Hummingbird Hollow Studio

Glazed over with glazing...

2011-05-02T08:57:00.000-04:00

I know my weaknesses. Well, I know some of them. One is my penchant for waiting until the last minute to do things. I know the deadline is out there somewhere, I know I should do a little here and there, I know I should plan. But no, not me. I wake up, the deadline is tomorrow or, when it comes to pottery, it's usually a week or so out --- but still I have to cram more than I should into a too-short time-frame.

I have two plus kiln loads of bisque sitting on shelves that needs to be glazed and fired before a show I'm doing in two weeks. Ain't no way! Yes, I have some glazed, but two kiln loads of bisque equals at least four full kiln loads of glazed pieces, probably more. I have one glaze load almost ready to go.

You think I'm going to get it finished? Maybe. Doubtful.

Glazing takes concentration. It takes attention to detail. When rushed, errors occur. I know that some pieces are going to come out of the kiln with flaws even when I'm not rushed (especially given the way I like to experiment!). However, when I let time get away from me, and I push like this, I have a higher fatality rate than usual.

Given that I've been playing in the clay for a numerous years, I have gotten better, decreased my fail rate to almost nothing. Yow, I hope that doesn't jinx me...

Another thing that happens when I wait to the last minute is that I'll reach for the glaze I want for a piece and find out I'm out, or that it's dried up, or that there's not enough. That piece goes by the wayside. No time to order glaze, make glaze or head to the store.

Biggest problem I have right now is that I'm flat out NOT in the mood to glaze. I have all these ideas bubbling around in my head for pieces I want to create. What's really funny about that one is that it's not so much the pieces I want to create, it's that I have some cool glaze ideas I want to try and I need a specific type of piece to be able to do the experiments! The things I have sitting on the shelves waiting for me were last month's cool glaze ideas... new ones have crowded them out.

I guess I need to give up everything else in my life and just hang out in the studio. Unfortunately, that's not really possible. Getting some self-discipline and learning to pace myself just isn't going to happen either. I used to try. I really, really worked at it off and on for many years. I am a miserable person when I don't let my muse lead where it will.

Time to head to the studio, glazing awaits! I will get better, I will get better, I will get better... ha ha ha.

Debating...

2011-04-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

Speckled tan fired at ^04, low fire

I mentioned my grand experiment in the last post. I found some old clay, made a kiln load of things, bisque fired it without bothering to look up proper temp. I low fired, ^04.

It turned out a nice pinkish color, that I very much like. It was impossible to tell from the color of the raw clay what color I'd end up with. It looked like a speckled clay and was a darker brownish color. I rather expected a dark tan.

I finally looked at the box - it doesn't say what cone range, but I did get the name, 'speckled tan'. I figured it was probably a mid-fire as the company doesn't make much in the low-fire range. Turns out I was right. It's a mid-fire clay.

I'm now debating on whether to underglaze as I'd also mentioned in the last blog post and re-fire OR go with it as is and glaze with low fire glazes. I'd be completely sealing it with glaze so the question of not hitting the correct water-tight range wouldn't be much of an issue. The pieces in question aren't going to be anything other than decorative so it shouldn't make much difference.


KPS Speckled Tan - How it is supposed to look when fired to Cone 6

I may opt to split the load and keep some pieces for low firing, re-fire the others at cone 6. I've never double bisque fired at two different ranges before. I have double-bisqued when I needed to repair a piece (with mixed results). I have multi-glaze fired a zillion times. However, I'm wondering if it will change the color, cause the pieces to crack, or result in pieces that won't hold glaze?

I think if I re-fire at correct cone I'll be able to see the speckles. They're not visible at low fire temp.

I have a baby kiln so I guess I could pull out a couple of smaller pieces and experiment. There are a couple of small pieces that I wouldn't cry over if they were ruined. Shoot, I may just split it into a number of loads and fire them all different temps.

I'll keep you posted. I know everyone is just hanging on ever word I'm writing, the wonderment will keep you up at night. Uh huh.

Too many pies, not enough fingers...

2011-04-27T19:36:00.000-04:00

I used to joke that I was going to have a t-shirt made that said "Whatever the question" on the front, then "the answer is NO" on the back. However, I came to realize two things. 1 - people would just re-phrase the question and 2 - if they didn't, I'd still find a way to stick one of my fingers into whatever pie they were offering up.

I'm just the kind of person that perpetually says yes to good causes, fun things, and stuff that intrigues me. Life is too big, too fun and there's always something to catch my attention.

Why am I telling you all this? It's just a long way of making excuses for not keeping up with my pottery blog.

I have been busy in the studio! I'm hoping the weather isn't so bad tonight that my studio flies to Kansas. If it's there in the morning I will be out there first thing unloading my new pottery. THEN I will be loading up another glaze load. THEN I will be glazing the stuff I pull out of the kiln tomorrow.

I'm really going to try and take some photos to share. I am experimenting with all kinds of new things. I made some boxes to hang on the wall. I made some quilted type pieces. I used a couple of new clays. Then promptly forgot to check what cone to fire the clay to when I started the kiln. I still haven't looked! It's some boxes of clay I picked up at a going-out-of-business sale a few years back and then promptly forgot it as I piled "my" clay on top of the boxes. I discovered it recently and decided to use it. It was a little stiff but worked great for the things I had in mind. I can't even begin to tell you what color the clay will be - no test fires. It's mystery clay! It is marked on the box so I can look it up... and will before glazing. If it turns out it needed a higher cone I'm going to use some underglazes on the clay and re-fire. Fun.

I've also been busy getting ready for some shows...

And, I'm involved in a new art group, Fine Arts and Crafts Entrepreneurs (FAACE.org). We are 'all about the business of art'. Most of us who live with messy hands due to clay, paint or similar have messy brains when it comes to the business side of our craft. I can make a piece of pottery. Balance a checkbook? Yes, I can handle that one... if I must. Figure out whether to incorporate or go the sole proprietor route? That's a bit more of a struggle. Taxes? Insurance? Big huge YUCK.

So, a group of us decided we were never going to 'make it' if we didn't knuckle down and attempt to get our business side in order. We've had an insurance agent come to speak to the group, an attorney and in upcoming months we're going to have a CPA, a printer and some folks from the county come speak. In June we're meeting at an art gallery and the owner is going to give us tips on getting accepted into a gallery. The list of things we'll be discussing and learning about is unlimited.

However, it takes time to get a group going! There are six of us right now on the Board, soon to be a few more. We have a fantastic group of artist members. We're putting on shows, too!

I'm loving getting to network and become friends with local artists.

I think I have shared enough for now??? I am sure I've whined before about how busy my schedule is on here. I hope it doesn't come across as whining as I love my life, I love jumping from one activity to the next and always having something new on the horizon.

To those in the areas affected by the horrific storms and bad weather - prayers are with you. To those who are looking at bad weather tonight - be safe.

Still playing with my website...

2011-04-11T16:28:00.000-04:00

Anyone selling their art knows that a website is important. Especially if you're trying to break into the field. Having a bad looking or outdated website is almost as bad as not having one. Some would argue it's worse.

I do websites for others, but have gotten a bit behind in some of the latest and greatest. I don't like some of the latest and greatest but really need to get my butt in gear on some of the things that I like. I also got a bit behind in updating my own website. It's kind of like the plumber who never fixes his own plumbing, carpenter who has closet doors hanging off the hinges... I check everyone's website but my own each day!

