New Books

These are the ceramics books I got this Christmas:
From Mud to Music, about ceramic musical instruments.  From flipping through the pages, I can already tell that it has the luscious photos and informative descriptions I was hoping for.  It reignites my interest in Xun, which I found during my trip to Taiwan in July.

Paperclay by Rosette Gault, which I will probably read through and then put aside until I have the time to devote to exploring this alteration to the ceramic medium.  Is it possible to slipcast with paperclay?

And last but not least, the Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook.  I have found that I need more than the book I already own, The Essential Guide to Mold Making and Slip Casting, which is a great introduction to plaster mold making but which doesn't quite answer all of my questions.  The Prop Builder's book supposedly has a lot of information on casting not only plaster but also other materials, so I hope coming at the process from another angle will help me design and build the molds I have in mind.

Disappearing in Similarity

Whenever I see everyone doing the same thing, I withdraw emotionally and turn into an observer. 

For example: This weekend the Northeast, and especially the DC area where I live, got a huge snowstorm that blanketed the region with well over a foot of snow and closed roads, businesses, airports, etc.  This precipitated (no pun intended... well, yes it was!) the expected blog posts and facebook updates about the snow, how much people got at their house, how it interrupted all their plans, staying inside and warm and drinking hot cocoa... you get the idea.  Since I was also seized with the impulse to let everyone know how magical I thought the snow was, I understand why these posts are everywhere.  However, when I got online to write my own comments, the sameness of everyone's experience stopped me cold.  I realized that my banal comments offered nothing new, and signed off in dissatisfaction.

I realized this morning why this was happening in my head: I wasn't sharing anything personal.  Everyone can write that the snow was beautiful, or that their dog wouldn't go outside until they stamped out a path.  People who stand out share themselves rather than just what they are doing or seeing.  They share a moment in time and what it means to them.  Or they delve into their particular emotions or thoughts, their own personal way of dealing with an issue.  The rest of us disappear into the weave of our common cloth because we try to sum up our whole lives.  And the truth is that by and large, we are all the same. It is only in the details, the tiny thoughts and reactions and desires, that we differ in fascinating complexity.

Please note that I am not devaluing all those posts that I read.  I enjoy reading them.  They are comforting and entertaining.  It is my own reaction I found interesting.  I--just like everyone else-- want to be unique.  And I am, in my own small ways.  But it is harder emotionally as well as more time-consuming to share the small thoughts and impressions and experiences.  I hate the idea of people I know reading my posts and reacting in a way I can't control.  So I have only written status updates, and have deleted any comments that leave me feeling exposed.

These thoughts have led me to what will probably be a New Year's resolution: Put more of myself into my work.  This will mean taking the time to be thoughtful and thorough, as well as being courageous enough to share my emotions and perspectives.  To stop disappearing in my similarities to others, and start illuminating the treasures in my heart and head.

"Shaping Sound" by Cameron Petke

I had the opportunity to visit the MFA show of Cameron Petke, a fellow Hood Ceramics Program participant. His opening reception and thesis talk was on the same night as the Curious Creatures reception, so I wasn't able to attend. With the gallery empty of people, however, I was able to take in the art quietly and I actually prefer that to a room full of chatter. His polished porcelain bells give a long clear tone when tapped by the mallets he set around the gallery, so I went around the whole gallery and rung all of the bells in turn. Beautiful!

Since I missed Cam's talk, I appreciated that he set out his artist statement and short explanations of his thesis goal, process, and results. Cameron's website says "The ringing of a bell clears the mind, signals the time for tranquil thought and contemplation, and reminds us of the transitory nature of life (as it rings, rises, and fades). Throughout the history of humankind, bells have marked beginnings and endings, times of war and peace, and for me they have become symbols of things lost and periods of self-discovery."

You can see more pictures and read about Cameron's work at his website for Baked Clay Studio.

Panels to the Rescue

The wire-mesh panels I bought in August for Artsfest were very useful once again. I am lucky enough to have a mother willing and able to sew me some panel covers, and the panels provide a good professional background for our work. Just imagine if our art was trying to compete with the brick wall behind them!

We also brought in our own shelving units and plinths (pedestals) for our display. Most galleries are set up for paintings and photography, so we came prepared with everything we need to set a ceramic sculpture show.

Thursday at the Gallery

It was very nice to have a couple of days away from the gallery, but we are back in Frederick for one last weekend! The picture shows some of the built-in shelves in the gallery, which we filled with lower-priced lovelies like flying pigs or stoneware coaster sets.

Weekdays are generally slow, so today Callie and I will be taking some clay and making small items in the gallery. I haven't had my hands in wet clay for weeks--I had to cut myself off and glaze all the work I'd created, but I really love the wet clay work the best.

