Category Archives: studio

get to work!

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nicjam

gallery BEFORE

tomorrow is jamie and sarah’s show, can’t wait.  i’m sad to see them go but very happy to see how much they’ve accomplished in their time here.  jamie and i will do one more personal firing before she leaves, so need to get to cracking on more work for that.  then fill the kiln at least once in august.  maybe a second time in september? this summer has been so crazy and busy and it won’t settle down for at least awhile longer.  in a couple of weeks the three of us will head out for bowling green.  i’m looking forward to a couple of days of FREEDOM!

all the fireworks in the air must of put the good stuff in.

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soda fire 2 004

soda fire 2 012

soda fire 2 013

soda fire 2 017

soda fire 2 023

soda fire 2 026

this little guy was refired.

this little guy was refired.

refire!

refire!

i had some cracks come up along the coil lines.  don’t know why since they aren’t going all the way through and i smoosh on both sides of my coils.  i don’t mind because they only come out after an atmospheric firing and i feel they are in line with the anphibian like skin.  the stress of the enviroment causing crackles and ruptures.  and they aren’t structural, i don’t think.  i’m going to experiment with bisquing a little higher and see if that helps.  one of the chicken butts had a long crack across it.  again it didn’t go through, but i didn’t like how wide it got.  too distracting.  the same peice had a big ol’ dry spot on the whole back side, so i refired it this week, again getting lots of juicy soda and carbon trapping and filling in that crack a little so it looks like a healing froggy scar.

it’s so fun firing this kiln up.  we’ve gotten the results we were after but it’s all a total learning experience and experiment to an extent.  were we firing this for the members we would have to back way off on the carbon trapping and the body reduction and also do a proper glaze reduction.  and though i was happy with the results from this load i found areas of the kiln i particularly loved so i’m going to have to work on refining the technique we’ve been using.

again, chistmas mentality took over (and the fact that j- is heading out in a few weeks) and we started scheming how we could fire it again before she leaves.  having someone to share the kiln with is good, make a little work, fire, fire, fire.  once she leaves i’ll have to put my nose to the grindstone to fill it.

j- is moving up to bowling green, ohio for grad school, which is were s- just got her bfa from, so in early august the three of us are going to head out on a short roadtrip to move j- up.  i have no connection to the area, just an extreme urge to TRAVEL.   we’re going to stop in on my friend k- in atlanta and mudfire.  from there we’ll stop in asheville, nc in hopes of checking out the highwater factory, odyssy center and maybe some local artists.

soda firing with fireworks.

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friday.  my day was made complex by the fact that the minivan had a minor melt down on thursday.  conking out on 22nd st. literally in front of a automotive shop which burned down about three months ago was funny, having n- from the clay co behind me at the light was lucky. she was kind enough to lend me her aaa service and found a car shop.  s- came by and helped us move the car out of traffic.  we had some fun mosquito infested converstaion while we waited by the  burned out auto shop for the tow truck to arrive.  i had to commute the next day to sarasota so my parents came and got me and i so i could drive their car to work the next day.  my luck seemed to continue because the problem was minimal, fixed on friday and i was able to get out of work early to go and pick it up.  definitely best case scenario.  with a little help from friends and family what could have been a real mess was made bearable.

friday night loading with j- ended up taking a little longer than originally planned.  when we finished up at 2:30 am we decided NOT to start at 6 am.  first turn up was at 9 am.  s- and r-sensei were firing rudy inside.  they had started at  6.  we had taken good notes during the last firing and this time everything seemed to stay on a similiar schedule.  around 6 pm s- and r- headed out.  it started to get dark.  i knew that we were looking at an estimated soda time of 1 am and though i was looking forward to the fireworks we would see after the sun went down i was starting to feel a little clausterphobic.  i’ve never been a big fan of dusk.  day is great, night is awesome.  dusk is clasuterphobic.  but once the sun fell i started to get my second wind.

once the fireworks started going we climbed out a second story window to the roof where i could see fireworks going off for 360 degrees.  the best show in my line of sight was coming from down town st. petersburg.  seeing fireworks definitely makes me nostalgic for tokyo.  there’s no fourth there of course, fireworks are a summer long thing with different areas hosting shows.  most are free, some you can pay a fee for good seating (ash and debris falling on your head good) and some you have to brave psychotic crowds to see.  in the event listings each event has a number next to it, so and so thousand for example.  knowing that the sumida river event was the biggest of the year i incorrectly thought that the number was the amount of folks in attendence.  i felt very silly when i finally realized the number was the amount of fireworks being fired off.  sumida river, the last time i went boasted 20,000 fireworks.  crazy.  regardless of the numbers thoug there is something about all that sparkly light in the night sky.  it’s breath taking.  j- said she’d considered becoming a pyrotechnician.  that would have been awesome.  just like judy chicago.

