

2010-02-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

Alas, this web page has taken a hit from my getting a new catalog site up and running, "workinclay.wordpress.com."

Here is a piece from my last firing, already a month ago. These leaf boat bowls have been getting more and more refined but still have a bit of funkiness left to them as each one differs from the template and warps in its own way. The inside bowl of this set reminds me of lily pad flower petals for some reason.

Now need to crank up production for Ceramic Showcase, only two months away. April 30, May 1-2.

Back to Drawing Board?

2010-01-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

Finally got a couple of the new covered dishes glazed and fired this week. The lid fits great on the second one, but the one on top is the one I liked better in the green stage. It is just still on the funky side when it comes to fit AND to feel....precarious and the raw clay showing isn't pretty. I guess the flange overhang is the way to go if I can figure out how to do it right...and add enough of a rim to feel like a good handle.

These two will get to be seconds at the spring garden sale...

Better?

2010-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here is my day two attempt at a lidded vessel. The fit won't be tight but for a serving dish type thing, possibly ok. Think I need to get the slump a bit taller to make up for the sides of the pot being so high... This piece has a goofy smile.

On the drawing board...

2010-01-04T13:26:00.001-08:00

These photos show my beginning attempts to make a lidded serving vessel via slabs of clay. Over the holidays I realized I didn't have any nice lidded serving ware to set on the table. The metal pot I'd cooked the dish in wasn't very handsome.

The top photo shows first attempt at modifying another form I make. The lid needed a flange on the inside to secure it on the pot. This pot has modest lump handles on the side that were an afterthought, so wasn't too happy with them. The first rolled handles looked clunky and the extra time it took to make handles more incorporated with the pot was too much.

In the second attempt I made a shape that should be fairly easy to pick up without true handles. I draped the slab lid into the pot to get a nice custom shape and left more 'overhang'. I'm hoping that the overhang will grip the shape of the vessel enough to forego a pesky flange on the inside. Wet, it fit snug enough without feeling like it was going to slide off. After the greenware drying stage it still fits nicely. We'll see how it goes after bisque firing. And, I'll have to make a couple more to get them a little less clunky. You can see I couldn't cut a straight line on this one.

Simple variation

2009-11-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

I've been making small dishes from my scraps of clay for some time--simple ovals with corner darts cut out and clay brought together with seams. These bowl sized dishes are based on the same technique using the template I've been using for leaf plates. It feels nice adding to the leaf boat bowls with plates and now smaller serving-sized bowls. It'll be swell if they all stack together nicely after firing.

Back to Work

2009-11-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

Why is it that after completing a couple of deadlines it is sometimes so hard to motivate back into the studio? Suddenly it's too messy to work in (tho it's been like that for months). The laundry piling up in a corner next door is yelling at you. The clay is too wet.

Just to DO something, started with four basic shapes and made myself play around with a bit with decorating. Nothing vastly different but possibly a start to something new.

A "Real" Artist for a Day

2009-11-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

Attended the Sitka Invitational Opening on Friday. What a treat. Food and Wine galore, great crowd, beautiful artwork sporting many red dots. As an artist I was honored to be included in such a wonderful group. As someone who finds less and less time to be in the studio it took a bit of gearing up to "feel worthy" for it all.

Haven't been to the show in several years so spent most of the opening being amazed and inspired by the wonderful work being done throughout the state. My work nicely displayed (thanks Greg Wilbur for your muscles carrying them about). Was very happy to see a couple of those SOLD stickers on my new boat bowl sets. So many friends at the show and new artists to meet. Enjoyed talking with at least one gentleman who liked my sculptures and wished to know a bit more about them. Always nice to get a nibble on the bigger pieces!

Nice post-show article in the Oregonian after the show linked here. Hope our efforts as artists helped bring in the $$ Sitka needs to stay doing the work they do! I spent the $$ I earned on more artwork (a lovely print by Alex Chitty) so did my small part.