Snowy Reception Night

For those of you who don't live in Maryland, snow in early December is pretty rare. So Callie and I were shocked to see big fat beautiful snowflakes falling yesterday morning. The snow continued all day, and unfortunately caused most people to stay at home.

It was lovely inside and outside the gallery, though, and a bunch of people braved the weather to come see our show. We had a great time meeting new people and greeting old friends, and sold a fair amount.


We felt like sponges, soaking up the nice comments people made and storing them up for the months of creating ahead. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Setting the Show!

Callie and I have been working hard the last two days, setting the Curious Creatures show. My sister helped us out so much that we have given her the title Most Valuable Minion, a coveted position. And one that came with a free T-shirt this time!

The gallery looks wonderful. We have two rooms two work with, looking out on the main street. One room is set in a way we think of as "gallery-style", with white plinths supporting a few carefully chosen works. The other room has shelving and our wall panels and has more of a shop feel, with spaces for holiday ornaments, gift items, and lots of smaller sculptures and wall pieces.

Here is a picture of my Woodland Imps. Pictures of the gallery will come tomorrow!

Gaining Experience Is Not Always Fun

The show is now less than a week away! I have had a few disappointments with finishing work lately:

*In the pit fire I finally managed to run, my best sculpture (an expensive one too!) cracked. A lot. Unsalable. On the plus side, now I can go crazy and experiment with it!

*My favorite glaze, one I developed myself, crawled in a ridiculously unattractive way. It hasn't done this before... I will have to figure out what is wrong with it because I love it.

*I managed to glaze several pieces with a satin clear glaze rather than a clear crackle glaze. They looked awful... but hopefully some can be fixed by refiring with the crackle glaze. We will see.

*I have certain heron and swan tiles that I have not been able to find a knockout glaze for. My continuing experiments have failed to produce something stunning... should I keep searching or stop making those tiles?

But enough with the list of failures! They are just a few more steps in my path to awesomeness. I can't get better without being willing to take chances. I have plenty of great pieces for the show and now I get to start photographing them all!

Rain Again

Pit firing will have to wait another day, or probably two since tomorrow is Thanksgiving. But this little fella was outside my back door, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of his charming antenna.

Can we have some sun on Friday? I have to set up for the show next Wednesday (one week!) and I have two pit firings I need to do before then... and two glaze firings, and another overglaze firing. An overglaze firing is humming along as I type. Wish me luck!

Foiled By Mother Nature

As I bustled out the door this morning with my collection of sculptures, ready to pack them into the metal trash can with my newly captured wood chips and light them on fire, I was confronted with a dreary wall of rain.

Sighing, I set the sculptures aside for a sunnier day, and I am moving on to the long list of other tasks to get ready for the show. I will leave you with a snapshot of one of the sharks that came out of my last pit fire. There is a hole in the back for a candle to be inserted, and the flickering of the light through the shark's mouth is lovely.

Results At Last

The Dragon Wreath I talked about here is finished! Amazingly, it made it through both firings-- I had been worried because the slip casting was difficult to remove from the mold, I had to repair some tearing, and because of all the applied scales and horns. But here it is, ready to breathe fire on someone's wall!

There is one more Dragon Wreath to complete for the show. I will be finishing it in a similar manner, though I am trying a glaze combination I tested during the last firing that will give the fire some orange highlights. I have definitely learned my lesson with testing glaze combinations before using them on finished work, and try to include a few tests with every firing.

On the Hunt

My regular computer has died, and I haven't installed the camera software on this one yet, so no pictures today. Fortunately Ray was able to get me back into the computer through a bootable Ubuntu Linux cd (don't ask me what that means) so I could get my files off. I am getting a backup external hard drive for the future so that I am never at the mercy of a Blue Screen of Death again.

Yesterday I used up all my wood shavings in a pit fire, which went decently. Three sculptures turned out good, one turned out okay, and the one that ended up unimpressively is uncracked, so I'm going to throw it back in the bisque kiln to burn out the markings and re-pit-fire it.

Today I am on the hunt for more pit fire fuel. Through craigslist I found someone with wood chips (which I think will be better than shavings) they are trying to get rid of, so I'm packing the car with plastic bins and bags and a pitchfork and heading off to snag some.

Glaze Phase

The Curious Creatures show is happening in three weeks. Since the final week will be spent packing, moving everything up to the gallery including plinths, shelving, and wall display units, and setting the show... that leaves me only two weeks of clay work!

Which means I have to stop myself from making any more pieces and concentrate solely on glazing. I have not finished a single piece since my last show, but I have a TON of pieces waiting patiently for their glaze. What can I say, I love the making and modeling process far more than glaze application!

Pictured are four wall owls ready for the glaze kiln. They will be a beautiful rustic brown with lighter faces.

