I have written about my handmade mugs and bowls. Did you know I also make plates here in my Sedona studio? They can be large dinner size, depending on the client's needs. Or...I like to throw quite small ones,with room enough for one egg, bread, or pie. Put them all together and they make a dinner set.
Here is a picture of dinner at my friend's house where he is using my ceramic dishes.The salad bowl is already in the sink, but I liked the fact that there was food on his plates, and water in the mug. These are ceramics that are used on an everyday basis.
This is a unique color scheme for this particular set of dishes. I like putting food on a light background. However, the turquoise glaze was the desired theme. So I made a lip on the plates, then used a clear white glaze in the center, which sets off the color on the edge. This is how I make my mugs now. Light to see what you are eating or drinking, with the darker color on the outside or edge.
The clay I use is a white porcelain,which shrinks at least 15%. That has to be considered when creating. Truthfully, it still surprises me when I open the kiln and think," What happened to those Huge plates I threw on the wheel? "I can guarantee that each piece I make will be totally unique, but a set will all be in the same creative family.
There is one other statement I always tell people."Your food will taste better on my handmade ceramic dishes".This I know to be true.
Over 10,000 people have read my blog. Wow. That has been a personal goal of mine for a long while. It slipped in quietly, almost unobtrusively. Here I am sitting here in front of my computer, looking up my "audience", as they call it on blogspot. I am amazed at how worldwide this form of communication really is. People from all over the world, countries I can only dream about, are reading my words. I wonder who they are. Are they curious about me as well? Please,I would welcome your comments on what led you to finding my blog.
I think my consistency has been a large help.I keep on writing, just about every week. This is often inspired by a photo, or excitement about what I have recently created. Sometimes I just want to share something out of the ordinary that happened in my life. But it isn't always easy to be creative on schedule.
Then I start to write, and rewrite. Often it is the technical that stumps me more than the inventive side. Why does the print size or color change in the middle of the column? How can I fix it, or must I start over? Whatever it takes. So, thank you, every one who ever read my words, and all of you out there in this beautiful and creative world we live in.
Here I am at my opening night as the June featured artist here in Sedona. It is the at the Andrea Smith Gallery in Tlaquepaque where I sell my ceramic masks.
There is an art to these openings, and also a lot of behind the scenes work.
First comes creating the work by the artist. I always like to make new items for a show. The masks at the top with the horsehair are my latest creations. I am condensing this into a few lines. Translation, months of hard work!
Then the gallery has the job of displaying your work in a inviting presentation. Ana did a great job. They have refreshments for the evening , because gallery going is hard work!
Not to be left out is the importance of the publicity. I worked online with the gallery's publicist, until we got a flyer that was representative of my work. Dawn was a real pleasure to work with and she listened to my input.That matters to the artist. Next is getting the information into the papers and online.
I once had a newspaper man tell me that articles are used just because they fill a space requirement on the page. A bit of the luck there. Anyway, my name made the Gallery openings, and they spelled it right.
This is just a bit of all that goes into the art of the opening.
Finally, here I am all smiles and ready to meet and answer any questions about my work to the visitors .
The world is our canvas. How do we fill it? With our thoughts; our fantasies; our imagination.These words of Henry David Thoreau, who lived and wrote in the first half of the 19th century, caught my attention. I valued this quote enough to use it on my calligraphy bookmark. Loving books myself, I enjoy making something this practical with a bit of magic for the reader.
I like to experiment with handmade papers, seeing the natural borders that come with tearing, rather than cutting the edges. I almost let the paper dictate where I am going with these small canvases. That creates the background for the black Italic lettering on a white paper for emphasis.
Since it is handled, put in and out of a book, I encase it in a clear plastic covering. Sticky fingers cannot mar this wee marker of where we left off in our reading.
I saw this quote and said to myself :" I think I have been there before." This is worthy of creating a collage for one of my card series. A miniature five by seven , that can be reproduced in a fine quality, and therefore possible to sell affordably. It is part of my " ripped torn" series, where using handmade paper, I purposely leave the edges rough. I wanted bright colors to catch the eye, and red certainly jumps out.Then comes the white strips with the words in calligraphy.Finally, touches of gold watercolor to tie it all together.
I love doing calligraphy.Perhaps I thought by writing the letters in my finest Italic style, it would bring home the irony of the message to me,as well as fellow readers.
It is hard for me to wait. Yet here I have chosen a career where rushing the process, such as not letting the ink dry before going on, can be a disaster. Life, now that is a different field of play.
Patience is a goal of mine. Often, time brings a better solution than forcing an issue. But there is that tiny bit anxiety to know the outcome that stays with me. Being able to check something off as " finished" gives me comfort. Alas, when dealing with others, there are whole other peoples time frames that can really change an outcome. So wait we must. I still say patience is a goal for me, but this card always makes me smile.
I choose the words to use in my calligraphy from their impact on many facets of my being. This came to me on the front of a card and I cherished it, because it is so much what I think a real vacation embodies. This is worthy of putting in a permanent form.Cobalt blue letters, brushed onto the white porcelain clay plaque seemto make it real. Ready to hang on a wall, to inspire and smile.
I so rarely do nothing, unless I take myself away from my lovely studio here in Sedona.
I know. We all move here thinking it will be hikes in the red rocks , and drinks with friends in the cafe. Doesn't often work that way I notice. Creating and running a business means there is always some affair to handle. Always a new project to complete, or even the mundane, like cleaning the studio.But I can look at this summer calligraphy, which now hangs in a gallery in town, and dream about those lovely days of doing nothing. I think I have to rest now.
Here I am on the beach in San Francisco. I know, the sun never shines in that city, but it did last week when I was there. A heat wave. The sand was actually hot as I ran toward the cool Pacific. I brought all my warm clothes, but pulled those out earlier that week, while staying around Santa Barbara,where the cold winds were blowing.
The sun was shining while driving up Route One, along the Ocean. Past Esalen, where I loved to sit in the hot tubs overlooking the crashing waves at night. Stopping at the formerly quaint restaurant, Nepenthe. Very upscale now, not like when I used to have breakfast along with all the flower children in the van heading up to San Francisco to hear music, and hang out.
Things don't stay the same, but how glorious are my memories of California back in the sixties and seventies.
I am grateful for those days. I know somewhere seeds of creativity got lodged within me, to bloom later.