So, in recent months I've been toying with different options. I tried Wix (thank you to everyone who gave me valuable input). I decided not to go that route. Slow loading, higher cost as compared to what I can get if I do it myself plus it's a whole new world of learning how they work.

I have a new site --- finally! I still have a lot to do. Mainly I'm behind in taking photos of my work. This is busy show season and things are selling before I can snap a good photo. I do need to have good records of what I've sold, if only so my kids, kids, kids will be able to say yes, that was done by our great-great when it turns up on Antique Roadshow. Valued at a couple of bazillion dollars, of course.

If you get a minute, go take a look and let me know what you think thus far. www.Hummingbird-Hollow.com. I have a couple of links that don't have anything on them yet, but I'm working on it!

Field Studies, a Solo Exhibition by Megan Daloz, Opens Mar 19

2011-03-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

Field Studies, a solo exhibition by studio potter Megan Daloz, opens at MudFire Gallery on March 19th. Field studies traditionally address many different types of behavior, including social behavior, mating systems, sheltering and feeding habits, predator-prey relationships, migration, and navigation. This exhibit is as much a field study of Megan Daloz, the potter, as it is an illustrated clay document of her studies of the natural and urban world.

The show will open with an artist reception on Saturday, March 19, 2011, from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. The exhibit will continue through April 16 at MudFire Gallery, 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. All work in the show is available for sale.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Megan Daloz studied glassmaking and ceramics at Alfred University, and is currently a studio potter and a full-time commercial illustrator. She lives in Atlanta and is a resident artist and instructor at MudFire Clayworks.

Daloz's clay work is painstakingly decorated with images of bees, weeds, mopeds, minotaurs and other creatures one frequently encounters in an urban setting. Recorded and rendered with the practiced eye of a naturalist, the images together produce a curious and splendidly illustrated collage of modern life. Individually, her pieces capture the un-affected essence of free-range dinosaurs, cage-free weasels, and a profusion of botanicals. To say nothing of the mycological fascinations!

Daloz's drawing style follows the pre-eminent stylistic and contextual footsteps of early naturalist illustrators. Unfortunately, early naturalists faced many obstacles in their attempts to document the flora and fauna they observed. They often lacked fresh specimens, had use of only primitive printing techniques, and in some cases, suffered from overactive imaginations! Free of all such hindrances, comfortably ensconced in the studio, armed with but a laptop and raw talent, Megan quietly observes images of her subjects in the wild urbs. She then faithfully renders her species and varietals to expertly thrown pottery, deftly executed in white stoneware and decorated with jewel-toned glazes. Her work is functional, fun and scientific. It helps to reveal the habits and habitats of various organisms present in their natural surroundings.

Detailed information about Megan Daloz, including her artist statement, resume, and images of representative works, is available at: http://www.mudfire.com/megan-daloz-2011.htm.

The exhibit will be fully documented and available for sale online with MudFire's new website, coming soon.

ABOUT MUDFIRE CLAYWORKS AND GALLERY

MudFire is one of the largest clay studios in the country, with over 160 clay artists using the space, a year-round exclusive roster of 40 artists represented in the gallery, monthly group and solo gallery exhibitions, and artists flown in from around the world for workshops and lectures.

The fully equipped artist studio has pottery wheels, sculpting equipment, communal tools, glazes, kilns and plenty of inspiration. Artists in residence and "free range" instructors make it a perfect place for beginners as well as seasoned ceramicists. MudFire also brings high profile artists from around the world to Atlanta for demonstration workshops, intensive hands-on classes, free lectures and slide presentations. The studio is open Thursday(12p-10p), Friday(12p-10p), Saturday(12p-8p), Sunday(12p-8p), and Monday(12p-10p).

Now in its ninth year, MudFire Gallery is Atlanta's clay-only gallery, providing representation for some of the Southeast's top potters and clay sculptors alongside talented emerging and mid-career artists. MudFire also celebrates this diverse and accessible medium with monthly exhibits of functional and decorative works including solo, group and themed exhibits. MudFire Gallery is open daily from noon until 8pm except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. MudFire is located in Decatur at 175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030, just off E. Ponce de Leon Avenue, near the DeKalb Farmers Market.

Thanks to all for comments on my new website!

2011-02-23T06:20:00.000-05:00

I really appreciate the comments and suggestions I received regarding the Wix website. Some of you commented on Facebook, others sent emails, and one came via the blog. Very helpful.

I've decided based on your comments not to go with Wix. Most were fine with the design with some tweaks, but many commented on how slow it loaded. I tried it on a couple of computers and agree, it's slow loading. I then went and checked a number of other Wix sites and ran into the same problem. I don't know about you, but when I hit a slow site, I move on. I guess we're conditioned to fast, faster and fastest these days.

I'm going to keep the free site, figure it can't hurt to have my information out there in as many places as possible. I'll just have to remember to update it occasionally. Sooner or later they'll do away with the free site I'd imagine, most have to when money gets tight!

Thanks again to all of my world-wide friends. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and the Internet definitely have expanded my extended friend numbers! Artists are generally giving people, very generous and your willingness to take the time to view my website and give your insights is just one example!

New website - need help reviewing please

2011-02-21T15:35:00.000-05:00

I'm considering using Wix for my website hosting. I've built a temporary site using their tools. The site is free for now as long as I use wix.com in the URL. If I want to use my own domain name it'll cost. Basic is reasonable (under $50 a year) but when I get over 500 mb it gets into a range that I find unreasonable compared to what I'm now paying to host my site. The only advantage I see is that it's prettier and more functional than the one I built using my skills at the time.

I could build one better and continue to host it myself, but I don't know Flash so it wouldn't have some of the whiz stuff. Or I can use Wix. I've noticed that a number of artists are using them, appears they're doing the basic package as the Wix links are still showing at the bottom. Higher price eliminates the Wix ad.

Sat in on a webinar a few weeks ago re: websites. There were a thousand people on-line and if I remember the numbers correctly roughly 70% had websites and roughly 90% of those with websites had never sold anything on their site. Given those statistics it doesn't seem to be worth spending a whole lot of money on a website. However, that doesn't help me in this decision making process 'cause either way I go (basic/500 mb limit or stick with what I have) I'm roughly paying the same.

Here's a link to the new site: http://www.wix.com/hhpottery/hummingbird-hollowcom (I'm working with them on getting rid of the 'com' at the end, my mistake not realizing format of the free site URL).

I'd love it if some of you would go take a look at what I did and see what you think. I haven't sized some of the photos, grabbed some fuzzy ones and haven't titled them yet, but basic idea / look is there.

Let me know if you like it, hate it, have any experience with Wix or you have another option you think would work for me.

Thanks!

New Exhibit at Mudfire: Partners In Crime

2011-02-18T13:33:00.000-05:00

Show Continues Through March 5, 2011
Partners in Crime features new work by MudFire founders Luba Sharapan & Erik Haagensen. Together we are partners in a web of clay, work, and life. . . and having a criminally good time. We hope you can join us for the party.

Luba Sharapan creates handmade porcelain vessels that speak of ancient cities, industrial revolutions, rusty water towers, peeling walls, dangerously decrepit rooftops, and lonely vampires. The richly layered, encaustic-like, visually indulgent surface of her work creeps across virgin porcelain and Victorian roses slowly and wickledly obscuring their perfection.

