change is good, right?

I feel a seachange coming over my work. I have been wanting to change my work for awhile now, but wasn't real clear on where I wanted to take it. I've felt a little stagnant lately. And knew it was time for a growth spurt. I just didn't know how.

So I made this flower brick:


I LOVED spending more time on this piece. I was able to be deliberate and thoughtful in the design. And I realized that I miss that aspect of pottery. I'm sometimes too focused on production and speed, that I lose the joy of working in clay.

And I saw a good show at Mudfire, that included Diana Fayt, Whitney Smith and Christa Assad. I've admired the work of these women for some time now. And seeing the work in person is a real treat. It was inspiring. It made me want to make pottery that reflects something more. Something different. So I made these:


After seeing these beautiful cake stands via Jen Mecca's blog. I knew I had to step it up a notch. So I made these:


I feel like I have gotten onto a different path. And I'm enjoying that. We'll see where this road takes me.

just hanging out.

(I didn't make the ceramic cupcakes. Those are made by my friend Heather. artreverie.etsy.com)

I've become obsessed with the cake stands. I can handle the smaller sizes but still run into issues with the larger (over 10") ones.

They don't even look like my pottery. I'm not really connected to them. I mean, they are lovely and all. But just not my aesthetic.

It really is just an ongoing technical exercise, I guess. I have some ideas on how incorporate them into my style, but haven't wanted to make it more "personal" until I have worked out the technical issues a little more.

nothing to see here.

Just a lovely handled serving platter. The pot in the previous post didn't make it out of the glaze firing. But I still liked it. Flaws and all. However, it is heavier than I like. Will have to do a better job of trimming the foot on the next attempt.

You know what fact runs in circles around my head? This one:
Ford's Model T (the first car, in 1908) got 20-25 MPG.
Mind-boggling. Thanks Big Oil!

whatever.

So I was all excited about these oval bowls that I made today. Totally loving them. Enjoying the beautifully trimmed foot and the oval/warped rim. With the snazzy handles. However, as I'm looking at these pictures, I'm thinking "what the hell?" I was all excited to share them with you guys and see what you thought. Now, I'm a little embarrassed.

But I haven't posted in my blog for awhile, so I put them up anyway. Maybe they are just one of those pots that look better in person. And maybe I will love them again when I go back to the studio tomorrow.

Glaze yumminess.

I'm just having fun trying out some new glaze combos. Love how these glazes bleed together. And a sweet birdie stamp.

Went to American Craft Council show last weekend. I didn't buy anything, but I really wanted to! I think it was the best ACC show I've attended. Seems like they had lots of new artists. Lots of beautiful ceramics. Got some new ideas floating around in my head. Really intrigued by the idea of assemblage and introducing more metal. I've done a few pieces that incorporated metal, and need to revisit that idea.

where are you inspiration??!!

Ugh. I hate this. But I seem to run in cycles. 2 weeks productive inspiration. 3-4 days of forced work... Luckily it usually runs alongside of my firing schedule. So when I'm not feeling inspired, I have a load of bisque to glaze and then photograph and edit. Which eats up a couple of days. Take a day off to "clean the apartment" and then I'm ready to head back in.

But its been almost a week. I just don't want to make anything.

So I have been re-reading my favorite pottery books, British Studio Ceramics in the 20th Century, by Paul Rice and Christopher Gowing (on amazon.) I was going to post pictures, but realized that would be an infringement of copyright. I will post just one picture of the cover:

It is a great book. With wonderful biographies of lots of potters. Really a nice way to pass a couple of evenings.

I was lucky to be introduced to the work of Lucie Rie early in my pottery instruction. And feel blessed to have seen her work in person at the Metropolitan. You can clearly see her inspiration in my early work. I used to make bottles all the time. I don't think I've made forms like this in 5 years.


(I took some photos of a few old pots and put them on my flickr, if interested.)

learning hurts my brain.

I've been working with lino-prints and clay. Lots of fun, but I'm having trouble getting the results I'm looking for consistently. I was using semi-dried underglaze as the "ink" and using a brayer for application. But getting the underglaze to the right consistency was difficult and then it would only last a couple of passes.

Shawna, of Pinkkiss, suggested oxides plus linseed oil. Which I tried today. Fabulous!!! Really beautiful and clean prints. But it limits my palette to just oxides. I want color and lots of color choices.

So I tried the linseed with mason/spectrum stains. Didn't work nearly as well as the oxides. When I came home from the studio I looked up the msds sheets for the stains, figuring they must contain some sort of filler that doesn't work well with the oil. Turns out, they contain silica. I'm guessing that is what is changing the results.

Maybe a water-based gel medium will work better. I don't know, but I'm willing to try! If anyone has any suggestions, I'm listening.