Favorite Breakfast

Mom mom (Ray's grandmother) got me vanilla bean scones from Starbucks and it made this morning fabulous! They are my favorite breakfast in the world, the perfect match for a cup of bold coffee. Fortunately Ray is not as enamored of them and I could have them all to myself :]

I borrowed the picture from the blog over at www.kingarthurflour.com, discovering that they made their own recipe for these mini-scones that look scrumptious. If I ever bake scones I'm going back there for that recipe.

A great start to a day in the studio!

Time for a Walk

Most days I eke out an hour to take my studio managers for a walk. It puts them in a much better mood, although it doesn't seem to make Bandit less underfoot.

The fall leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp but not too cold, and if I get to the wildlife area before about 3pm, there aren't too many hunters! The fields of soybeans are turning gold, but Freckles is looking for unwary deer.

Mini-Dragon Sighting

Bandit here.

My old eyes are not what they once were in the days of hunting chickens and groundhogs, but I have seen some strange creatures around my Aunt Vicki's studio lately.

I was crunching on a milkbone when I spotted this creature sniffing around. It looked like a mini dragon! It hid as soon as it realized I noticed it. I bet it was after my milkbone... it's a good thing I bury them outside!

Hollowing Sculptures

Sculpting solid clay is much more fun than any other method, in my opinion. I am working with Beth Cavener Strichter's technique I talked about a few posts ago. To begin, I modeled the solid clay sculpture (first picture).

After I let it dry a bit and stiffen up, I began cutting the sculpture into pieces and hollowing them out, one at a time. After I hollowed out each piece, I reattached it to the previously hollowed piece, blending the clay thoroughly (second picture). I had to be careful not to make the sections so big that I could not get my fingers or tools inside to blend the clay on the inside wall.

The last picture shows the bottom of the hollowed out sculpture. It appears thick but that's because I left some of the base of the sculpture so that the foot would be stronger. The sculpture's walls are about half as thick as the foot implies.

Next time I will probably let the sculpture stiffen more before hollowing, since I spent a lot of time reforming the clay after joining the sections together.

The Dragon Wreath

This holiday season, there will be a new wreath in town for your door! Some people may still opt for the traditional pine boughs, but for those who love big scaly fire-breathing fantasy creatures, there is the dragon wreath.

This piece I modeled out of solid clay and then cast a plaster mold for. After casting the basic piece, I applied individual hand-formed scales to the neck. When it is finished I will post the results!

Renewal

The last month has been a bit of a slump for me. I haven't felt like going into the studio, and none of the work I'd planned out excited me. Maybe I just needed a break because the ennui has finally lifted and I am happy to be back in the studio being productive!

I am also inspired to post more often because I was reminded that people are actually reading it-- thanks Lisa! When no one leaves comments I feel like I'm talking to a tree :P I have enabled anonymous comments (you don't need a blogger account) so say hello, my anonymous readers!

Pictured is a mini tile and magnet I made. I was playing around with an underglaze applicator. The odd bird (bottom right) wandered through my daydreams as I worked.

Struggle Series: a mix of old and new

As an identical twin, I grappled with a seemingly constant identity crisis while growing up. My sister and I strove to distinguish ourselves from each other, but encountered problems because we liked most of the same things. Plus we liked each other; we just hated how other people seemed to group us into one entity. Everyone likes to be noticed for their own specialness!

This concept was explored a little during my Graduate Certificate show at Hood College, but I was left feeling that not only had I barely scratched the surface, I could have done it so much better. My skill and techniques have now grown enough that I would like to tackle that concept again for a series that will be featured in my December show.

I plan on creating the sculptures by two methods: one is the East Asian wedged coil technique, and one is a method I learned from reading Beth Cavener Strichter's website: forming the sculpture out of solid clay, then cutting it up, carving it out, and reforming it as a hollow sculpture. I'll update on how that works out, and whether I have the patience for it!

What A Difference A Frame Makes!

This tile of two entangled seahorses is one of my favorite new designs. However, when the tiles were finished, they did not impress me. I really love the design but somehow the tiles were lacking.

Since I also work in mosaics, I cut an oval wood backing (with a jigsaw) with about an inch of extra space all around the tile, glued on the seahorse tile, and added a mosaic border with glass pebbles.

Two of the finished wall hangings (each one is different in color and frame) sold at Artsfest!

Lessons Learned

This weekend a dream of mine came true: I was in Artsfest at Annmarie Gardens in Solomons Island, MD!

I remember about four years ago when I took my then-boyfriend (now husband) to Artsfest and told him that one day I wanted to be an artist displaying there. And this weekend, that dream was finally realized :]

Overall, it was a great weekend: our booth display as well as our artwork got many many compliments, the weather was fantastic, and we sold some work. However, we did not sell anywhere near what we had hoped or expected. I take that as a learning experience, since it was our very first tent show.

Here are some lessons learned:

*Have a big awesome piece at the front of the booth. We put Callie's "Welcome Home" glutton on a plinth out front and it worked fabulously for drawing people in.