Erik Haagensen's functional pottery combines the speckly goodness of reduction fired stoneware, a tight-crazing shino glaze, hand-inked illustrations of odd little beasties, and bits of poetic quippery. His intent (who's kidding, my intent) is to celebrate well-crafted slowness while offering a lighthearted laugh.

Follow this rabbit to see more images and enjoy a bit longer description.

Excited about our new group and new show...

2011-01-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

We've formed a new art group that focuses on the business of art... it's called Fine Arts And Crafts Entrepreneurs (FAACE). We started on this 'project' last year although it's been something that's been discussed and we've been tossing about for much longer. Within the first week of making it public we've already doubled our membership!

To kick off the group we're holding a show in Fayetteville, Georgia at the Harvest Community Center. They've graciously donated the space! The show, Art with Heart, will be on February 5th from 10 - 4. We're hoping all you Valentine shoppers will stop by and pick up something truly unique for someone you love... or yourself (still someone you love, or you'd better!).

FAACE focuses on fine arts and fine crafts, no buy/sell or similar. Speakers at the monthly meeting will include business related specialists who'll talk about incorporating, insurance, how to get into shows and galleries, ways to grow business, utilizing the Internet and other related topics. We're also going to promote member artists talents of course!

If you'd like to know more visit or new website, www.FAACE.org. We're on Twitter - @faacega and have a Facebook fan page (Fine Arts And Crafts Entrepreneurs if you're doing a search, haven't figured out how to share a link to a fan page yet...).

Back to the show... we have potters, fiber artists, stained glass, painters and more. I hope some of you will stop by to see us and / or join the group.

FAACE meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Towne Club Center in Peachtree City, 7 p.m. Members are from the south Atlanta area, although if you're willing to travel you're more than welcome to join us.

We're working on shows all over the south metro area and will probably add a few around the rest of Atlanta in time.

It's not always about me, me, me...

2011-01-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

I usually write about something I'm creating or doing. I have a ton of different blogs and most are not about me --- this one is usually all about me, me, me. Tonight I wanted to write a little bit about someone who is making a name for herself in the world of glass.

She's the daughter of a friend of mine, someone I've actually only met once, maybe twice. Great family, wonderful people, all hard working, stellar folks.

Lyla Nelson is a name I think those of us in the world of art and art collecting are going to hear again and again. You're going to covet her work. I already drool when I visit her website and know that someday I will own a piece. I am impressed, and I'm not alone.

She sold a piece last week at the Galleria de Sculpture in Palm Beach and they asked her to replace it with another piece immediately.

She also has her glass art in the Edgewood Orchard Gallery in Wisconsin.

She's getting ready for an exhibition at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in late April.

She graduates from Tennessee Tech in May... that should give you an idea of how much she's accomplished in a short time!

Check out her work at www.lylanelson.com I LOVE her glass art, in particular her Botanicals. I would redo a room to showcase one of those pieces if ever I am lucky enough to own one.

Take a look and see if you don't agree. www.lylanelson.com

New fine art show to put on your calendar...

2010-12-09T08:06:00.000-05:00

I can't share all the details yet but a group of us are working to put together a juried fine arts and craft show on Feb. 5th in Fayetteville. I wanted to mention it so you could put it on your calendar and start thinking about a Valentine art festival!

I'm excited about the show. It'll be indoors in a nice location and we'll have plenty of parking.

Watch here and on the Fayette Front Page and Arts Across Georgia for more information soon!

Time for a website update

2010-09-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

I was just looking at my website and realized I really needed to devote some time to updating it on a regular basis. I thought I'd spend a bit of time looking at some other artist's sites to see what I liked, maybe give mine a complete overhaul. I like parts of it, but think that my art should really 'pop', be the main focus.

I am kind of a laid back triple type A person... you'd have to get to know me to understand how those two contrasts work together in one body! I wanted my website to reflect some parts of my personality so I didn't want the flash-y type things that a lot of people use on their sites. I know it's a great thing to see a big flash show of an artist's work, one that's clickable so you can go look at different shots, enlarged shots, of the work that interests you. I would bet that sells too. I want to sell my work.

So, I need some sort of compromise. I need to have my art be what catches attention, not all the words. What can I say? In addition to my pottery I manage and write for a bunch of websites and blogs, kind of makes one 'wordy'.

I have a theory that what sells a person's art is often the person as much as the look of the art. Get a warm and fuzzy about the artist and you're more inclined to like the art. Of course, many times the artist's personality and connections has nothing to do with whether their art sells or not. If you have it in a store or gallery the pottery or art is standing alone, no artist standing their smiling next to it! However, I'd bet that getting the work IN the gallery or store probably had something to do with whether the owner "clicked" with the artist. That's not always true either, and is probably more important with new artists.

Gee, typical me, start out talking about re-doing a website and I'm off on some philosophical track on what sells work. I know it's related, but if I kept going I'd sooner or later be writing about going to Jupiter or all those hummingbirds whizzing around outside my windows...

I could easily write about the hummingbirds!

I'm an eclectic mixed bag. I sometimes tell people that my multiple Gemini personalities have multiples. My work kind of reflects that mix --- I never settle in on a color scheme, a style, a look. I hope that on my last day on earth I'm wondering what new thing I can explore. Are you like me? You get your Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, etc. and want to explore every styles, try them all, incorporate some aspect of half the stuff you see in your next project?

I kind of think my website shows a tiny bit of that part of me. But I still think it needs an update, a more current look maybe. I do think I need to make my pottery the focus of the site, or maybe it is and I just need to update the site a bit more often, change out the pieces of pottery. I know one thing I'm going to definitely do --- make all the photos the same size and make them clickable.

OK, off to do some website wandering to look at your websites. I'd be curious to know if you've found things that seem to work for you on the Internet in regards to your websites. Do you sell on your site or just use it to showcase your work? Any luck selling from your website? Do you think you should put prices? Do you like or dislike the floating slide-shows that many are using?

Where've you been?

2010-08-21T19:45:00.000-04:00

I've heard that from a number of friends lately! I had a couple of people wonder about this blog, ask questions about my garden and so on.

I wish I could say I'd been in the studio but that's been hit or miss. Yes, I have managed to squeeze in some time and even fired a full glaze load recently... However, I could live in the studio and be content so "squeezing" in a bit of time doesn't get it.

I've been updating and revamping websites this past week. In addition to keeping up with quite a few blogs with some help from great friends and volunteers, I design and maintain websites for various companies. If you read our news blogs you'll see some of them linked at the bottom of some posts. I'm not taking on any new ones though, mostly helping out some friends and family with the ones that I'm doing now. I also maintain some for a few of the volunteer organizations I support (go check out www.chair-ity-event.org).

Oh, let's see, what else have I been doing? Fighting the pests in my garden in hopes of salvaging at least one or two cantaloupes, tomatoes or beans. I am about ready to chuck it though as it seems a new pest appears every morning. To keep up with my woes regarding gardening, visit The Glib Gardener.

I volunteer at the Clothes Less Traveled Thrift Store in Peachtree City and serve on the Board. It's a great organization that raises a lot of money to support local charitable organizations. It's a great place to shop and they're always looking for good quality donations.