around 12:30 am we got everything ready to soda.  shot in some soda/sawdust chalupas, sprayed and then added some wood for good measure, let it burn and then shut her down.  i finally made it home around 2.

just as the exhaustion threatens to settle in, it’s time to soda and just as you think you’re going to drop from the heat, and dehydration you’re done and it’s time to start wondering what’s going to come out.

christmas or halloween??

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can you see the cones? rough, since it was taken with my cell phone.

can you see the cones? rough, since it was taken with my cell phone.

staying cool in the studio

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studio 002

well my studio mates already poke fun at my apron of choice: an old towel wrapped around my waist and clipped in back with a mini clamp.  luckily no one was in the studio tonight when i had to utilize yet another after shower towel trick.  the head wrap.  as previously mentioned our studios have no air con and in the thick of florida june that means sometimes swimming in sweat.  i couldn’t take it anymore tonight, even with 2 fans pointing at me.  finally i took one of my studio towels and wrapped my hair up in it.  it really did the trick.  but i don’t know if i can rock the head towel when i have company in the studio.  haha.

anyway, it was a productive weekend.  i have been working on some more wall peieces.  j- and i were so excited about our firing that we decided to sign it out again asap and will fire again on the fourth of july.  i thought i could bang out multiple wall hangings in preparation for the kiln but i am so into making these toes that i ended up spending 2 days on 4 wall peices.  anyway, i am having a great time.  and j- needs space in the kiln with an upcoming show so i am happy to build up a collection of bisque work.  when j- leaves, i’ll have to fill the kiln up on my own won’t i?  unless one of our new a.i.r.s works in soda fired raw porcelain too?

here’s a sneak peak at this weekends work:

studio 006

studio 004

studio 003

studio 007

and a new chicken butt in the works:

studio 005

studio day

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ok, i’ve been working full time for about a month now.  in theory it’s not many more hours but it’s really kicking my ass.  i feel the days passing, get up, go to work, take care of mundane tasks, get into bed, restart.  it’s not a nice feeling.  there is so little time to just “be around” the studio.  the salt and soda kiln have been fired in the last week and i wasn’t present for either.  it’s not the one job, of course, it’s just that between working in sarasota, with the commuting, and part time at creative clay, and one day the the clay co my days are packed and i’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic.  i love all the things i do but everyone needs a little spare time right?  ok, my pity party is over.  today i did have the day off and i got to work in the studio for the majority of it.  i finished up a third in the chicken butt series and started a fourth.  j- and i are going to fire the soda kiln this weekend and i’m hopeing to get all four of them in.  i’m always pushing it to the last minute with firings…

number 3

number 3

family

family

st. pete clay co. annual flower and garden sale.

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FlowerShow_2009_Front-01

St. Petersburg Clay Company’s

‘ANNUAL FLOWER & GARDEN ART SHOW’

Looking for a creative way to spice up your home and garden?  Look no further.  St Petersburg Clay Company is hosting their one-of-a-kind Annual Flower and Garden Art Show on June 6th & 7th from 10am – 4pm. The show will be filled with unique ceramic sculptures, plaques, vases, pots and much, much more.  All items are handmade by local artists.  In addition to the ceramic wares, St. Petersburg Clay Company is hosting a variety of artists whose mediums include glass and metal. There will be rare orchids, one of a kind bonsai, tropical plant vendors, wine tasting, along with The Florida Garden Railway Society and Creative Clay will also be featured.

This is a great event for all ages.  Tie dying and spin art on the potter’s wheel will be offered for both the young and the young at heart.  And for those that wish to sit back and relax, there will be food, beverages and demonstrations throughout the entire event.  Come join the local artists, vendors, and your fellow community members at St. Petersburg Clay Company located in the Historic Seaboard Train Station on the corner of 22nd Street and 5th Avenue South.  Free Admission.  Free Parking.

Annual Flower & Garden Art Show

June 6th & 7th 10am to 4pm

At St. Petersburg Clay Company

420 22nd Street South

St. Petersburg, FL. 33712

Phone (727) 896- 2529

Hours of operation: Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm.

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