*Tent banners are worth their weight in gold. The banner and the big awesome piece drew people from across the corridor like bees to honey, and then they would be intrigued enough to wander inside.

*Wall pieces sell the best. Not a new concept but it was brought home this weekend, as 70% of our sales (and 90% of sales to people we did not know) were wall pieces.

*Artwork priced $15-49 sells the best. Only two items were sold above that price range to people we did not know.

*Bring directors chairs! We had two choices: sit in a lawn chair behind or next to our sales desk, or stand. We did both throughout the weekend, but a directors chair would be great next time.

*Bring an umbrella for the sun! The weather was GREAT--- for people who weren't stuck in one spot in the sun all day. I got a bit of a sunburn despite applying sunscreen fanatically :] An umbrella stand shading our sales booth and directors chairs would be perfect.

Those are the big lessons from the weekend. I will plan my next show with more wall pieces in the magic price range, and see if sales increase.

If you know any other important tips for art festivals, please let me know in the comments! I welcome all advice :]

Resigned to Reality

One of my sculptures is thick, and it hasn't been drying as quickly as I'd like. The final bisque before the show needs to run tomorrow in order for me to get everything glazed on time, and I've been trying to hurry along this nice sculpture. Finally, however, I realized that there is no way it is going to dry in time. I had to talk myself into realizing that the omission of this sculpture isn't going to make or break my September show, especially since it is a higher-priced artwork and this is an arts festival rather than a gallery setting. I would rather have this sculpture for the December show than risk it cracking and ruining all my hard work.

Some things you can't rush. I have been restraining myself from hurrying along my kilns because I almost ruined a beautiful piece once by opening the kiln too soon-- I actually witnessed the crack form along the surface, and although I put the lid back down as soon as I realized what was happening, the crack was already there. Luckily it was a mural I had planned to mosaic, so I worked it into the piece, but it reminded me of the costs of being impatient.

Preventing Castings From Warping

The best way to evenly dry tiles (pressed tiles too) and slip castings, I have found, is to let them dry from the moment they drop out of the mold on wire racks such as these. If the clay is the same thickness throughout the piece, they will not warp or crack due to uneven shrinkage, so you can let them dry in the open air. The only problem, however, is that the edges of the castings tend to slip over the wires and fall through, creating at the very least a texture from the wire digging into the soft clay and at the very worst, a serious warping issue.

I fixed this problem by cutting window screening (found at any home improvement store) to fit the shelf and laying that over the top. This way, when the castings fall onto the shelf, the edges are supported by the screen and there is no warping.

Slipcasting Issues

Every time I think I've got things figured out, I get a big wet slap in the face from a bucket of slip.

There is this one piece, the prize of my collection of self-made molds. It was the second mold I created (the first also turned out to be an exceptional piece but was small), the largest and the most ambitious. It creates a form that, fortunately or unfortunately, is worth the immense amount of trouble each casting creates.

I tried to engineer the mold (partly pictured the left) so that I could pour the slip in from the top and have it drain down the bottom, which would both prevent bubbles from forming in the bottom (well, top, since in the mold it is upside down) extremities of the piece, as well as allow a convenient way to drain the mold without having to tip it over. I set up small plastic tubes to control this exit flow and used clay to connect them to the mold openings.

I forgot, however, that the mold sucks water out of the slip, creating a nice thick layer which becomes the casting wall. That is what the mold is supposed to do, after all. So it created that nice thick layer... which blocked my little openings. When I unblocked the tubes, only a trickle came out.

Now I had a dilemma. I attempted to siphon the slip out of the mold, but it was too thick (and I kept sticking the mold wall with the siphon tube). I finally just moved the slip bucket to a likely spot where I hoped it would catch the gush, and carefully tipped the giant mold over.

Yes. It was a mess, even if it did mostly work. In fact, there has not been a single time (out of a grand total of five) I've cast this piece that it did not end with slip all over the floor and me. I have finally figured out how to close up the extremity openings mid-pour (so that I don't get those bubbles, and since the openings are already there), but that was a nice exercise in flood-prevention that I didn't need. However, I can't figure out for the life of me a better way to empty the mold.

Any advice?

Photo Setup

This is my photo "studio", finally set up in an unused bedroom /attic. Ignore the storage shelves! I decided against photo cubes such as the EZ Cube because I have a lot of different sized work. Most are less than 2 feet, but there is the occasional larger sculpture, so I decided I might as well go for the professional setup rather than scraping by with a less expensive stopgap.

So one project is completed, unless you remember that my camera died. Learning how to work the setup and the new camera (currently planning on borrowing until I can afford a decent camera) will happen next week. Callie and I need photos to create a postcard advertising our December show, so I need some good images by the end of next week.

