We’ve had an unusually long Spring this year and it’s been especially beautiful. The building energy of the past few months has resulted in extra rain, the biggest snow pack in 70 years and super blooms up and down the state! I’ve also been building like mad and preparing for the upcoming sunny time of the year. There are so many pieces ready for glazing, some made with black clay or white clay and a lot made of brown. I can’t wait to see them with my new glaze combos! We’ll be hosting one our funnest[…]
Limits and Repetition, Creativity and Refinement
Studies have shown that we perform better and feel happier with some limits. Absolute freedom means having to make choices constantly and this is stressful! Routines offer a kind of freedom from that stress. At the same time, things can get boring without some challenges and new ideas. I’ve noticed that a few self imposed limits during the idea stage can make me more creative. I think more about what I’m making and how to go about it instead of falling into safety and boredom. When I sit down to throw mugs, it’s easy to default[…]
Almost There…
Well, I don’t have a whole newsletter’s worth of information for you this month. But like every part of ceramics, I have a work in progress. As you know, I’ve been teaching a glaze class along with my regular ceramics class this session. Everyone’s been exploring combinations of glazes, additions before and after glazing, layering with resist, selectively removing glaze and a lot of things I never thought about trying. Well, we’re almost finished and it’s going to be epic! I’m working to compile everything into a massive periodic table of my glazes – twenty seven[…]
Who knew it would be fun?
For the first time in a few years, I’m teaching a class only about glaze and surface. And much to my surprise, it’s sooo fun!! I was a bit daunted by the prep required and truthfully, I’m still working on things. But to my delight, help has come. My student and spreadsheet master-Barbara-is keeping me organized and giving me the student perspective. Many thanks!! I realize that many students find glazing stressful and confusing. So much of the vision is imaginary. The colors and finishes are not even close to what you’re seeing in the buckets[…]
New Year, New Classes!
Happy New Year everyone! We started this year with a very loud bang and something that sounded like lightening striking the transformer across the street! It wasn’t lightening, only a casualty of the atmospheric river passing through our neck of the woods. The top of a near-by Redwood tree broke off in the high winds and fell on the main electric wires across the street. Luckily it landed in those wires or I think it would have smashed our neighbors roof!It did leave downed wires in the street, a 24 hour power outage and a very[…]
It’s All Just Around the Corner
It’s that time of year when we all get a bit frantic with planning, shopping and more planning to try and coordinate everything with everybody.Well, things are no different around here! We have our Open Air Open Studio sale and then the Fairfax Craft Faire lined up back to back.I’ve been building and glazing like a crazy elf, but this girl can only fire her kiln twice a week! If you’d like an early start to your shopping plans and first choice of all our new work, stop by this weekend and enjoy a little calm[…]
Taking and Giving
It’s November, Thanksgiving is coming soon and it’s the time of year when our thoughts often turn to gratitude. There are many things for which I’m grateful and chief among them is this earth.We humans ask a lot and take a lot, and this earth keeps giving up what we need. As a ceramicist, I take my materials directly from the earth—clay, glazing minerals and even fuel to burn it all up and transform it into something beautiful. The things I make might last a thousand years but they will eventually break and erode back to[…]
A Day in my Ceramic Life
There are many hats you have to wear when you’re living the artist’s life and like any job, there are many parts to it. I often make a list to help me keep on top of what needs doing and how soon. As I was making the one for this week, I decided to make one of everything that goes into running my ceramics life. Wow! It was longer than I expected! When you tell people you make ceramics for a living, that is exactly what they imagine–making ceramics. They also briefly imagine that it might[…]