Student projects, and blogging is a pain in the butt

I'm really not so great at this whole daily blogging thing. It's all well and good to upload a few pics from my cell phone everyday. But to actually write something, something that is thought out and is something of quality... Well, maybe i'm just shooting a bit high. With Maddy around, a lot of my typing is one handed these days, and therefore fairly rushed. Or, its done on my iPhone, which is a royal pain to type at any length with. Oh well. This is still better than posting one or two sparse blog posts a month. I just miss the days of actually enjoying the writing part of blogging. I really do love to write, and if you look at my first several blog posts on this blog (look at this wordy crap!), they were insanely lengthy with no pics at all. One day, I'll find a balance. In the mean time, it's just nice to have a record of what's going on.

My teaching session is over, so I get a week off before the new one starts. I'm hoping to get the surfaces done on all the bottle forms I've thrown recently over the break. I think I have six in all.

Check out some of the member work from this session! I've got some very talented people in my classes.

Connie's dragon. 

Mike B's pineapple vase. I had no part in helping with this project - this was all Mike!

Shonda is making a series of 3 beavers. Pretty adorable, right?

The 12" challenge

Class challenge inspired by another pottery blog whose students set this challenge for themselves. I can't remember where I saw it, so if you're reading this and you just wrote a blog post about your students doing this, let me know so I can give you credit!

Turns out this challenge wasn't as easy as I thought! I threw one 12" bottle on Tuesday first try out of red clay, but it was pretty wobbly. Yesterday I used porcelain, and I've always struggled with getting much height from porcelain. My first try flopped, but I got it the second time around. Both the other students managed to succeed with at least 12 inches as well. Mike B has been throwing for years longer than I have, so he did the challenge quite nicely. It's humbling having students who are better throwers than I am! I'm looking forward to getting to that point where I've got 15 years experience under my belt.

Baby Foofaraw

My daughter is 10 months this week. Everyone always says "They grow up so fast," and I've always thought that was such a cliche thing to say. Of course they grow up fast, that's what kids do. Then you have one of your own, and you just can't stop thinking it to yourself. I feel silly every time I think it, but I can't seem to help myself. It seems like Maddy masters a new skill daily these days. This week, she discovered how to clap all on her own, out of the blue. Just a minute ago, she was a chubby little amorphous blob that made grunts and growly noises, and now she's learning how to walk. It's pretty amazing to watch.


Maddy at 2 months.


Maddy now.

I forgot to bring a camera or pull out my iphone, but I brought Maddy to class with me a couple weeks ago. She wanted to be right next to me most of the time, which made it difficult to do a throwing demo with her hanging on and wanting to touch every sharp object within reach (of course, she went right for the needle tool first.) But she put her hands on the clay as I was pulling out a flat disc for my citrus juicer demo, and the wet slip slid under her hands as the wheel turned, and she went "ooooooooh." She was totally mesmerized by how it looked and felt. It was adorable! I don't think it'll be long before I'm teaching this girl how to throw her own pots:D There are three year olds that can throw, right?

Stephen Wolochowicz

I'm installing the new show in the gallery at BGCW this week. I've seen images of Stephen's Inflation sculptures, but they are something else entirely to see in person. Very exciting to have his work in our gallery! He'll be doing a demo and slide lecture at the end of the show in March. I'm really looking forward to seeing his process, and hearing more about his inspiration for these pieces.

Stay tuned for more info on the upcoming show, closing reception, and Stephen's demo. I'll certainly be taking lots of pics.

My shiny new kiln

I got a new kiln last week, I'm so excited! I've been looking around for a smallish test kiln for ages, something just big enough for a few cups or for doing decals and lusters. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine from art school posted a status message about having a kiln for sale. I almost dismissed it, since I figured I really don't have much money right now. But I went ahead and asked about it, purely for curiosity's sake. Turns out it was exactly the size I've been looking for, and was within my means with a little creative budgeting. So exciting to have a kiln of my own again! While I know I have access to the studio kiln, it will be nice to be able to fire small things at home when I need to (like for those last minute deadlines I like to procrastinate on, heh.)