My family is extremely important to me and I'll drop any and everything to spend time with them. I've had little ones spending time here in recent weeks. Some of them are old enough to play in the clay with me, others prefer to go feed the ducks or play games.

The websites I've been updating will hopefully one day support me in the style I really, really would like to become accustomed to . I very much appreciate all the great help I get in maintaining them! Go check out Arts Across Georgia, Fayette Front Page and Georgia Front Page. We have about 200 blogs that are associated with our various websites, too. I'll post a list of some of them at the end of this post.

What else? I'm painting a chair for the Chair-ity-Event, finishing up a piece I'm donating to the Southern Conservation Trust, and working on some ornaments for a Christmas Tree a group of us are putting together for Noel November. Noel November is a charity event put on by the local realtors each year. They auction Christmas trees, wreaths and other items then donate all the money to one or two local charities.

OK, I quit. I didn't even begin to touch on all that has kept me away from writing in this blog! I see it every day and I promise it's on my list of things to do. Now if I could just find that darned list. Oh, wow, the hummingbirds are going nuts outside my window, need to fill up the feeders. Shoot, I need to go fertilize the tomato plants. Heck, I forgot to throw the load of clothes in the dryer. Yow, I didn't drop that stack of library books off yesterday, wonder if they're overdue yet... Flip, I need to get some milk tonight or I won't have any for my tea in the morning again... Uh oh, something just flashed across one of my Twitter accounts that I need to RT. Which reminds me, I haven't checked my Facebook accounts today...

---
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga
Read our other Arts related blogs:
http://backstagegeorgia.blogspot.com/
http://artsacrossga.blogspot.com/
http://musicmattersga.blogspot.com/
http://georgiaswriter.blogspot.com/
http://artzapalooza.blogspot.com/
http://dancingacrossgeorgia.blogspot.com/
http://gaclicks.blogspot.com/
http://secalls.blogspot.com/
---

My Pottery Garden

2010-07-12T22:24:00.000-04:00

All potters have pieces of pottery that they don't like, that have flaws or that have broken.

I have always had a strong aversion to trashing pieces, even if they were never going to sit on someone's shelf... or on any of my shelves in view of my students or visitors! Well, that's not quite true, I have a few pieces that I saved to show students... one where the glaze didn't settle and you can slice your hand if you pick it up... another teapot where there spout fell...

Anyway, aside from those that I use to show what not to do, I had a growing stack of pieces that I liked but only if you looked at one side, or if you could ignore the crack, or if you were color blind in one eye.

I also have a studio that sits in a "hollow" of sorts. The water from the yard keeps plants or grass from taking purchase on a large chunk around the studio. Plus, there's a cool tree that I love, but the shade under it combined with water run-off has made it impossible to make the area around it look "pretty".

The yard is chocked full of large rocks, some of them very beautiful. I had been picking them up and tossing them in the woods as I tried to beat back the edges of brambles and wild privet hedges.

Finally, a little light went off in my head --- I could use the rocks, use my pottery and make the area under the tree look a little better. Maybe a little funkier is a more apt description!

I haven't quite decided what to call the garden yet. Mainly because in addition to planting my pottery, I'm sticking found items from the yard. Every time it rains I find something new. I have an old, old shaving can that's half rusted out. I found a metal bucket with a slice out of the bottom. Someone must have dumped a bunch of sea shells after a trip to the beach because they pop up faster than all my plants combined. Off and on I come across some weird shaped metal strips. I'm adding them all to the garden.

Maybe I should call it a Found Item Pottery Garden. Ha ha. Hmmm, wonder if I could use those words plus another to make a good name. FIPG doesn't work for sure. Pottery Item Garden would be PIG. I'll keep working on it.

It took forever to get the bare beginnings of a rock outline around the tree. I started with a rough square rather than the typical round shape. I intend to add triangle spokes over time to expand outward. I also want different heights in the garden, some rock areas to be higher than others. I'm picturing rock lines walkways, an English style hodge-podge of flowers and creeping plants and, and... yes, my imagination is very ambitious.

Once I finally built the rocks up to the height I wanted to start with, I began buying dirt to fill the center. I'm still buying dirt to fill the center! The water fairies take my dirt every chance they get, despite my best efforts to block it all inside the rock confines. It's getting better now that some of the plants are taking root and I've thickened the depth of the rock confines. Plus the plants are starting to travel into the crevices, which is what I envisioned.

Finding plants that will survive winters, like the shade and won't mind whatever is in the leaves of the tree has been an interesting challenge.

My mom gave me some wild blackberry bushes that she said would take over... they haven't. I planted some things from other areas of the garden that I pull up like weeds, like mint and other herbs, but they obviously prefer more sunlight than the area provides as they're wimping along.

I didn't want to spend any money other than for the dirt, but I ultimately stopped at the local nursery and went shade-plant hunting. Now I have a few things that are thriving --- so far at least!

I find that planting my sub-par pottery isn't going to be enough. I am now going to be making some things to go in the plot. I need some TALL pieces and I can't wait to goof on something ;-)

I'm finding some cool pieces of wood to add to the plot as I work on other areas of the yard. We have five acres with the majority being woods. I love the property, but it is a constant battle to keep the woods from overtaking the grass. Thank goodness I love playing in the dirt almost as much as I love playing in the clay.

My son gave me a cool glow-in-the-dark frog on a lily pad that has a place of honor, too. One of my students brought me a broken piece of pottery to go in the garden. The pieces of pottery in the bottom photo broke off one of my friend's creations. She tossed 'em. I pulled 'em out of the trash and glazed them. They're stuck all over the garden, mostly in between the rocks to catch attention. All those things are special and it makes me think of the people they're attached to every time I see them.

I noted that my cute little chipmunks have found the rock garden. During dry times they scrabble under the plants to get at the water. I understand they won't eat the roots or hurt the plants so I'm letting them roam free right now. If I find out that they think the plants are my offering to them, then I'll have to decide what to do about them. It's their woods so I have a feeling I'll just learn to work around them. I do love watching them scamper all over the place as I work in the studio!

I thought I'd share a few photos of where the pottery garden is right now, then let you see some off and on over time so we can share the growth. It looks pretty pathetic right now, although please don't repeat that in front of the plants. They're working hard and need all the encouragement they can get!

I have two more flowering plants sitting on the driveway ready to go into the plot. Plus I'm going to plant some of my lambs ear in there. I can't stop it from growing anywhere else so hopefully it'll like it under the tree.

Oh, and I made a stop at Lowes tonight to pick up some more dirt...

Zipping all over the place...

2010-07-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

I've been working with some new clay... I usually like working with red clays, majolica being a favorite given the type work I do. However, I break out sometimes and use whites, blacks, tans, whatever.

The clay I'm using right now is a Mocha earthenware clay with a "Café au lait" color. It's stretching me a bit because it's a very wet clay. I think it would be great for throwing, but I am using it for slab which requires PATIENCE as I have to slab it then let it dry for a bit.

With my other clays I go right at it. In fact, I have to keep the slabs covered while I work, and oftentimes I have to keep the piece I'm working on partially covered or spray it lightly to keep it wet enough to flex like I want it to.

Oh, my grammar teacher would be reaching for her red pencil the way I put my sentences together these days!!! Ah well, this is pottery art, not grammar art ;-)

I am waiting on a kiln load that's about half mocha and half red to cool right now. I can't wait to see the new pieces. I should have taken some photos of the 'before' to include in here. I'll take some shots as I unload the kiln.

