Category Archives: life

be productive, b-e productive

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today was a great work day at the studio.  right now i’m obsessed with slump molds.  i’ve been using some i borrowed from b to make my wall pieces and had been meaning to pour my own for a month or so now and today i powered through three of each size.  i also rolled slabs for all the slump molds i already have (also did this yesterday) and now i have 7 slumped slabs ready to build wall pieces from.  friday night i got a few more wall pieces out of a bisque fire and my collection of bisqued wall pieces in growing.  i need to glaze these puppies and get them up on my etsy site asap (but trying to quiet the internal critic, it’ll get done).  once i get the photos done i can get them up on my retail shelf at the clay co and hopefully make some cash.

anyway, i also worked on a little birthday present project for my brother.  he requested a garlic shaped wall hanging with the words “garlic isn’t a spice, it’s a vegetable.” inscribed.  today i rolled out some luscious porcelain which i trimmed into a stylized head of garlic embellished with some simple lines.  i had intended to stamp the words (with stamps also borrowed from b right into the garlic but i stamped up some scraps to start blocking out the words and it looked so cute that i decided to stamp the phrase out on little slabs of clay which i attached separately to the garlic.

while this garlic isn’t cutting edge art but i have to say i really enjoyed getting a request and executing  it.  kitch is so satisfying!  sometimes it can feel so difficult to make what’s in your head come out of the clay.  it feels like doing some kind of math problem but there are no signs for multiply or subtract.  like j said one night when she was working on her coils and i was working on my belly buttons “you just have to roll them until they’re right.”  i think folks who are really successful have found a systematic way to extract their visions and that i’m still very green artistically, working intuitively but needing to move to the next step.  i’ve always had this fascination with idiot savants though so maybe that’s what i’m going for……

ideas for my next body of work are congealing and i think i will start posting pictures again soon.

p.s. just a note on new year’s resolutions i haven’t failed at:   today from about 4-6 pm i took a break to bike up the pinellas trail a bit with k.  we’ve been trying to go every week and it’s really delightful.  we’re doing 6-10 miles in a couple of hours, which isn’t too bad for beginners (of course there are a lot of hard core bikers on the trail, flying by us and i did get yelled at the first day for meandering over into the passing lane while chatting with k and m-“trail! trail! heh heh) and we’re improving!  and it feels great!  physical activity just can not be beat!

lazy lazy but thinking…

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this has been a month of gathering.  i’ve continued work on my wall pieces at a snail’s pace, but taken time a few evenings each week to flip through books and websites, researching for my next body of work.  i selected a few books from my shelf: college biology text, microscopic photography, louise bourgios exhibition catalogue as well as the global feminisms catologue and a contemporary art text, also from college.  i learned a few things.  almost every page of the global feminisms catalogue features figuritive art.  robert arneson was a pop artists working directly with clay in the 60’s.  jason briggs’ work is freaking amazing and i wish i could see him demonstrate.  i remembered how very attractive eva hesse’s forms and materials are.  reading the abc’s of louise bourgeios presents art about you familial obsessions as rather favorable, i mean, since i’m obsessed with it anyway.

i guess in a way family is biological.  the way we are tied to people genetically is disturbing and uncomfortable.  the way we are tied to people who do not share dna with us is biological as well.  maybe this is why the figure factors so prominently in feminist work, or, you know, art in general, because people are obsessed with other people, the way they shape up, nurture us (which could be a good thing or a bad thing), mess with us, etc.

it’s like you spend the first half of your life figuring out why things are the way they are and then the second half realizing that it doesn’t matter because you just have to play the hand your dealt regardless of why…

but i’m not sure where this leaves me.  there is a lot going on in my brain but it hasn’t puked itself out yet into images to be assembled.

a problem i had with the garden path was that it was too pretty.  working in such a rapid way allowed the process to become more important than the concept.  i’m not very prolific generally and maybe that’s why.  the process is important, it’s the fun and the flow of the peice but the process is not the point.  the process is a tool which allows the peice to make it’s point.

i could make a sign that says “the world is fucked up” or “i’ll vacuum my uterus if i want to” or “racists are so lame and boring” but that wouldn’t be very much fun would it?

new year, new life.

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today is 2009.  it’s been a long year.  i started the year in tokyo, with a long term romantic partner and a job at rbr art center and even though things seemed to be in place i wasn’t happy, one year later, here i am, working at a great job and creative clay, partnerless, in residence at st. pete clay and feeling pretty good.  (i don’t miss tokyo or rbr, but i certainly miss my former partner masa, who is the best person you could ever meet.  geography is a harsh factor sometimes)  but it just goes to show you that life isn’t perfect and pretty all the time, sometimes you have to give up something you like the best for things to move forward. 

finally, after of a week of turtle life i moved my stuff into the new place with the help of my brother.  i’ll be living with on of the girls from the studio in a big place (a couple of blocks away from the old).  we’ll each be on a different side of the house with the kitchen and living room in between and we even have our own bathrooms.  A LOT more space then my little garage apartment! 

speaking of turtles, this month i’ve been working at a turtle’s pace in the studio.  i’ve completed another set of wall hangings, but that’s about it.

so new year, new life and more time in the studio starting now with the help of my favorite christmas gift, the hand built sculpture stands from my brother.  he built three, sized so that they nest together when not in use.  (pictures coming soon).

and of course some obligatory new year’s resolutions:

1.  get my etsy shop up.