Earlier in the day had a very nice conversation with Sandy Japel at Beet Gallery and dropped off work to her. Over the holidays she will be showing a few of the woodfired vessels that have popped up on this blog. Nice having an opportunity to show work in her beautiful spot. Hope you can stop by to see them. Beet Gallery: 18th & Lovejoy, Portland. beetgallery.com

Special Projects

2009-11-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

This piece was created for the Arts Center's Shrines and Reliquaries Show. I started one of my "twist" columns but it needed to be a container so tried several lid variations. Instead of having the top just be seamless to the rest of the piece I decided embellishment would be the way to go and thus the fanciful DQ-court jester styled lid.

The "fun" came in the glazing. First round was my high fired cream glaze with a hint of blue sprayed over the top. This often give me a nice pebble effect but in this case the glaze glassed out and turned grey-ish instead of creamy. When I opened the kiln and saw my sad piece I grabbed it still piping hot and layered as much white underglaze over the top as I could. The pot's heat helped dry the layers of new glaze and then it was back into the kiln to get the new layers to fuse. I was hoping for a tad bit of crackle but it's hard to get that much glaze to adhere to an already high fired piece.

After the second firing the layers of underglaze covered up the grey color, only letting a faint bit of it to come through in places the top glaze was too thin. The underglaze was very dry to the touch tho so I worked cold wax medium into the new top layer to give it a sheen and enhance the multi-layered effect of the glazes.

Put all together it seemed to have a jaunty, cocky attitude thus the title: "The Ghost of Foghorn Leghorn" -- a favorite cartoon as a kid. $150 with silent auction bidding starting at $50.

Vase Sets

2009-10-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

One of a potter's greatest challenges is making a piece to replace a beloved favorite piece. When I got a phone message from Real Mother Goose that a customer had broken their favorite 10.5" tall dancing vase and wanted a replacement, I was glad the gallery person could give me more detail than that. "About 2" diameter top, base is 4" x 5" oval and it's the greenish-blue rather than the blue-blue." In the end we decided I better make several from which the customer could chose the one he thought was closest to his broken piece. (Wish it had been wisked away rather than being a sad reminder of the accident and to which the new piece will be compared.)

Normally when I'm making these pieces a ruler never comes into the picture; I just cut them out and put them together as whim would have it. Today I got it out the ruler and made allowances for 10-12% shrinkage and then a little more on one (a little less on a couple) to try and get the right height. Trouble is, I've never done my own shrinkage test on this clay so will have to go with the manufacturer's shrinkage percentage on this... Hope customer is not a stickler.

Here is the set of today's vases, all slightly different poses, opening sizes and heights. The clay was wetter than I like to work with it so there were more than a few finger marks to rib out. All together they make a nice still life with just enough off-kilter in them to make it interesting.

Lefty or Righty?

2009-10-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I know it's hard to tell on this slightly fuzzy photo, but one is a lefty mug and one is a righty. The handles were applied with a slightly larger opening on one side or the other to facilitate being held in different hands. Me, I'm a righty and often a one finger person at that, but the heavier the mug the more fingers are needed. I've tried to make these mugs be light enough for a full cup-o-beverage, but still feel substantial and stable. Some are one finger handles and others at least two. If you're a three finger or whole hand person my mugs will probably not feel right to you. Some of my earlier handbuilt mugs could've been door stops, but I was compensating for the disturbingly thin-feeling of some handbuilt mugs.

After many years of mug making I feel like mine are just beginning to get there...

How Firsts turn into Seconds

2009-10-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's firing turned out some super seconds for bargain hunters at next spring's Garden Sale, but of course, that wasn't my intent. Slightly muddy-looking glazes, (that one bad burner?!?) and over reduced colors. Bubbled up glaze two pieces--different places in the kiln which is unusual. One glaze too thin so application of it not thick enough for desired results on any of the pieces I used it. Gunk on kiln shelves bungling up the feet of one of the "good pieces." Pieces fired for a friend running on to one of the new shelves.

