Sketching

I got a dozen cups finished, trimmed and handled (I lost one to handle breakage, though. Oh well.) I threw 8 more last night, one of which flopped, and one which had a hole in the bottom that I didn't notice until after I put it on the drying board. I'm hoping to get trimming and some handles put on those today. I sketched a bit on 6 of the first 12, though I was kind of just playing around. I don't really know what I'm doing yet. I'm itching to make things, but I have so many ideas, and then I get into the studio and my mind just goes blank. I have a vague idea of the direction I want to go with my mugs, but so far I'm not quite there. Maybe I need to make 100 mugs to get it right?

I met up with my friend Danette at the Garfield Park Arts Center in the park near where I live. Danette is a ceramic artist as well (go check out her wonderful work - don't worry, I'll wait); we both graduated from Herron together. We have both resolved to sketch more often, so we met up to do a sketch kit scavenger hunt that the arts center was hosting. I brought Maddy, and she ingested a lot of crayon and paper, but we had a good time watching her run around while we sat in the grass and sketched things in the park.

We were supposed to draw something that moves, something our favorite color, something up high, and something that grows. Can you guess which is which?

We both talked about getting into studio and getting creative block, not knowing what to do once we're there. Hopefully sketching more often will get us back into making new art. For me, I think taking the time to sketch throughout the day as much as possible (whenever Maddy is running around outside, maybe?) or just getting in the habit of carrying my sketchbook with me at all times would really help me have more direction when I go into the studio at night.

A Spoon with a View

You may remember a while back (though probably not - who reads this thing, anyway) that I posted a link to Jeanette Zeis's spoon tutorial, and that I tried making some spoons of my own. Those spoons did not turn out well, but I made some more, and I just got them out of the kiln this past weekend. I must say, I'm pretty pleased with them.

 I did a little bowl, too. I did a couple, actually, but the other one cracked, unfortunately. Maybe I'll take a pic of it later, as the drawing is pretty awesome. At least I get to keep it now:)

Has anyone else tried making ceramic spoons? I'm dying to see more of them! I think this could become an obsession...

Ceramic ambitions

I have class with Rachel at the clay studio this evening. After nearly a week of not touching mud, I'm looking forward to it. I have two unpainted doll jar forms, a tile, and 10 greenware mugs waiting to be attended to, and I might get a little throwing in if there's time. I'd like to finish the most recent doll jar, the one with two faces, so that I can submit it for Clay Fest 2011 at U of I. Deadline is less than 2 weeks away! Ideally, I'd like to finish one more jar, and submit 3 pieces if I can.

Tomorrow is the art show at the studio as well. I can't wait to see more of the instructor's work! I've seen sneak peaks of new work by Cathy Schlebecker, and a couple of finished sculptures by Andrew Perry Davis and Rachel Bleil, and it all looks fantastic! I'm not just saying that either - I really love all of their work. Plus, I'm always excited to see artwork from instructors or professors of mine. I love being able to see their process and studio practices in finished form. I'm also feeling pretty honored that my peep sculpture with be on display alongside Rachel and Andrews at the show. I hope you stop by on First Friday, have a little wine and food, and check out the show. I'll be demoing on the wheel all night again, too!

Andrew Perry Davis

Catherine Schlebecker

Rachel Bleil

I have not been in the habit of sketching much lately, or keeping any kind of journal, which is a bit unusual for me. I used to journal obsessively, but I haven't written a thing in ages. I actually intended to keep one throughout my pregnancy, but I started off in such a funk, I just couldn't seem to make myself. This week I worked on finishing designs for Kentuckiana Pug Rescue's 2011 fundraiser t-shirt, which I worked out in my giant black sketchbook, and I realized that I've only got a few pages left in it. I started it in December of 2009 with the intent of drawing in it daily (anyone remember that ambition? I think I made it 3 months...) I think today I will go out and buy a new sketchbook and try again. If not daily, then at least making it a point to work out ideas on paper so that I don't forget them. I miss drawing and writing a lot, and I think the surface design work I've been doing recently shows it. I also think I'd like to try planning out my ceramic forms more, so that I have some vague goals for what I'd like to make when I sit down at the wheel. I'm not great at throwing exact shapes and forms I have in mind, but it's something I'd like to work towards.