I also picked up some new glazes by Western, some greens. I've never tried their glazes before so it should be interesting to see how they work on both my usual red and the new mocha clay. I use a lot of commercial glazes, but I mix the colors to create my own. I flat out don't have time to work on creating my own glazes, although maybe someday I'll get back into that area. Given the wide range of colors I use it's almost counter productive to make up the small batches I'd need.

Regarding my choice of clays --- white clay is my least favorite. There's a lot you can do with it as a palette for true color in glazes, but I've never found a white clay that does what I want it to do. They all crack easier, don't flex, dry out too fast, and they just don't 'feel' right.

I've been working in the low fire range for many years. I'm getting ready to move back into mid-fire just to change things up a bit. Not that I'm bored at all with low fire, it's just that I will never be a niche artist, have discovered that my nature requires that I change things up fairly often.

I see many artists finding their slot and staying in that groove. They sell well, love what they're doing and can still experiment within the range they've chosen. They get a following of folks who like their style. I drool over some of their work, and sometimes push myself to stick with something long enough to be a master of some difficult technique after seeing their work. It's on my list of "somedays".

I have a style, too, one that many who buy my work recognize. It is one that I am still perfecting and I think I learn something new almost every time I form a piece.

However, I have a tendency to go flying way outside that range. I used to joke that when I felt like someone was getting to feel like they knew me, it was time to change... that seems to be the theme of my pottery life, too. Guess it's my wacko eclectic nature.

The list of things I want to try is way, way longer than the list of things I've already tried! Maybe the flexibility of the art of clay is one of the reasons I fell into immediate love when I first touched a ball of clay. We fit.

I was just reading back over this rambling blog. I zip from one topic to another don't I? Kind of like my ping pong mind... zip here, zip there... I work in the studio the same way sometimes. I start of a piece, stop and go water the plants, come back and work on the piece for a while, go up to the house and check my emails, grab something to drink, go back to the studio... you get the picture. Of course, more often I am very focused. I'll start working on a piece and the next thing you know it's dark, I've missed dinner or lunch and I'm wondering if I'll be able to make it to the bathroom . So, maybe that's another reason I'm attracted to clay --- it keeps me focused. Ha ha, a focused zipper...

Ah well, guess on that note, I'll say goodbye for now. I'm off to the studio to check the kiln.

Filling up the kiln... firing up the kids

2010-06-30T08:52:00.000-04:00

I can't think of many things that I wouldn't put in the "favorite" category when it comes to my art. Filling up the kiln is one of my many favorites.

I usually start out just making things with no thought to what will fit in the kiln. When I've filled up a few of my "to be fired" shelves, my mind starts clicking into "what will fit" mode IF I'm working toward a show. The "if" is important 'cause when I'm in pure creative, no deadline mode, who gives a rip what will fit in the kiln? I just go and go until I can't put anything else on the to be fired shelves and then start trying to figure out how to get stuff in the kiln.

Either mode, I love filling up the kiln for the initial bisque fire. It's like sending kids off to high school. You've raised them, sweated with them, put all your creative energy into getting them ready for the big move and now it's time to see what happens when they're tested.

The glaze firing is college. You've put your final touches, done the best you can do and now they're off, ready for the final test. Hopefully they're ready for the big world, all on their own.

Just like some of our best efforts in raising children, sometimes what comes out of the kiln isn't exactly what you'd hoped to get given all your best efforts. Luckily in many cases you can re-glaze and re-fire the pieces. Not necessarily so with many children as they're truly on their own when they leave college and resist any tampering from their parents. However, as I'm one of those who didn't come out of college quite perfect, there is hope for many of the children who don't initially live up to YOUR expectations ;-)

Hah, another analogy --- some of the pieces that I haven't particularly been pleased with after they come out of the kiln have been grabbed as favorites by others. Just because I didn't think they met my standards or expectations didn't mean there wasn't value and they weren't just what they were meant to be. Ditto with our kids. It's a great big beautiful world and everyone isn't going to walk the walk we might choose for them. Yep, you can take that one and twirl it around in your mind for a bit to come up with better ways to tie pottery and clay to raising kids. I'm done with that thread!

I do have a tendency to meander from one topic to the next, don't I? Here I am thinking about that full kiln load out in my studio, wanting to share my enthusiasm about closing the lid and firing it up, and somehow I'm off on raising kids. They can both be fun, rewarding and trying at times.

Of course, when the kids drive you nuts, you can always find an excuse to head to the studio and pound some clay!

Don't you just love it when you get a new issue of a ceramic / pottery magazine?

2010-06-08T16:15:00.000-04:00

Every day I get bills, junk, and the occasional letter in the mail... It's yawn, oh no, and hmmm type mail most days. However, when I open the mailbox and see one of my pottery magazines it's like a mini-Christmas. Ideas, tips, cool pottery and even some great ads with new glazes, equipment and tools, oh boy!

If I tried everything I wanted to try from Pottery Making, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, etc. I'd have to plan on living for a few thousand years. I have forgotten more things that I want to experiment with than I've created over the years I've been working my craft. It's a wonder I ever manage to create anything with all those ideas rolling around in my head... not to mention the time involved with devouring the magazines!

It's not enough that I take every magazine that has the word "ceramic" or "pottery" in the title, but I also have a tendency to subscribe to any freebie how-to that flies across my computer screen or pops into my in-box.

One of my favorites is from Ceramics Art Daily. They send some of the coolest tips and instructional stuff right into my inbox. With a quick click of a link I get video demos, written instructions and, of course, solicitations to buy books which explain more.

Since I work with slab, coil and hand building more often than wheel I'm very happy that they have a nice balance.

Today's email really caught my attention. I enjoy coiling but don't do a lot of it these days as I usually cut slabs and build in a coil type method for ease and speed.

However, I'm going to have to try the method outlined in today's Ceramic Arts video / demo. At some point I'm sure I'll be sharing a piece or two or ten on here made using this coil method... And I thought I knew it all when it came to coiling. Ha.

Here's a teaser from the page you'll get to if you click the link below:

Hand Thrown: East Asian Wedged Coil Technique
A Master Potters’ Approach to the Coiled Form

Coiling is one of the first things we learn when we begin pottery. It’s a simple and basic technique we all know. But are we making the best coil pots we can? Ones that don’t crack and are not limited by size or scale? Joyce Michaud came across a coiling technique used for centuries in the Far East...

http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/hand-thrown-east-asian-wedged-coil-technique/

Jury Fees

2010-06-03T07:49:00.001-04:00

I seem to have plenty of company when it comes to disliking "jury fees". Since setting up the Southeast U.S. Call for Entries group on Facebook, and in many discussions with fellow artists over the past month regarding which shows, the topic of jury fees has come up frequently. Some are insulted by the fees, others are angry, but no one likes them on the artist end of the process. I'd bet show and festival organizers like 'em though!

Shows have always had entry fees, which seem to range anywhere from $35 to over $500 depending on the quality, age, reputation and traffic of the show / festival. No problem on those at all... after all, the organizers have costs, many give out cash prizes to top artists and even more use any money above and beyond the cost of the show for scholarships for budding artists, to support local arts or to help local charities.