And the capper: Arts Center Reliquary that was already making me nervous it was so odd looking was a real YUCK, so no photos of that. I'm trying a reglaze/refire of it that is sure to make it worse, or may do what I hope and be better...we'll see.

Is it possible to turn around make new ones for approaching deadlines in the limited time I have? I guess I'll make an attempt and see how it goes.

PHOTOS: Above--Mugs getting water tested. $20 ea. Below--One set of Stacking bowls that look nice but are light on the glaze drips on the outside.

Firing Fun

2009-10-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me that ones internal alarm clock seems to function all too well sometimes. The past month I've had an abundance of adrenaline due to all the "get-up and Go" I've had to do with the festival. This past weekend was the first in awhile that I could've slept in and just taken it slow and easy in the mornings, but nooo. Dogs and that internal alarm had me up and going anyways.

This morning the I.A. came in handy as a 3:30 am wake up was timed just right for cranking up the gas on the kiln so it would be hitting Cone 010 at 6:30 for regular wake-up time. Sure enough 6:30 am saw the first cones starting to soften and bend both top and bottom. Damper in, gassy smell and some flame out the bottom peep and back to bed until the hounds convinced me it was time for their breakfast.

The kiln has changed in the way it fires. It never used to get so warm on the bottom in the first few hours of the firing. One spot in the kiln seems a little more reduced, too, and no manner of burner/orifice cleaning has seemed to do anything. Infrequency of firings keeps me from truly problem solving this as I forgot all about it until this morning seeing that that burner was the only one without nice blue flame (orange).

Also, I had hoped the storm might come in bringing a little moisture but this clear blue sky may bring some turbulence and unevenness as the day progresses. So far so good.

Neptune's Folly

2009-10-11T08:57:00.001-07:00

Have I created work only another potter could love?

Here are my two Sitka sculptures completed -- Another case of expectations and the finished pieces colliding instead matching up...

I wanted these to have a darker finish so I did a heavier layer of black underneath the top layers. This created even more bubbles, pitting and leathery look of the multi-layers. Some of it looks positively lava-like.

When finishing the greenware I left surform marks and a few deeper gouges for glaze to pool into when applied, and stay lodged when everything is sanded. As I sanded away between bisque and high fire I tried to do it strategically: leaving enough top layer glaze to accentuate the twist, but also get down to the base layers for the patterns to show. Even with all the "control" I could muster, during the firing the kiln just said, "Hey, let's bubble and burn." Honestly, I don't know how I got what I did on two pieces in a row... (Changes in the glaze formulas?)

I alternate between thinking these are swell and wishing I'd used even more restraint.

Here's to More is Better, and hope that someone out there agrees with me.

What a difference some heat makes

2009-09-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

So here's the top of the first twist of the pair fired. What was once subtle layers of color is now a riot of rich, lizard-like skin and bubbles of glaze. Nothing too wrecked, but everything pretty on the edge of going into full boil of mess. This isn't what I expected but I finally got the darker colors that I first got when I started multi-layering and multi-firing pieces.

Boy it's dark but I like it.

Now hope the second one turns out half as good.

Two Twists

2009-09-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

This pair of twists are being created for the Sitka Invitational in November. The one on the right has been glazed with multiple layers of underglaze and bisque fired to a fairly low temp. Next I'll sand through the layers to reveal the different colors and enhance all the marks left by the sureform blade. The sanding is the part that I put off because it is messy and it's easy to go through too quickly getting to raw clay. It takes patience that I seem to lack.

The piece on the left started out a little too narrow, making it seem really unbalanced when complete. Went back and beefed up some of the edges and gave more definition to them to offset it's slightly too large top... here's hoping that works. As soon as it gets bone dry I'll begin the multi-layering glaze process on it.

These look nice as a pair and would be nice to sell them as such, but separates sale great too. Twists - $750-850 each if they turn out (knock on wood!).

