Monthly Archives: May 2009

planters in progress.

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everything is done.  as soon as they dry they go in the bisque (after a little clean up with the green scrubby).  i’m using highwater’s low fire white clay, which has a really nice putty white color when bisqued, no pink hue at all.  i’m actually going to bring the raw clay up to cone 1 so the body is a little tighter and then place the soil and succulents right in.  i’ve always been in love with the raw bisque color of this earthenware, so i’m excited to make some work where it gets to shine.

here’ s a little sneak peak at the planters, check back to see them with the plants inside…..

pile of planters

pile of planters

slidey spikes

slidey spikes

sansai planter

sansai planter

pots 004

special thanks to my mom and dad for providing the plants for these pots and to mom for separating out and rooting the baby plants for me.

hello weekend.

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first saturday a.i.r. day.  artists in residence are required to put in 1 work day per week and my day is now saturday.  everyday is different, depending on the flow of the week.  i thought i had a pretty busy day before (tuesday) but today was rough!  after cleaning toliets, dumping overflowing garbage, setting up a classroom area and loading two kilns we tore down a clay pit/structure?? made from cinder blocks and full of peter king clay.  here’s a “sculpture” i built with the blocks and the pile next to it is the clay we hauled over.  everything was heavy.  jr, the regular saturday guy was leaving me in the dust when it came to to shoveling clay but whatever, we got everything done and cleared up.

cinder block pyramid

cinder block pyramid

summer time in the studio.

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our a.i.r. studios are burning up about now.  st. pete clay is housed in a big red brick train station from the 1920’s.  up front where the member studios, retail galleries and highwater clay are housed is air conditioned but walking back through the building, once you hit the kiln room, it’s nothing but toasty. i spent most of the day at the studio today but after an hour or so i had to run out for beverages.  using my sweet rolling sculpture stands i moved everything up front.  when sabo left to go back to alaska his space transitioned into a small work area for classes or overheated a.i.r.s so that’s where i set up.  went and got some vitamin water and um, regular water and got back to work.

it was great to spend the whole day working in the studio.  right now is kind of a transitional time.  during this residency i have worked really hard to “be around” as much as possible and not take this time or space for granted.  i had a really good job situation, working part time with benefits at my main job and part time at creative clay but recently, due to the crazy economy, i had to go full time to keep my benifits.  not that i’m complaining.  i am definitely thankful that there was a position for me to transition into.  now i have the task ahead of me to continue to be around and continue learning with less time.  i know this summer will be tough, and i’ll struggle to keep my nose to the grindstone.  so far though, being at work more has made me feel more motivated to get into the studio in the time i do have.

i’m preparing for my end of residency show.  it’s not officially scheduled yet but will be in early fall, september or so.  hard to believe i’ve been at this 9 monthes.  i have learned so much, made a lot of work and done a few shows.  by the time i put that solo show up, fill up a whole gallery with shit i made, i think i will be pretty satisfied with my experience.

i’m also putting together some little guys for the annual flower and garden sale next next weekend.  my  parents are obsessed with gardening so they separated out some baby succulent plants for me to make some pots for.  i’m not much of a vessel maker but hopefully they’ll be sweet.

drawing for new sculptures

drawing for new sculptures

first one

first one

succulent planters-before:

085

stay tuned for the after….

best thing ever.

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mixed up some glazes today for one of the clay co’s owners.  i haven’t mixed up a big batch like that in awhile.  my roommate helped me out which was great because it would have taken hours longer.

best thing ever is seiving the mixture.  especially when there are little chunks of dry material.  you start out with this lumpy mess, especially if you didn’t premix your bentonite, and then everything gets all creamy and homogenous.