However, many are now tacking on a non-refundable jury fee. If you get accepted, they keep the $25 - $50 jury fee and you then pay the regular show entry fee. If you don't make the cut, they still keep the jury fee. You really, really have to think you're going to get into the show if you're willing to fork over the non-refundable jury fee!

I haven't talked to any of the show organizers, but I would bet there is a two-fold reason for the fee:

1. It cuts back on frivolous entries by those who would never make the cut, or the hobbyist, those hoping to sneak by with buy-sell, etc. work.
2. It's another way of making money.

Given the fact that I have just started applying for more shows in the fine art festival market I am experiencing the fees for the first time. In the past all the shows I've done have been repeats and I've been invited back, haven't experienced the additional "jury fee" until now. I am guessing, but don't know, that after the first year you make it onto the "invite" list and you're not subjected to the jury fee. I could easily be wrong.

I'm curious to find out what your thoughts are on the jury fee. Do you feel insulted? Do you have ways of bypassing the fee? (note: some of my friends have said they get out of it if they know the show organizer (s) and / or make a phone call)

If you're on the other end, an organizer who gets inundated with applications, etc. I'd love to find out if I'm correct in my assumptions.

I added my info to ZAPP and am now getting a great email update with upcoming shows. All of them have jury fees and I'm "assuming" that all or a portion of the money goes to ZAPP.

I've applied to one show via ZAPP thus far. It was an interesting process. You can upload up to 40 photos of your work to use for entering, one being a booth shot.

I was stymied by that one as I've taken plenty of photos of portions of my booth at shows, but never a "whole" shot. There's a whole new world out there when it comes to applying for shows. I think it's great that booth shots are required --- it cuts back on those who enter with one piece of original work and then fill their booth with junk. However, I do a lot of indoor shows, gallery events, private showings, etc. and only a few festivals (until recently). Hopefully the shot I showed was sufficient for the powers-that-be at the show I entered or I just wasted $30. Bummer to the nth degree!!!

Another interesting part of the process was the category that wanted me to list the pieces I'd be showing. The show is in September, Labor Day weekend. I have shows and some events between now and then. The art that I might enter now may not exist in my inventory in September and I'm not willing to bypass a sale to hang onto work. I just put that I'd have all new original signed art for the show... hopefully that passed the muster, also.

Which reminds me --- more and more shows are requiring that your work be signed. That, I assume, is to stop someone from showing the work of their best friend or fellow artist... or to stop distributors or whatever they're called from setting up a shop with multiple artists... and possibly to stop reproductions, copies, store-bought, mass produced work. Good idea. And a good reminder for me to remember to sign every single piece I make!!! I get so involved in the process of creating sometimes that I only realize I missed signing it when I pull it out of the kiln. I think it looks chintzy to have an added after-the-firing signature, but it's important to have your mark and / or signature on each and every piece.

Buzzy bee...

2010-06-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

Do you know how hard it is to try and come up with catchy titles for blogs? Well, do ya? OK, so I quite possibly fell short of the mark this time...

I've been a busy bee lately as I've shared in previous blogs. Somewhere in the midst of my non-stop show schedule last month I set up a new group on Facebook titled "Southeast U.S. Calls for Entries & Galleries".

The purpose of the group is to have a central place (or maybe another place, cause I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea) for gallery owners and show organizers to share art competitions, calls for artists, etc.

I'd also like to have individuals join who want to find shows, competitions, etc.

So far we have 32 members, which is pretty good for a new group I'd guess. Of course, I don't have much to measure against so who knows, maybe it's lousy ;-)

I can't quite figure out a way to get a clean link for you to click from here as I'm logged into Facebook and every time I go there the link shows where I came from in the URL... If you'd like to join or see what everyone is posting, do a search on the title and it'll come up quickly enough. I included the logo so you'll know you're in the right place --- given we're the only one with that title on Facebook if you need the logo to figure it out you've been inhaling way too much clay dust ;-)

Hope you'll join and share your info if you're from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North or South Carolina, Tennessee, etc.

Inside and Out

2010-06-02T15:34:00.000-04:00

The inside of my pieces has always been just as important to me as the outside. I want to make sure that anyone looking into the interior sees "art", not just smooth boring sides.

Of course, some of my pieces are functional so having nooks and crannies or strands of clay winding throughout doesn't work. But still, I try to make it a piece that can stand alone without veggies or fruit or flowers!

The piece to the left (Recycle Rewind) is an example of how important I view the inside of my art. The view you're looking at is from the side. Below, right, is a shot of the piece looking down at the inside. I have flutes, the strands drape over the outside over the edge into the interior to carry the eyes on a journey.

It's kind of hard to tell much from my photos, but it really is a pretty creation. It's one of my favorites... but it now resides in someone's home other than mine! The new owner was very enamored of the piece and I know it's sitting somewhere in a place of honor. I share the story of Recycle Rewind on my website if you're interested in learning more about it.

I've been in the studio for the first time in about a week and oh is it wonderful to have my fingernails all clayed up again! I keep them short, but still the clay slips under the edges. In fact, that's one of the first things I look at when a female tells me she wants to take classes -- her fingernails. It's difficult to work with clay if you have long fingernails. Not impossible, but certainly most will be smoothing those crescent impressions off the clay frequently.

But I digress... this isn't about fingernails... Well, it wasn't my intention to write about fingernails!

I just created two new pieces and while I was shaping I started musing about my penchant for spoofing up the insides of my pieces. Some of them have flutes that hold water and cut flowers or plants if desired. Some are designed around the interior --- I start with an idea for the inside and the outside just happens.

I think of my work as clay art or ceramic art more so than pottery given that much of it really is a cross between sculpture and pottery. I still remember the first piece I ever made back in high school. It was a tower with hands reaching out of crevices.

I wish I still had it, not sure where it ended up. I do have one piece I made in Governor's Honors (art of course). We were tasked with creating something from a wet three-holed brick. I made a dragon. Hmmm... I need to take a photo of that and share, don't I?

Sometimes when I share on here I manage to travel all over the place, don't I? Ah well, hopefully you're able to follow my mind as it flips from subject to subject. I've seen people shake their head as I talk sometimes, trying to figure out how I jumped from one topic to the next... and I've had to explain the logic of my jumps! See, I jumped again ;-)

OK, time to get back to the studio. I just came up to grab something to drink and check the weather. It's pretty bad on the north end of Atlanta and I wanted to see how much time I had before I had to close up shop. The studio sits in the midst of a lot of trees and I don't like being out there in a lightening storm. I much prefer my nice sturdy brick home!

Good news on Powers Crossroads Festival...

2010-05-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

On one of my other blogs I had lamented about the decline of the Powers Crossroads Festival. They started taking in buy-sell, they alienated a lot of their artist regulars and generally it turned into a disappointing shadow of past days of glory.

I was just scanning down the column of blogs and saw that old blog had a comment pending approval. Someone left a comment saying Powers Crossroads had a new director and they were working hard to try and get it back up to snuff. They're reaching out to old art vendors trying to entice them back to the show.

Realistically once a show has a bad rep it takes a lot to get the vendors back to try it again. It costs a lot to travel to a multiple day show and pay hotel costs, gas, food, etc. You have to be pretty sure you'll be able to sell enough to do more than cover costs. It's a double whammy these days given the tough economy.

A lot of people, like me, have stopped going. I wanted art, and lots of it, and so after trying it twice and not buying anything I didn't go back this year. Not only do they have to reach out to the artists, they have to reach out to the buyers who expected quality and got a mish mash.