I pit fired today in my large metal trash can, but the results are less than encouraging. This time it did smolder all the way down to the bottom (last time it kept petering out), but I did not get the black-and-white variety on the bottom two-thirds of the work. What I know about pit firing wouldn't fill up a thimble, so if you have any advice please comment or point me towards a good source for trash-can firings!

Back in the Studio

It has been a very busy week and a half since I got home! I am now living in the same house as my studio, and it is wonderful-- I spend 8-10 hours there working every day, while still having time to work out and cook dinner. A lot of work is being accomplished, which is good because I was starting to have little moments of panic when I contemplated all the projects I have to finish by the second week of September. The trip was amazing and I'd never pass up an opportunity like that, but it sure did eat into my show prep time!

My three big projects, not including any clay work, are:

* Building a spray booth and getting it installed in a room off my studio, along with venting the window and getting a fan to suck the glaze out of the air. The booth is built and caulked, awaiting polyurethane, and the other materials are purchased.

* Developing a set of earthenware glazes. I am currently stopped for a day or two because I realized I'd lost my mini-scale and needed to order a new one for oxide tests in the base glazes.

*Setting up a photography studio. I finally got the background and background support, the lighting set, and I put all of those together today. I also rigged a curtain setup to create and control the horizon line.

I am also learning how to pit fire (in a big metal trash can), making plaster molds for a few of my designs, casting and altering the designs I have already molded, testing and learning the commercial glazes I bought, working on a wall mural, and working on some Eastern Coil sculptures.

Today my camera, a Canon Powershot A610, which I love for its flip-out and rotatable screen (no bending down to look at the pictures!), died on me. Not completely-- but there seems to be some disconnect between the lens and the digital part... it refuses to show or take anything but all-black, but otherwise the screen works fine (it will show icons and previously taken pictures). It did this once before, but a shake and a prayer got it working again. This time... we'll see. If it doesn't come back to life, I will need to borrow or buy another camera, which means learning a new system since each camera is different and requires different tweaks. Sigh...

Kanazawa

At the end of our trip, my husband and I did break off from our friends to go visit one of Japan's ceramic areas for a day and night, a town called Kanazawa. Noted for its beautiful landscape garden Kenrokuen (with ancient twisted trees, lakes, and lovely greenery, it was Ray's favorite part of the town), it is also home to two styles of ceramics: Ohi ware and Kutani ware.

In short, Ohi ware is the textured, handmade style prized in the tea ceremonies. Kutani ware is bright 5-color overglaze designs on porcelain. A great website to describe these two styles is here, with specific sections for Ohi ware and Kutani ware.

Neither one of these styles is a favorite of mine, but I appreciated seeing the different styles and methods of creating the forms and glazes. We never made it to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art but we loved the woodwork, textile creations, lacquerware, ceramics, and more in the Museum of Traditional Products and Crafts.

We stayed in a traditional Japanese inn called a ryokan, with tatami mats and a futon mattress and paper-screen sliding doors on the closets to make it peaceful. The next day we went to Tokyo and stayed in a capsule hotel, where $30 will get you a coffin-sized cubby to sleep in and a shared bathroom. To the right is a picture of the row my cubby was in. It wasn't as claustrophobic as it sounds, and I actually got a good night of sleep in it before we flew home the next day!

Traveling in Taiwan and Japan

I am currently traveling (a couple days were for my husband's work, but we extended the return flights to spend 7-10 days each in Taiwan and Japan) and while I regret the days away from my studio, it has been extremely refreshing to be exposed to the new ideas and cultures that come from visiting other countries. This is the first time I have traveled to southeast Asia, and I am enjoying it immensely. Especially the food!

Pictured above is some detailing of a Confucian temple in Taiwan. I am now convinced (if I had any doubts) that ceramics is the career for me, because of my whole trip so far, the thing that grabbed me the most is something I found tucked away in this temple: a Xun.

A Xun is a ceramic musical instrument, the first I'd ever heard of, although that says more about my lack of education about these things than anything else. It is basically egg shaped and played by blowing across the top hole like a flute or a bottle, and controlling pitch with finger holes and air direction and strength. After hearing a recording of the haunting, melancholy wind sound, I was hooked.

After a little research, including this site, it continues to fascinate me. When I return this will probably be a little side project for me, to develop a Xun of my own.

Other ceramic highlights of the trip have been sparse, since we are not traveling alone and I can't drag my fellow travelers (none of them ceramists or artists) to good pottery/ceramic destinations. We tried to go to the Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics, but unfortunately it is closed for the entirety of my stay here in Japan!

Developing Ideas

These are some of the sculptures I've been working on recently. They are coil built, but as with much of my work, they could easily be slipcast and I think I'm headed that way. I am working on the solid forms now, so that the shape itself works, and then when I get them out of the mold I can play with the shapes of the openings. The one on the left came from another pot/sculpture I made years ago and have not finished (couldn't decide on glazing), so I decided to make another piece with an eel spine so that I could test glazing. The shark shape and the mouth seemed to fit, and then my sister observed that it would be interesting, while simpler, without the eel at all. For the slipcast forms I also plan to try out a technique I've been dying to use: water erosion. More on that when it happens.

