Here is my latest ceramic creation entitled " Holiday Horsehair". It is currently in the show at the Sedona Arts Center, where it also adorns the invitation.
It is a rather large pot, measuring about fourteen inches in height. I also made the red beads that I used for adornment. Red berries on a winter landscape came to my mind as I was decorating the tall vessel.
This is a burnished, wheel thrown piece, which is fired in the kiln to make it strong. The surface is smooth, and soft to the touch. It goes back in the kiln, and while it is still very hot, I bring it out and use the individual horse hairs to create the random pattern. There is essentially no glaze, so it is decorative rather than functional.
The light color is the white porcelain clay with which I throw.That creates the background for the elements of design provided by the sizzle of the horsehair on the hot surface. There is a long tradition of using this technique among native potters.
I am happy with the results. My desire to create something special for this holiday season is met. Enjoy.
I have been busy in my studio creating calligraphy cards.This message seems appropriate, since we just completed celebrating Thanksgiving here in my town of Sedona, Arizona.
This is a holiday that is celebrated in the US and Canada. A poorly documented history credits its start to a celebration by the pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621. However a celebration of the harvest is an old custom in the old world, thus a natural way to give thanks in our country. Remember, we were an agricultural nation for a very long time. In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a joint resolution with Congress, setting aside the fourth Thursday of November as the holiday of Thanksgiving.
I was raised to write a note of thanks after receiving a gift, or a kindness from someone. Looking back I want to thank my mother for creating this habit.Now I am lucky enough to make my card from start to finish.
When I have completed my original artwork, I print them onto card stock. I add the watercolors to enhance my message. There is always a very serendipitous quality to my designs. I have learned that less is more.Watercolor is tricky. Once you make the mark, it is there to stay. As I paint each card, I do think of how grateful I am for all the good things and people in my life. We live in a complicated world. It is nice to stop and give thanks occasionally.
I just returned from an inspiring trip to our 50th state of Hawaii. Here I am on the beach in Oahu, with Diamond Head in the background.
I was celebrating someone's birthday, but just being there is a celebration of life. I live in a beautiful part of America, but I used to be a California beach girl, and sometimes I miss my ocean. Hawaii is sweet because the water is fairly warm, and there are pretty fishes to look at with my goggles. I do like my animals. They are often part of my ceramics, as are handmade flowers.
I remember as a young girl when Hawaii became a state in 1959. It seemed so far away and exotic. It was first populated by the Polynesians some 1,550 years ago. Since 1778, when voyager Captain Cook named them the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii has long been a center of trade. The rich volcanic soil and warm climates made it profitable for growing sugar cane and pineapple.
The last reigning Queen Lili'uokalni, lost her kingdom in 1998, to the United States. The new Territory of Hawaii had Sanford Dole as the first governor. Pineapple anyone?
Today, agriculture has given way to houses. Honolulu is
a big city, with great public transportation as well as numerous homeless people in those lovely parks. Many Japanese and Australian tourists who love the shopping come to Hawaii.There are a few wandering artist types from Sedona as well.
Here I am in my ceramics studio in Sedona, Arizona. This is a lovely raku jar I have just completed. Really, I am no longer working on it,it is ready to sell.This is both the artist and her studio cleaned up for the photo.
However, I am in my place of creation, in the chair I always sit on, and the table I have worked at for the past 25 years, using my well worn tools. In the background are my supplies, and the shelves containing porcelain green ware that is waiting to be put in the kiln.Green ware refers to clay that is simply dried , and would crumble in a minute if not handled carefully. Once it is bisque fired, there is some strength to it. Then it can receive a glaze, and after the second, higher temperature firing, it is complete. The raku process has only a primitive second firing, so it is more decorative in nature.
This is one of my smallest studios in my creative career, but it is very efficient. I knew I had to fit in my work table, which is about four feet square. I rescued it from the Sedona dump many years ago. I call it my lucky table.In fact that wall in the studio was designed to fit that surface. I guess there are some superstitions in my mind. But remember, I do know the mysterious kiln gods do have power to make a good firing.
Hope you enjoyed the mini tour of my studio!
It is fall in Sedona. The leaves are falling. The red rocks stand out against the blue sky in all their hues and shadows. To me these mountains look like a painting with all their variations of light and dark, shadow and brilliance.I like to bring this into my art.
This is an original watercolor of mine, approximately eight by ten inches. I printed out the calligraphy first, then applied the paint. I like using a lot of water with these pigments. The two elements seem to have a mind of their own as they meander over the paper. I turn the paper first in one direction, then another, achieving a blending of colors. Watercolor has that element of chance and surprise to it.Rejoice in that quality! Don't go back over your strokes, or try to blend a lot.Then you get muddy colors and torn paper.Once the mark is made, leave it alone!
I chose a quote by one of my favorite authors and noted philosophers, Henry David Thoreau. He passed away a hundred and fifty years ago, yet to me, his writngs ring clear and true. I find such a relevance to his words. Nature was his inspiration, and always, it is mine.
It is Halloween time, and here I am in my costume. Who am I? Well, some nice man at a dance called me " lovely gypsy woman", as I held my translucent cloth up to cover my face. I thought I was simply a woman in the lovely sari my friend brought me from far away.Since I was hanging out with my swami that night, I felt I fit my role just perfectly.
Halloween is such an ancient revelry. How can we not honor the art it evokes in so many ways and customs?
It comes from the contraction of "All Hallows Eve", a Christian holiday designated by a pope way back in the 8th century, to honor the saints and martyrs. Its roots are older, it is said. Going back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, with bonfires and costumes to scare off the ghosts.
It is all over the world in some form. Years ago, I was in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There the celebration is called the "Dia de Los Muertos", or the Day of the Dead. Officially on November 2nd, it starts on October 31st with celebrations honoring those who have passed with candles and incense. I was far out in a small village sitting in the graveyard, watching the priest lead the procession complete with a life sized Jesus and a three piece band. Did I say we four were the only gringos, and blond at that?
I was sitting near a grave. I notices some bones sticking up from the shallow earth covering. Something new for this American, where we make sure they are at least " six feet under". I was strangely touched.
Later, the Irish immigrants in America popularized the customs from their Celtic heritage, wearing masks to hide from the ghosts. Eventually another custom, the "Trick or Treat" became a part of our vernacular.
What a great art form, to transform yourself into someone entirely different for just one night.
Here is my original calligraphy on a ceramic plaque, entitled Shalom. What a beautiful word. It is Hebrew meaning peace. We know it more as the common idiom used to say hello and goodbye for Jewish people all over the world. I like the sound of this word, the way it rolls off the tongue. For me it has a sense of good will about it. I enjoy using it not only in speech, but in my artwork. Here I am, adapting
the capitals to the necessities of the clay,while having a bit of artistic fun.It is a slab measuring about ten by four inches, with folded edges. I include holes for a yarn hanger, finished with my handmade bead.
The light blue color pays homage to the Israeli flag. I do take creative license and lighten the color so it stands out from the dark background.
This is quite labor intensive to make. It takes many coats of glaze to get the results I am after. Painting within the lines for sure. The first firing is in a kiln. The second firing is a primitive one, where the flames actually darken the clay and make a bit of a crackle in the glaze.
I like to think that this is hanging next to someone's door as they enter their home.