Don't get me wrong, there were some good artists at the show when I went! The really good artists just kind of got lost... There weren't as many vendors as usual the last time I went either.

The Powers Crossroads show and the Cotton Pickin' Fair were two that were always on my "must go to" list and I hate to see them struggling.

A number of artists from the Cotton Pickin' Fair were are my last two shows. They said they did horribly and wouldn't be going back to that one either. I think some of the problem is the economic times we're suffering through right now. But then again, those same artists did fabulously at the subsequent shows we participated in together.

I guess next year I'll go check out both of them and see if the quality has improved and if the artists are happy. If the artists are happy, I may give Powers a shot the following year.

I want both of these shows to succeed! This year Powers celebrated their 40th year. That's a lot of history and it was always a well-respected, very cool show.

Seeing red

2010-05-25T18:41:00.000-04:00

Yep, I'm seeing red... and I'm becoming addicted! I've always gravitated to earth tones and ocean colors. However, in recent days I've been experimenting with reds.

I started back at Christmas, making a few pieces to give and sell during the holiday season. Then I started playing.

Next thing I knew I had a nice grouping of red pieces with purple and green highlights.

I use red clay as a rule, usually majolica because of the feel and the way it moves. A lot of my pieces are created while the clay is nice and wet allowing me to shape it in ways you just can't do when it's firm.

I made some bowls, a pitcher and a few smaller pieces. After the bisque firing I covered the entire piece with a black that has some hints of color. I let it dry, then sponged off the surface leaving the color in the grooves of the texture and on select parts of the smooth areas.

Then I brushed two different reds onto the raised surfaces, two coats, leaving some minimal areas without any color at all.

Next I lightly brushed two purples and a couple of greens across portions. On a few I fired, I didn't think I had enough of the color that I wanted so I added more red, green or purple.

One piece is simply red and black. The red has white specks in it giving it an interesting look, especially since the black was added on top of the red instead of underneath.

Then I got in one of these whimsical moods that strike me on rare occasions (the rest of the time I'm just nuts ;-). I had picked up some glass at Davens in north Atlanta to experiment with so I combined my red mood with my desire to experiment and made a series of brightly colored hearts.

I used reds, blues, greens, yellows, and other bright colors. They were a pain in the tush as I made them without thinking about how difficult they'd be to glaze!

If you wander through the slide show you'll see what I'm talking about with the bright heart series.

I put little hand-formed balls on them, took thin strings of clay to define squares then glazed inside... Yuk. I also added glass inside some of the squares and other places I'd left hollowed out for the glass. I had to fire some of them twice to get enough glass in the areas to tell I'd used it. Then I lost a few pieces as I gather glass doesn't quite like the temperature I fired to in one load. It bubbled the first time around.

Next time I'm in the mood to make these things I'm definitely going to think the design through a little better!

The idea was to make some pieces that were quick and easy, those impulse buy type items that are always good to have around. Unfortunately the glazing took so long it was not exactly cost effective.

I liked them though. I do want to try some more of them at some point. During the summer I'll be gearing up for my winter shows and plan to figure out an easier way to glaze that type piece.

I've included a few of the pieces in the following slide show. Believe me, I have more ;-)

Musings on selling art

2010-05-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

In the scheme of venturing into actively selling, I'm a newbie. I've been involved in the Arts since I could pick up a piece of chalk, a pencil or a paint brush. I'd create, someone would see, someone would buy...

About seven years ago I was lucky enough to be able to set up a full-blown studio and have slowly ratcheted up my production and thus the need to find homes for my ceramic art. Again, I have been lucky in having a few galleries and high-end stores who "found" my work and wanted to sell it. But I am creating faster than they can sell it, and I'm a social creature, so I decided to start dipping my toes into the festival market.

I'm having a lot of fun meeting, talking, selling my work. It's interesting trying to find that "niche" though. I'm not what most think of when they hear the word "potter". I never do anything twice and I hand-build the majority of my pieces, although I will sit at a wheel at times.

I'm a bad marketer when it comes to my own things. I want, like most of my fellow artists, to do nothing but create. I don't like the idea of putting together a portfolio, trying to sell myself and my art to gallery owners (any more than they probably like being bombarded with artists!). I don't like balancing a check-book, doing taxes, all the yucky business stuff that goes hand-in-hand with making money.

I just want "it" to happen ;-)

But that's not the way it works. Sure there's a measure of luck and being in the right place at the right time in making it in the art world, just like any business. If you're an artsy type though, for most of us, it's like that nitty gritty side is stunted.

I do love sitting at the shows and talking with people. I love seeing my work in galleries, openings and events are fun, but being able to sit and listen in the background while people oooh and ahhh over my work feeds the soul. Getting to know fellow artists, picking their brains (and vice versa), hearing about their struggles and successes, is good, enjoyable and I love the connectivity.

It's funny watching the reactions of people. I like to sit across from my booth or far enough away that I don't intrude. It gives people the ability to talk freely without feeling like they'll hurt my feelings. Luckily I have yet to overhear anything that would, knock on wood!

At my last show I had someone pick up a piece they were eying, turning around, obviously loving. When they saw the price they quickly put it down, with regret, and told their friend that there was no way they could afford it, priced too high. A bit later another couple came in and obviously loved my work. They gravitated to the same piece, picked it up and I heard them say "sign of the times, a starving artist". They thought it was way under-priced. They bought another piece they liked better, so I was happy.

Finding shows that attracts more of the real art appreciators and those who understand all that goes into making a piece of fine art is part of learning to sell.

Pricing correctly is another part of learning to sell. Starting out it's hard to determine the correct pricing for your art. There's no way most starting artists get compensated for the time involved in the creation of their art! With pottery it's even more difficult I think... although in recent days I've checked out the price of canvas, oils, paint brushes, etc. and whoa have the prices sky-rocketed! Nothing cheap about being an artist, is there?

OK, I could muse on, but I'm ready for breakfast and I have to get ready to go to the Metro Market for another day of selling my work... and feeding my soul, 'cause I am eating up the compliments... yum.

One more day at the Metro Market in Buckhead...

2010-05-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

The Metro Market will continue on without me until July after tomorrow... I am having a great time meeting new people, selling my work, getting to know a lot of new artists and others. Hopefully when I'm next able to join the merry crew some of the same artists will be there so we can catch up!

June is another busy month for me and I don't think I can slide in a weekend that month, although I'd like to do so. I talked with them about coming back in July, which will work great for me as that's a downtime month. I'll keep you posted.

They'll be continuing the Mart at least through August!!! Yeah!

It's a great venue for artists --- indoors, air conditioned, easy in and out for loading, and they're doing more and more advertising to bring in buyers. They are looking for higher end art, no buy-sell. They also would like to have more food vendors so it will include a "farmer's market".

I'm really hoping the community will come out to support the new market. If you've been reading my blogs you already know it's styled on a European market theme with art, fresh produce, cheeses, hand-crafted jewelry, original design clothing, and more. Today some new artists came in giving me a whole new group to discover.

Artists can choose to be there for one weekend, multiple weekends or by the month. They're also considering a co-op type arrangement if there's sufficient interest and they can work out the details. Dori, Candace and their supportive families are all working together to build this into a successful venture.