New Work

2009-08-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Seems like all the work for which I have deadlines all comes due about the same time. Not that this is hundreds of pieces, but work for a couple of shows at which I want my to have my best. Trouble is I've got one little distraction the next 4-6 weeks, (producing Fall Festival) but have managed to keep plugging away, even if it's for just an hour a day. These pieces go up rather slowly anyways--especially with temps in my basement studio being coolish--so it's been easy keeping them covered to come back to.

This piece is the start of my entry for the Arts Center's Reliquary Show, with me posed working on it. Last week's piece is beside me with several layers of glaze on it.

New Twist

2009-08-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've been working on the past couple of weeks. I had an idea for the end results, but let the form flow as it went up. Unlike past Twists that kept wanting to get wider as they went up, I kept this one constricted and it got narrower than I'd anticipated. Left the waves of surform marks on the surface, which will be nice for sanding through layers of glaze application. The little "peep hole" at the place the curl comes back on itself is what makes this piece work.

Simple forms are sometimes the most challenging, so think there are a few more iterations of this one to try...

July Already?

2009-07-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

This prototype is an experiment for another ceramic/glass collaboration between Jerri Bartholomew and me. I've made this hollow clay module with an inside ledge for the glass and one screw hole attachment point. The slab piece will be what the glass can be hump molded over and hopefully after the clay shrinkage the glass piece will still fit in snugly like this slab does. The glass will be cut in a much more interesting shape -- the slab is just to get the curve right for the glass.

Sunny June

2009-06-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Finally, another finished piece from those first shown green. Anthony and Doug Gordon fired this Twister in her beautiful Chimera wood kiln. In less than 24-hours a nice amount of ash and sheen was put down on our pieces from their steady stoking of pallets and limb wood. The kiln is designed so one person can stoke and make damper adjustments from the same spot. Very nice directional flame marks.

The top and bottom of this piece are slighly different tones due to placement in the kiln: bottom looking a bit more leather-like, and the top a chalkier but warm feel. Thanks Anthony and Doug!

Good Oldie

2009-05-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

This piece came out of Jay's woodfire kiln looking so bloated and forlorn that it made me laugh it was so ugly. I missed it when packing up and when it was returned to me after some time, I noticed the bright red coloration, and the way the ash added a soft contrast to the red, AND that the bumps accentuate it's lovely "little bird-like" form. Now it's one of my favorites of all time. Only about 7-8 inches tall and almost that big around. Little Bird Vase - $150.

Art in the Garden Week

2009-05-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Oh Dear. The rain is really setting back gardening plans and the sale that shows my work, and that of Louie Gizyn and Jerri Bartholomew, gets set up out there in just a couple of days. This little creature got a couple of bites at Showcase, but still came home with me. "Garden Friend" is stoneware with colorful additions attached post-firing.

While it was nice bringing work home when there is another sale just around the corner, it's been hard motivating to unpack it all and get the yard and garage all set up... Here's hoping the sun returns tomorrow!

Showcase Re-cap

2009-04-27T14:53:00.001-07:00

Last night Ceramics Showcase ended for me with a bang. Sold "Seafoam Twist," the largest sculpture I brought, during the last hour of the show. Very nice customer who has quite a bit of art in her back yard garden. Hope she remembers to send me a photo once its installed.

This cut-out vase went home on Saturday with some nice folks. "Zipper Vase" - $125.

Attendance for the show was up; hope everyone's sales were too! There were so many beautiful pots there it is still amazing that anyone finds mine in the crowd.

One Week to Ceramic Showcase

2009-04-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

It's countdown week . . . the firing I did last Friday all needs to be water tested and ground (so I don't scratch anyone's furniture) and then it all has to be sorted, packed and made to fit in the van . . . the fabrics all flame retardant re-treated, toolbox put back together and the lightings tested for burnouts.

I'm in love with the new pieces I have. They could always be better; I've made them only a short amount of time. I've got a good selection of work. I just hope we have some loyal buyers and new members of the public to come oogle and buy. We'll be wearing our hearts on our sleeves.