New Experiments

This week I have begun my terra sig tests-- a 4-gallon bucket of deflocculated slip is currently settling and will be waiting for me to siphon off the top part tomorrow. I also will mix and fire some of my glaze tests in my quest to develop a good satin matte cone 06 glaze. I hate mixing and testing, but it is a necessary evil as I have a bunch of sculptures waiting for me to finish them and have yet to develop a suitable palette for my current work.

A big deadline in September is looming: my first art fair. So far stress has not kicked in because I had given myself plenty of time and planned out a good schedule for completing work (including my glaze and surface finish experimentation). However, my husband has just been given an opportunity to go on a business trip to Taiwan, and we decided to make a longer trip of it, explore Taiwan, and visit Japan at the same time. The bottom line for me is: three less weeks to finish my work for my show! Not that I'm complaining :] but I am beginning to panic!

Money Talk

They say never to mix friends with business, and I understand why. Money is a touchy subject and just the feeling that someone is taking advantage of you can destroy any good feeling between two people. However, going into business with a friend makes the "job" seem like fun-- the "job" being the business side of art: the marketing, the contracts, the purchasing, the organization and planning.

I am lucky enough to have a friend to do business with, who I actually met in my first graduate class at Hood College and who I did my Certificate show with last year. Our partnership seems to work well because she is great at social things and organization (delivering press packets, calling about information, remembering deadlines, etc) and I am good at creating posters, postcards, banners, etc.

Still, we have only recently begun talking frankly about money and the need to write out some rules about who contributes what. Both of us would rather have a friend than a business partner when it comes down to what's most important, so we are committed to keeping a good line of communication going about money and anything else that one of us might feel slighted over.

My question for any readers is: have you ever gone into business with a friend or group of friends (for a show, art fair, studio space, gallery, long term or short term), and how did it work out?

The Never-Ending Glaze Dilemma

I cast several pieces this week and took some time to look through ceramic art books (500 Bowls, 500 Animals in Clay, etc.) to tackle, once again, a question I have a hard time answering: how do I want to glaze my work?

Looking through the books, I came back to a conclusion I have reached before: I love satin finishes. Glossy glazes rub me the wrong way with their constant reflections of light, and rocky glazes don't suit my style, although I should probably look that way in the future. However, the perfect satin finish has often eluded me. I worked in cone 6 sculpture last year, and eventually developed a satin barium white glaze that satisfied me, but it has a couple of failings.

One: It's for stoneware, which I've decided to avoid for the time being (the prevailing reason is that I am now exploring non-functional work in an electric kiln and have no need for the extra strength or possible food-safety qualities of stoneware).

Two: Colors were limited to what I could achieve with oxides, and few of the non-white colors measured up to my hopes. Underglazes and mason stains mostly burned out, which was expected but disappointing.

Three (and by far the most important): I am not overly conscientious about safety when it comes to mixing and using glazes, and I've decided that if I'm going to continue this way (and I am), I can't be using hazardous glazes. Hence no barium glazes.

At any rate, since I am using earthenware, a whole new realm opens up to me: terra sigillata. I have experimented with it before, but somehow in my readings I failed to notice an integral quality of terra sig: it does not work above cone 02. The tiny clay particles begin to crinkle above that range, ruining its lovely satiny sheen. I was using it on cone 6 ware and becoming bitterly disappointed with its rough stony quality. I finally re-read my terra sig information and took note of the crucial temperature limit, and was forced to discard it for my stoneware work. An absolutely wonderful article on terra sig can be found here.

But I'm working with earthenware now! Therefore I plan to revisit terra sig for my new work, especially since I have gotten sticker shock while testing commercial satin glazes. Yikes! I will be developing a good satin white glaze (that can be colored with oxides and stains), and also some terra sig. Hopefully one of these routes will pan out.

Like Molasses on a Winter Day

That's about how fast I glaze my work, for one reason: I hate glazing! Coloring between the lines to get nice crisp color definition is as tedious as it is important for my work. I have a friend who works with cone 6 red stoneware, and she simply gives her work a red iron oxide stain to make them come out beautiful. Alas, I am partial to whites with hints of bright colors.

Yesterday my to-do list was a mile long, and as it turned out, overly ambitious. What I actually got done was: organize my glazes (I got a new Ikea shelving unit that I love, because my cheap bookcase was bowing under the weight of the glazes); make some tests of new low-fire Spectrum glazes I bought, with white underneath and overtop; glaze a dragon (this took 60% of the day); load the kiln; and finish up some small slab wall sculptures.