The nice thing about buying this kiln is that it not only helps me out, but buying it helped out a friend who was in serious need of some cash. I know he wasn't happy about having to sell his baby, but he was glad to know it was going to a friend. I even let him know I'd be happy to fire work for him anytime. I know what its like to not have a way to fire your stuff.

Haven't had a chance to fire it yet, but I'm hoping to get it going sometime this week, once I figure out where to put it, and where I can plug it in. I'll let you all know how it works out!

What's the haps in the studio?

This session at Beech Grove Clay Works is drawing to a close - this is the last week. It's been a fun session, and with the majority of my students being interested in wheel throwing, I've been really pushing myself to try wheel thrown forms that are out of my comfort zone. I've spent hours trawling the Internet for ideas, videos, and how-tos. Pinterest and YouTube have been invaluable resources,  (not to mention majorly addictive!), as well as Ceramic Arts Daily's archives. Most recently, I've demoed throwing a citrus juicer, tall bottle forms, and a combination chip and dip bowl and cake stand (the idea is it will flip over to function as both - haven't quite worked out the logistics of how I'll fire it, but it's an experiment!)

I've also been trying to do more handbuilding, which I'm really enjoying. I love the soft, pillowy effect you get from building with soft slabs! I think it's a direction I'd like to explore further. I shied away from handbuilding for the longest time, so it's been really liberating.

All in all, a very rewarding session. I love how teaching has made me stretch myself. I hope my enthusiasm shows in my classes! Definitely looking forward to the new session, and continueing to find new things to share with my students.

Criaturas

It's been two weeks since the opening of our three woman show at the Earth House. I've been meaning to blog about it ever since, but I never seemed to be able to get around to getting the pictures off my camera card and editing them all. It's hard to do anything computer related for any real length of time when you have a baby, and her crib is right next to the desk! Luckily, Maddy took some very long naps, and I finally got around to uploading them all.

If you missed the opening... well, it's hard to describe how awesome an event it was! More like a party than an art opening, which was fantastic. We really tried to structure it as a family friendly art event, since all three of us have kids. Vanessa has many years of experience dragging her kids to to First Friday art openings, and they always get whiny and bored after awhile. (I get whiny and bored at gallery openings too when they don't provide enough free booze, heh.)

So yeah, we kinda went all out on the kid theme, with cardboard cutout creatures for people to color, a piñata bash with three handmade piñatas by Monfreda, and these adorable monster cupcakes made by the very talented Ellen Nylen. I also hid little ceramic birds around Earth House for the kids to find and keep.

We also had DJ Kyle Long, whose music I'd never heard, but I kept hearing great things about him. Not only was he kind and friendly, but his music was killer! Our event turned into a latino dance party! Furniture was pushed out of the way, and people started salsa dancing in front of the stage. It was great! By the time the night was over, the floor was covered with glitter, candy, and bits of paper. (We stayed to help clean up. Earth House staff assured us they had a very good vacuum cleaner.)

Absolutely the best art event I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. The place was packed, and lots of people got to see our work. I had several people introduce themselves to tell me how much the like my stuff, which is always awesome. I even had a little girl make me an owl cutout as a present because she liked my stuff so much, and she was so happy to get to keep a bird.

If you missed it, and you want to check out the artwork, here are some pics of the event and the art. There are many more on my facebook page. If you're here in Indy, go see it in person! The show stays up thru the 31st.

Vanessa and I spend an afternoon drawing and cutting out creatures.

Beatriz Schlebecker's breathtaking papel picado banners. You should really see these in person to fully appreciate them.

Friducha!

My favorite little roboninja.

All my new mini jars.

Pigasus!

Vanessa's imaginary friends were everywhere, brightening up the rafters.

My sister-in-law Mariah, taking the killer swing.

Victory!

Mariah with her niece. Maddy got pretty dolled up for the event!

Ellen's killer cupcakes!

My owlet present. It's hanging in my studio now:)