Two Weeks until Showcase

2009-04-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Took part in Jay Widmer's Anagama Firing at Digger Mtn a couple weekends ago. After purposely stoking wet fir, maple, alder and oak--including a lot of limb wood--for 48 hours, we were anxious to see how things turned out. A week later we found many pots with iridescent patterns in the ash/silica build-up, as well as super warm glows of orange, red and burnt umbers underneath or away from the flame. It was cooler in the back, but some lovely colors nonetheless.
We'll be sure to try for those sparkles again next firing.

This pot is one I showed many moons ago just after making it... It turned out to be my favorite of the firing. A little on the cool side but could never get these marks again if I tried.

Non Pottery Post

2009-03-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm giving in to a "cute dog" movie short--cheating I know. Spent the day glazing pots on a sunny, warm afternoon and loading up the kiln. More pot posts soon. In the meantime Danny has a tug-of-war with the couch and his squeaky monkey.

New or Retro?

2009-03-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

These shapes have been showing up and are slowly being refined. More wild/more functional? Stacking!!! Useable, decorative or just something that is drawing me back from our youth?!?

These would look great full of salad or vats of compote.

Transformations

2009-02-27T10:38:00.001-08:00

This humble pot, made back in June 08 and posted here in its greenware form, is finally "finished." First it got cooked in Anthony Gordon's fast fire wood kiln and then in our salt kiln at the Benton Center. It picked up some nice color and ash from the Anthony's but was on the dry side. A splash of salt from our residual salt firing help bring it to life. It has a wonderful leathery surface with a little orange peel salt texture where the slip was wiped away.

What inspires us?

2009-02-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Oh to be able to get this kind of surface on a pottery piece. The richness of what we can see in nature--if we take the time to look--is just mind boggling. This marker was at the gate of a moist arboretum on Maui.

What gets us into the studio?

2009-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

During a snowy December week I woke with this image in my brain after seeing myself make it in a dream, and so laid out some very thick slabs for it, figured out a way to put it together and support the weight of the walls with gravity wanting to flatten them. Over a couple of days let it dry and then carved and sponged this piece into shape. The term "compelling" actually was my mantra while I was making it. It felt like this piece needed to be made -- wanted me to caress it into shape.

I cannot deny its cradle-like shape and all the of the symbolic stuff that its creation implies. Art is the child I've chosen and this beautiful piece says it all. Whether it makes it through the finishing and firing, and whether or not I still love it as much in the end, it's too soon to say.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

This piece is drying, and then I'll begin the process of layering underglazes on it for a multicolored sculpture.

Recently needed to write an artist statement about the "conceptual framework of my artmaking" and realized that all of these spiral forms have been about creating joyful works. Some are bold strong shapes, others are just plain fun. The spiral or twist provides a good contruction and glazing challenge for me and there are permutations galore. At least I haven't come to the end of this road yet.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing ... good thoughts go out to you from my studio to yours.

Hope to see you in 2009!

Week before Xmas

2008-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

Completed this stacking sculpture for The Arts Centers' Chocolate Fantasy Auction that's in February.

There are always tricks with cooking larger pieces slowly enough to not blow them up...one of these pieces has a slight rattle from something that blew on the inside (luckily). The colors come from low fire underglazes fired at cone 6. I love the way they get stoney and saturated at the higher temps right before going glassy.

It'll be interesting to see if this gets bites at the oral auction. 59" Sculpture - $550-$600 special order.

15 Second Sculpture at SFMOMA

2008-12-12T08:38:00.001-08:00

The challenge by artist Erwin Wurm was public participation to create a one-minute sculpture with props set out in a corner of SFMoma. I took the challenge in a 15 second version. Sticking my head in the wood refridgerator was much easier than the other two balancing acts (5 fruits with head, chest, and legs against a wall, or three brooms in a crucifixion pattern).

Can I add "Sculpture in SFMoma" to my resume? Ha!

Something a Little Larger

2008-12-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

This piece took shape over the past couple of weeks. I started with a definite form in mind, but as it went up in my pinch/coil methods, it took on a life of its own and came out like this. This is about 4ft tall before the drying/firing shrinkage. Think it may be destined for woodfire but am already making a sister piece that will probably be fired with layers of underglazes high fired so they scinter a bit.