2.  start taking some yoga classes or JAZZERCISE!

3.  if it’s in st. pete, bike there ALWAYS and bike the pinellas trail.

happy new year and akemashite omedetou!

turtle life

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on christmas eve i moved everything out of my place.  i started the night before, packing up all my books, journals, sketch books, etc and wednesday morning i took them to the clay co to drop off (temporarily).  i could barely lift the big boxes since so much heavy stuff was packed in so i had to invent special methods to lift things into my car.   i was like a racoon with an oyster. 

yeah, i like a simile.

my awesome sister came and helped me pack up all the breakable stuff and load everything that was left into my van.  anyway, i’m moving to my new place tomorrow but the person taking over my old place needed to move in early.  so i’ve been a turtle all week.  good times!

handmade rules the world

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yesterday i spoke to my sister who spent the day the the bust magazine holiday craftacular.  jealous!  but i got my own taste of handmade movement goodness at the atomic holiday bazaar in sarasota.  i went to do some field research as well as to shop.  there were only two ceramic artists there, one potter with wild colorful glazes and a slip caster with parts of different molds assembled into fanciful creatures.  i saw a few people selling books (with other stationary items) and starting thinking how cool it would be to do a fair like this with m and her books. and i would love to bring my clay stuff next year.

my fan favorite (do i watch too much top chef?) was definitely jewelry maker opulent oddities.  her work was too good to pass up and i chucked my “browse and return” system to drop some cash at her booth.  i even had to run across the street to the atm for more because i needed to walk away with multiple pieces of her work.  i justified my purchases by focusing on the fact that i barely own anything these days.

knife-necklace

necklace with green charms, sphere, fist and pocket knife!

map-measure-necklace

necklace with map measurer pendant. (the other side is a compass so i knew it was meant to be!)

i also had the very pleasant surprise of seeing old friends megan (of flying heart jewelry) and don and family and another very old friend who i have not seen in nearly 15 years.

afterward we all went to liz’s and enjoyed cheesy delights and cocktails.

*sorry about the low quality pictures!  they’re from my cell phone, all i have at the moment.  working on it, hoping santa claus will bring me a camera for christmas…

here’s to staying on your path.

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compass

compass necklace

last february i visited the u.s. briefly, in an attempt to decide what my next move in life would be.  after being super broke for months and months i scraped up every last dime i could to get that ticket.  i knew i needed to get out of tokyo to figure out what i wanted to do.  i made plans to see friends one on one, to meet with old professors and art world friends and to stay with my sister in brooklyn for the first week i was in the states.  outside of whole foods in the city a women had a table of jewelry set up.  jackie said she’d bought something from her before and we went over to check it out.  renee, the artist, encouraged us to look all we liked, and to not worry about buying anything.  i don’t know if that was her tactic but i was sure that i wanted to support her work and also to own one of her necklaces.

after A LOT of decision making my sister and i bought each other compass necklaces, to help us find and stay on our paths.

i wore mine everyday until i left tokyo and i wear it nearly everyday now, to remind myself that everything i do today is building a bridge to what i will do tomorrow.

thanks sister.

after the longest week ever.

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seriously, last week was long.  i was bummed out to miss art basel in miami but life on the west coast of florida was busy enough.  at work we were being observed, at the studio we were preparing for the sale and i was preparing my own art work for the sale.  whoo, i was really running on low!

finally yesterday i had a bit of a break.  well, recently a half day is as close to a day off as i get but i’ll take what i can get.  i worked in the morning at creative clay.  we are still book making.  i know we will have to move onto something different but i’ve so enjoyed seeing m improve her skills.

afterwards i went to mazzaro’s italian deli to get something for lunch.  i’ve been hearing about this place since i moved here, but hadn’t yet been.  it was like walking into italy.  i was able to find my favorite cheese from when i was traveling in italy (romano fresca with pepper corns) not to mention arancini (sicilian rice balls) and italian tuna.  these were the things i would buy (with a roll or loaf of bread) and carry around in my bag to eat for lunch in some scenic spot.  you know how it is.  the only thing i didn’t find, but i’ll have to look next time, is white anchovies.  the arancini were very similiar to my family’s except that they had way too much cheese in them!

i relaxed the rest of the day, stepping out for an errand or two, and this morning, finally i was back to 100%.

d-o-n-e done

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i am exhausted, but just a quick post to say 10 x 10 went well.  it was a really great time, a chance to catch up with lots of folks from south florida and i was very pleased with the installation of garden path.  j and i headed out friday morning after the longest freaking thursday ever (4 am kiln shift, then a training at tampa health department, visit to my parents house to load up some materials and then packing the car to max capacity with our art work.), installed most of friday and saturday, showed from 6-10 pm and then woke up bright and early sunday to deinstall.  it was hard work but it was worth it.