Sticking

Yesterday I poured a two-part plaster mold for one of my double-owl designs. When I went to separate the two sides after pouring the second one, it wouldn't come apart. I don't know if I was in more of a hurry than usual and didn't give the mold soap enough time to dry after the last layer, but they were stuck. Normally I can just pull them apart or pry them apart with a metal rib.

I did eventually get them apart, thankfully! It took me several screwdrivers and metal ribs, but I finally leveraged them apart without breaking the mold. My biggest problem was that the plaster kept crumbling and chipping when I was trying to pry it apart (I insert a screwdriver/butter knife/metal rib into the seam and pivot it to push up one side and break the seal), far more than usual. It must have been because of the way I mixed it, but the mixing had actually gone really well this time. My proportion of plaster to water was 10 lbs plaster to 6.6 lbs water. In the past I have mixed it thicker (more plaster) but this time I kept to the directions. I will have to see how the plaster performs in the slipcasting.

If any of you use plaster, what proportion of plaster to water do you use?

Reactions

I get so many different reactions to each of my types of work (I'm sure most artists get that, if their friends are honest!) that it's often hard for me to follow my own sense of aesthetics. As most people do, I love compliments and aim to please, but that becomes difficult when no one is around with my same exact sense of what is beautiful-- even my twin sister! My husband likes a more modern style of art with geometric shapes and bright colors, while I like flowing curves and hue subtleties, so his feedback--while always welcome and valid-- is often contrary to my own style.

Some comments come from the observer's personal idea of what they like, and some comments are good objective reactions to the line and form and color. I am getting better at ignoring the first type, since I need to make work I believe in rather than what I think will sell or what I hope other people will like.

However, I have found that almost anyone, no matter their personal style, can give insightful feedback as to form and whether something "works". My current problem is that I don't get enough regular in-depth feedback on my work since I rarely have visitors. I am able to bring my visions to life, but without the feedback I doubt I will improve as fast as I did when I could ask someone to take a look twice a week.

First Juried Show

Good news last week-- Callie and I got into our first juried show!

We will be at the 2009 Artsfest at Annmarie Gardens in Solomons Island, Maryland. I have been to this show several times in the past and dreamed that someday I would be among the artists rather than the guests. Callie and I applied together as a joint entry because we doubted that we would have enough work to support separate booths. Plus it's more fun with a friend!

This means, of course, that Callie and I have two shows this year! I need to get to work-- I need twice as much artwork as expected, and three months earlier than I thought!

Dogs in the Studio

Having someone in the studio with me usually helps me get more work done. Even if they are working on their own projects, their mere presence and industriousness inspires me to work harder. Or we can chat as we work, which Callie and I have been known to do for hours on end.

My studio in Huntingtown, however, comes with two inhabitants that aren't so helpful in getting work done. To the left is Bandit, who loves to be under my feet, or as close as he can get. He also has the uncanny ability to tell where I am going to want to walk next, and lays down in the exact spot that creates the maximum obstruction. But he's cute so he gets away with it!

To the right is Freckles, who prefers to sit at the top of the steps (my studio down a 3/4 flight of stairs from the rest of the house) and supervise from on high. This way she also gets petted whenever I go up or down the stairs.

I have to admit, the studio would be even lonelier without my companions! When I am stuck on a project, they take me for a walk in the wildlife area nearby. They keep me relatively clean, since I don't want them tracking too much clay, dust, and plaster all over the house. And while it is irritating at times to always be yelling "Bandit, MOVE!" when I have a heavy bag or sculpture in my arms, it is uplifting to be around two blissfully content creatures :]

Excursion

Walking in nature always bombards my brain with new ideas. I needed some inspiration for my new work, to think about textures and concepts, so I drove over to the George Washington Parkway and parked next to the Potomac river. It's one of those things I'm always intending to do, but somehow never have time for, so it was great to finally go do it. I walked around the Theodore Roosevelt Island, which is accessible only by a pedestrian bridge, and felt ideas sparking from the textures of the trees (from the bark, mushrooms, sworls in old bare wood, fallen logs, etc).

Next I walked south on the GW bike path that travels parallel to the GW parkway, right on the river, and found a pretty place to sketch. I wasn't sketching the view; I just wanted a beautiful place to relax in while I captured on paper (or tried to, anyway) all the ideas I'd been mulling over for my show. I could see the Washington Monument across the river, and I watched a kayaker take advantage of the beautiful day. I need to do this more often.

On Slip

I forgot how irritating slip that comes in bags is. So far, I have not had the time to devote to mixing slip from dry clay, and have resorted to simply buying slip in the type of clay I need (for pouring into the plaster molds). It comes in two-gallon bags that you then have to somehow transfer to another container. I always forget that it's not going to be perfectly mixed slip and assume that I can cut a hole in a corner of the bag and pour it into a funnel over a couple of gallon plastic jugs. Inevitably, like today, I end up with the slip all over the place because it's thicker than I expected and won't go smoothly through the funnel or even through the hole in the bag sometimes.