Warm Studios

2008-11-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

With the weather cooling off even more, I thank the builder of our home for putting in steam radiator heat 50+ years ago. My studio is in the basement and even though the thermostat turns down the heat, the pipes keep it a pretty nice temp most of the day.

I've been listening to "DUNE" on tape this week... Sandworm pots?!?

Here's another porcelain vase with a jaunty jig figure. A little taller so maybe it will get even more ash as it flows over the stream of pottery.

Back in the Saddle

2008-11-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

After the Fall Festival hubbub, wrap-up work and post event vacation, I'm finally back in my basement studio slinging clay. I'm working on a sculpture for the Corvallis Arts Center's Chocolate Fantasy Auction, and making pots for salt and wood firing. Feels good.

This Mt Hood Porcelain vase turned out pretty nice: chubby fullness, off kilter pose. The flames should lick around it nicely. Still just greenware 10" tall-NFS.

Speaking of vacations...In October we spent some time eating and drinking our way through the South of France, and with a little over 24-hours in Paris, also visited the wonderful Nikki de Staint Phalle fountain again. What a delight. The engineering to keep it going is mind boggling. Stravinsky Fountain:

Fall Festival Week

2008-09-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

The gallery view of "Dream Tree". Yes, resting on my laurels another week because this is the week all heck breaks lose with orchestrating the Corvallis Fall Festival -- my day job in arts administration. The 36th annual this year and it's hard to turn off my brain with all the details to deal with.

Most of the time artists are my best friends, comrades and mentors. This week they are a royal pain in the patooey as they cancel our show, call with myriads of questions that should've been asked weeks before or whine... It's all part of life, though, as we are all getting older with aging bodies and parents who are failing and brains that don't always remember as well as they should. So really, I'm not complaining because sooner or later the shoe will be on the other foot and I'll be that whining, forgetful artist.

Here's hoping to get back in the studio soon.

August Musings

2008-08-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks... My arts admin job has beat out my studio time by a mile. Did manage to squeeze in time to work on this collaboration with Jerri Bartholomew that we'll be showing at Art in the Pearl over the Labor Day weekend. "Dream Tree" is our first experiment together. It may take a few of these to get the hang of it.

Week Nine

2008-07-08T16:57:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we're asked to be philanthropic and sometimes it's fun--sometimes. "Tro-PIG-al Postcard" is my submission for the Old Mill Center's "Skinny Pig Out" fundraising auction. Skinny was a dear friend from the school and so I couldn't say no... Been awhile since I picked up paint brushes and this had some definitely "less than pretty" moments.

Week Eight

2008-06-13T13:13:00.001-07:00

Oh dear, it's been a bit of a hiatus from the blog.

I'm getting into the studio, but nothing is getting close to completion yet. A glaze firing is still quite a ways off.

This vessel is part of a long line of "student homage" pieces. After being an instructor at the Benton Center for almost 20 years, student styles creep into the way one thinks. There is a little of Anthony in this piece, for sure.

Greenware vase, potentially a salt or woodfire piece - NFS

Week Seven

2008-05-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

My little corner of the Exhibition "Half-a-Million Pots" at the Corvallis Arts Center. Jay Widmer invited Cheryl Crownover and me to show work in celebration of his 30 years of teaching at the Benton Center of LBCC. The pots I fired with him back in March were made for this show and here is a nice grouping of them all together. The two pieces in front are "Two Old Paints" - Stoneware sculpture - $900. Can you pick out the one stunning Crownover piece amongst this grouping?

Gallery shows with pedestals and nice lighting make any pot look like a keeper.

Week Six

2008-05-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

This is a good example of how the woodfiring flames and ash can decorate a piece better than I could have imagined. The form is a simple one, with just a slight attitude. The shadowing of the ash on both sides with the bold outline marks accentuate its pose. This was my gallery piece at Showcase because it turned out my favorite from the last firing.
Tall stoneware vase - NFS.