i was able to find a landscaping supply co. to graciously lend me the crushed shells, stepping stones and borders i needed for the garden.  the owner and his wife came to the show and before they left they gifted me the materials they had loaned me.  how cool are they?  anyone in south florida needing landscaping supplies should definitely support AAA sod and supply on military trail between maleluca and lantana. they are like, totally my art sponsors.

unfortunately i don’t have a camera, and am too poor to buy one for the time being, so i will have to wait for pictures from kara.  she had a photographer shoot the whole show which was so awesome of her.

here’s a little taste via my cell phone:

blurry garden path

blurry garden path

as you can imagine that crushed shell was a pain to clear up.  i shoveled up a couple of containers of it and brought them out to the car.  when i returned a had shoveled another 2 containers up, she then proceeded to help me clear up the rest, which we did in record time.  s showed up and after giving us root beers, pitched in.  we took the hand truck down the elevator and as we wheeled it to the parking lot, i couldn’t help but be struck with how awesome my life is right now and how many great folks are part of that.  therefore i have to shout out some thanks to all my co-residents especially j for making the trip with me, a and s and all my sofla ladies and, you know, the universe for rocking so much.  yeah!

tuesday 11:30 am-10:30 pm

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today was the first day i was able to spend an unlimited amount of time in the studio.  i didn’t spend the entire day there, running out to drop off and pick up my bike from the shop, picking up lunch on the way, and shopping at the health food store (where i picked up some grains to go with my organic coop veggies) but i did spend a fair whole lot of it.  and i have to say i accomplished a lot less clay wise than i have been.  there were a lot more distractions being at the studio in the day time, but for the most part they were welcome, and i did finish up the tall bush today so that pretty much ruled.

i also did a little experiment today.  one of the members at the studio was interested in using gold leaf on ceramic.  she wanted to fire it on.  r had told her that it could be done, but wasn’t sure how to do it.  together we searched on the internet and found a few threads on clay art about it.  some said it couldn’t be done, some said you needed pure gold or silver, some said to fire it up to cone 022.  so i gave her a little bisqued plate i had laying around and told her to use it for some testing, that we could fire it quickly in the baby test kiln.  she coated it with leaf, and it looked great.  we suspected it might burn off.  it only took a couple of hours to fire to cone 022 in the baby kiln and before i left tonight i took a quick look.  it didn’t burn off, but for some reason the plate cracked right in half.  i don’t know what could have caused that, but on the up side, the gold leaf survived.  i’ll investigate more tomorrow, but it seemed to stick well enough to the bisqued plate, with no addition of flux.

here are some photos of today work.

life is not easy but it’s interesting.

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it’s been a long time since i’ve written.  since i last wrote i’ve returned to the u.s. for the foreseeable future, started working again, got a second job teaching art part time, was accepted as an artist in residence at st. pete clay company.  in two weeks i’ll move to a small apartment in st. pete down the street from the studio.  i guess that’s the good stuff, in a nut shell.  it was hard to leave tokyo.  there was a moment where i knew i had to do it but it never felt easy.  it felt like getting torn out.  like a norplant stuck in scar tissue.  it sucked.  the hardest part was leaving masa, my partner of three years.  he understood, i guess.  it sounds cliche, but it would have been easier if he had been angry.  i had gotten so far away from knowing what it was that i wanted and he was the best thing in my life.  but unfortunately for me, having an awesome, kind, good hearted, respectful partner wasn’t enough for me. 

i got to the point in january or february where i thought my head was going to explode.  when i started crying at a saizarya in roppongi, my friend kiyomi wasn’t fazed.  she just told me i needed to stop thinking and just listen to my heart.  and that whatever i decided my friends and partner would support me.  that was exactly what i needed to hear.  i had gone over the facts a million times.  the people, relationships, money.  but at the end of the day, i couldn’t DEDUCE the right answer.  the answer was what it was and the facts were beside the point.   thanks for that kiyomi.

i went into a kind of hibrination when i got back.  i was totally broke, so i didn’t call anyone, didn’t visit the east coast, just concentrated all my efforts on getting back to work and making money.  i also forced myself to keep my nose to the grindstone in creating the best application and support materials i could for st. pete clay and following up on ads i saw online for arty jobs, and checked craigslist everyday. 

in tokyo, i don’t think i ever stopped trying.  but somehow, despite the energy i put in, none of it seemed to come back to me.  my game seemed to be off.  there were good times and good things but i couldn’t seem to get the big picture together. 

suddenly, the energy i’d been putting out in florida all summer came back to me to the extreme.  life is messy and imperfect but right now i have the opportunity to work on many things i am interested in and a chance to follow my passion.  and i am able to make some money doing it. 

 

it’s complicated.  but in my heart, it feels good.