Purchased slip is too expensive for me to have to deal with that kind of trouble every time I get it. Therefore, I am going to mix my own slip from dry powdered clay from now on. Does anyone else do this, and if so do you have any comments about which clay you prefer, or tips on the mixing and pouring process?

Pouring Plaster Molds

During my last show, I realized that several of my pieces could be slipcast because they had no undercuts. Most of my work was created by the East Asian Wedged Coil technique, but it is a painstaking process that yields only one sculpture. This creates a problem for me because one of my weakest skills is glazing. I often find myself paralyzed with indecision about how to finish a sculpture, because a poor choice would mean ruining weeks or months of work.

For my graduate certificate show, I chose two coiled sculptures and slipcast them. Rather, I created a new solid model of each sculpture (and took the opportunity to improve it) and created a 2-part plaster mold of it. Then I slipcast each one about three times, and glazed each one differently. The freedom of being able to experiment was wonderful, and those pieces were some of the best in the show.

Recently I have been casting a couple tile designs, but it was only today that I summoned the energy to tackle more 2-part molds. The concept is simple, but I'd forgotten how involved the actual process was. At the end of the day I was exhausted but I had plaster molds for two of my smaller sculptures (the sculptures are about 10 inches high). I can't wait to start slipcasting them and experimenting with glazing!

How do you decide on glazing-- do you have a set of glazes you usually stick to, or do you try out different glazes for each new piece?

A Trip

A trip to New York City this weekend visiting friends surprised me: I envision myself as a country girl, or at least a suburban girl who loves wide open spaces and nature, and who dislikes the crush of people and buildings in a city. However, I loved NYC, or at least what I saw of it, which was mostly Brooklyn.

At any rate, I enjoyed how the city seemed to have grown organically, with buildings and areas built when needed and abandoned or re-invigorated over the years. The restaurants and businesses were mostly hole-in-the-wall types (especially the crowded or elite ones!), and the unique, eclectic mix of furniture and decor only added to the gritty charm. I am used to Alexandria, Bethesda, Bowie, and Calvert County, where things ought to match and chain restaurants are plunked down with pristine granite countertops. Spaciousness, cleanliness, and a Pier One-style decor are the goals.

I also loved how everyone in the City was doing something different. You could meet a dozen people all living and working in different situations. Microbusinesses (with less than 10 employees) abound, and artists or dreamers are understood. In the DC area, I feel out of place since almost everyone works for the government, government contractors, or some other large business.

Perhaps I am dazzled by my first real look at life in a city (rather than the tourist sights). I hope to go back up and explore a bit more, get into Manhattan and see how it is in that area. I wonder if DC is similar, but I doubt it. I never realized just how many people live in NYC all close together, and how that spurs creativity and energy. I also never realized why iPhone apps were popular until I took the subway!

Show Titles

Coming up with a show title can be difficult, especially if you are combining the work of two people. Callie and I came up with what we thought was the best title, one that fit our work perfectly, only to go home and get a variety of negative reactions to it from our spouses and housemates. After a few days of arguing and tossing different ideas back and forth with our peanut gallery, however, we settled on a title that is substantially better than our first draft. It reminded me that no matter how good we think we are, critiques are always useful.

What is this title? We picked "Curious Creatures: Encounters and Entanglements". We both create animal/gargoyle-ish sculptures that explore a variety of relationship issues, funny and serious and for Callie, sometimes both at once!

I am finding the design process difficult, perhaps because it's not in a school setting and so I'm torn between making money and making art for art's sake. I suppose finding that balance is the trouble of every artist. Also, the way I work involves a lot of design and set-up, so I won't get any finished pieces for some time. That often makes me feel behind. Having a show to work towards makes a big difference though!

A New Show, A New Direction

There is always a lull between challenging projects that are as worthwhile as they are exhausting. In the spring of 2008 I prepared for my graduate certificate show at Hood College, and it was a time of growth and experimentation. All that work culminated in an excellent show with more than 50% of the show selling, and I couldn't have been happier.

After the show, however, I had to put serious ceramic sculpture on hold and turn my efforts to a new project: my wedding (which took place last month!). I quickly learned that I had no interest nor talent in event planning of that style, but I managed to get through it with the help of a wonderful (future, at the time) mother-in-law. The wedding was more than I'd dreamed :] but I am ready to focus on ceramics again.

My friend from Hood College who held her show at the same time as mine, Callie Badorrek, has arranged for the two of us to have a show together again. This time we will share a theme as well as marketing materials, which will make everything more fun! We picked out a gallery space on Market Street in historic Frederick, Maryland, and booked it for the first two weekends of December 2009.

Let the preparation begin!