Week Five

2008-05-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

This vase came out of the last firing getting ready for the pottery show in Portland. The handle got squished funny while I was rolling it out, and I decided to attach it as it was. It's funny how a small modification can spice up an old standard form.
About 12" tall - $55

Week Four

2008-04-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

This woodfired vessel was used in the Ikebana Display at last weekend's pottery show. A Sogetsu artist finished it with this lovely simple arrangement. It doesn't take a lot of expensive flowers--just a good eye with the right floral materials.
This piece is about 22" long - $175.

Below is one of my "Split Vases" with an arrangement and an example of how they look without flowers. I enjoy making these odd vessels that need to be finished with flowers. It's interactive and gives me great joy to see how they are used. Beginning arrangers shouldn't be afraid of them because they make arranging fun.
14" tall - $175.

Week Three

2008-04-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've got a show coming up at the Convention Center in Portland (26th Annual Ceramic Showcase with 200 other potters-April 25-27, 2008) and at The Arts Center, Corvallis, (April 23-May 20) but unfortunately this lovely little pot won't be amongst the wares. A slight hairline crack that didn't go all the way through, opened up in the firing even with a good sealer glaze inside. I liked this piece too much to not fire it, but knew better. I just have to use a liner so I can enjoy it at home, or yet another "garden pot". I seem to make a lot of those.
NFS porcelain pot.

More Brown Pots

2008-04-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

This pot should've come out lighter with warm waves of orange colors. Instead, I'm learning to appreciate how the flames licked around the sides and left hot ash deposits with just a hint of fumed redish orange undulating in the center.

Why do we love these little brown pots so? Because of the toil, vapor, ash and heat that put each and every mark there. The flame keeps informing us just what shaped pots we should make. And so we make rounder shoulders and fatter bellies or use different clay bodies and stack our wares just so to get the ash to paint beautifully on our works. Of course there are disappointments, but sometimes a few months down the road even those pieces tell us something about what to make next.
"Oval Vase" - $200.

Week Two

2008-04-07T16:39:00.001-07:00

While March was leaving like a cold snowing, hailing, wet lion, a group of us were also trying to woodfire in the Oregon Coast Range at Jay Widmer's Anagama kiln (jaywidmer.com). This includes stoking a large fire breathing dragon for two days, eating mass quantities of wonderful potluck food, and being immersed in a group process that yields lasting bonds and a few wonderful pots. On Friday we unloaded to sights like this.

Woodfiring is humbling. Pots that seemed perfect for the firing come out showing every flaw, that the liner glaze was a mistake, and that it really should've been made from a different clay altogether. Then a piece that almost didn't get put in because I wasn't quite sure whether or not it "was worthy" comes out being one of the gems.

I will never be the perfectionist potter that I wish I could be and woodfiring continues to point that out to me with a big "Nyah, nyah." But it also encourages me to let go of that notion as being silly in the first place because in woodfiring there is no control.

Below is Week Two vase after she was cleaned up a bit.
"Vase with Stripes" - 8"x8" $195

Week One

2008-03-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

So Trophy Wife isn't a vase, per se. It is one of my breakthrough sculptures from a few years back, made after several show rejections, and with an exhibit at the Northwest Craft Center looming in the distance. It is made from highfire stoneware with porcelain inlay and a 23k gold leafed addition. About 26" tall. $950.

It could be a great centerpiece for a big dinner party, if one throws big gala affairs with lavish spreads of food. A friend hosts a Dinner Party Show at her gallery, The Blue Dome, and has used my torsos as vases. (www.bluedomegallery.com).
Ahh to have received the hostess gene.

Vase of the Week

2008-03-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Blame it on spring cleaning or possibly a wish to join everyone else in the 21st Century.

For a long time I've had a dream that more people will see and appreciate the unusual vessels I create. If a few people like them enough to purchase them from me, I'll be able to be even more daring and make more.

Here we go...