I think the Market is going to catch on and pretty soon they'll have crowds floating through. I'll be stopping by to pick up some cheese and to grab a spinach calzone when I'm in the area!

They'll be open Saturdays and Sundays through August and hopefully longer. If you're out and about tomorrow, stop by to see me! They're located just off I-85 on Piedmont Road. http://metromarketatlanta.com/

BTW... Next month some of my work will be on display at the bustling Fayette County Library. I'll tell you more about that in another blog sometime soon. This next weekend I'll be at a festival in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Beautiful area, expect I'll have fun.

I'll be at the Old Buckhead Design Center this weekend...

2010-05-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

I'll be at the Old Buckhead Design Center Friday - Sunday, May 21 - 23. I hope you'll stop by and visit with me, some see some of my work in "real life" instead of just via photos!

It's a pretty cool venue, something different for me, but hey, I'll try almost anything once or twice. I love meeting new people, enjoy talking to new friends about my work! I have my work in stores, galleries, etc., but I really get a lot out of the one-on-one interaction shows afford. Plus, since I teach it's a good way to talk to potential students.

Even if you're not interested in MY pottery (how could you not be????), there's plenty to do at the Metro Market. If you're into organic food or grown enough to sell, they're looking for produce vendors. Come out and support the folks who're putting this together. They're working hard to make it a success!

Here's more info:

http://metromarketatlanta.com/

May 7th - 30th 2010
Yes the whole month of May!!!
Friday - Sunday Only
2133 Piedmont Rd
Atlanta, GA 30324
(The Old Buckhead Design Building)

INDOOR VENUE - RAIN OR SHINE
Presenting another fun and exciting show.
Now you can enjoy the flavor of a European Style Market right here in Atlanta
Time :
FRIDAY 12pm -6pm,
SATURDAY 10am-5pm,
SUNDAY 12pm-5pm

Metro Market Atlanta is proud to present its Spring 2010 show. We open just in time for Mother's Day. It's true Atlantans love to Shop, so the Metro Market has put together the finest group of Local talented artists and a few artists from out of state. which includes unique handmade gifts, gourmet foods, children's clothing, jewelry, metal and fine art. Each Market has its own distinctive feel of a European indoor street fair. Come out and be apart of the experience. Check the website for the dates and times of our Buckhead Farmers Market......coming soon!

WE WELCOME YOU TO COME SHOP AND ENJOY OUR FABULOUS NEW INDOOR LOCATION ON PIEDMONT ROAD.

BEAUTIFUL ART, GIFTS, A FARMERS MARKET, CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES. COOKING CLASSES, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND MORE.
ALL IN ONE SPACE

Looking for artists with a big heart...

2010-05-19T07:33:00.000-04:00

If you are in the south metro Atlanta area, or beyond for that matter, and would like to use your art to help support some local charities do I have a great proposition for you ....

The local Realtors in my county (Fayette) have been getting together annually for umpteen years for an event called "Noel November". They ask local businesses and groups to decorate and donate a Christmas tree or wreath which they then auction off in November. They choose two or three charities to be the beneficiaries and give all the proceeds to them. Typically that's pretty close to 100% of the dollars raised, if not the entire amount.

It's a really nice event. They have music, food, a silent auction and usually have a great turn out. To raise money to cover expenses the realtors donate their time at local charities or just donate dollars. I was involved in it back when it first got started through a charity I was supporting. I designed their original logo and helped to put together the first two or three events. I bought a tree and donated a tree...

This year I thought it would be fun to ask my fellow artists to help decorate a tree. I have the tree already, it's 6ft and nice and full (picked it up from a decorator, very pretty). I'll do the decorating if I can get some of you to share your talents by making 6 - 12 ornaments to place on the tree, make a garland, a tree skirt for the bottom, etc.

I'm thinking about a rainbow color scheme but I'm open to suggestions as long as you suggest soon... We need some sort of color coordination as I want it to be the most stunning tree they've ever had!!!

I think silver would look good with rainbow colors, so if you're a metal artist or will be adding findings to your ornament try to stay with silver tones if you could. I was going to say gold, but that could get expensive...

If you're a fabric artist and would like to donate a rainbow garland (will have to be a couple of inches wide but long enough to wrap around the entire 8 ft tree) that would be spectacular. Also it'd be cool to have a tree skirt to go on the bottom.

We'll need a tree topper too if someone is so inclined, but let me know so I can let others know not to duplicate efforts.

What else do we need for a tree? I have the lights (clear so they won't clash).

The ornaments don't need to be large and shouldn't be too heavy. Love to have some stained glass and glass artists participate! Doesn't matter what kind of artist you are, there's a spot on the tree for your decorations!

I'll share ideas and photos on here as we're receiving things on here to spark ideas & help keep a somewhat similar color scheme. That is, assuming and hoping some of your participate!

I'm going to put together a small booklet to go with the tree with a one paragraph bio for each artist who donates. If you send me a jpg of one of your ornaments I'll also do a slide show and include your contact info, which I'll share on the Georgia Front Page and in as many other places as I can find to pop it. I'll also make sure we get some press coverage, do a press release, etc.

If you'd like to contribute, email me at janet@hummingbird-hollow.com (boy am I going to get bombarded with spam for adding that in here ;-) or comment on here and I'll follow up. I can pick up local ornaments or will share my shipping address if you'd like to send via mail.

Here's specifics:

~ 6 - 12 ornaments per artist
~ 3-4 inch ornaments (unless you're doing long & thin, then maybe 5 inches would be fine)
~ rainbow and silver color scheme
~ deadline: Halloween (Oct 31st...I have to have time to pull it all together & do some photos for press releases)
~ send 1 or 2 jpg photos to janet@hummingbird-hollow.com with your info
~ need ONE artist to make:
   - tree skirt
   - tree topper
~ need ONE OR TWO artists to make:
   - garland to wrap around fat 6 ft tree

I'll keep you posted on when the event will be, which charities they choose (usually something to do with children), and how the tree is coming along. Maybe if we get enough local artists to participate we can have a decorating party! That'd make a great photo op... and be a lot of fun, too.

Time for a break? Nope...

2010-05-16T21:08:00.003-04:00

Just settled in at home after the Fayette Fine Art Show... and decided to blog about it while all was fresh in my mind.

I had a great time! It's a spectacularly well-run show with some of the best people around working together to make it all happen. Last night a bunch of the artists went to one of the show organizer's home for a lasagna pot-luck dinner. Homemade pumpkin bread, brownies, cake... oh, almost forgot, yep, there were a few things on the non-sweet menu, too! Watermelon, veggie and meat lasagnas, bread, salad... and more importantly, lots of good company.

It was fun sharing experiences with other vendors while we munched. Pretty much everyone lamented the downturn in the economy and the affect on sales.

Today was a much better day traffic-wise and sales-wise. However, it certainly didn't come close to what I experienced the other times I participated in the show. According to the other vendors that's pretty much par for the course in most shows.

I know I had considered doing the Powers Crossroads show and the Cotton Pickin' Fair in the past. Both used to be excellent shows. However they've let in a ton of buy and sell types and the quality has gone waaaayyy down hill. How do you sell a nice piece of fine ceramic art for $300 plus while in a booth next to crocheted toilet roll covers or mass-produced puppets?

There was a lot of discussion about which shows were doing well, which ones worked for various types of art, etc. I picked a lot of brains this weekend and now have a list of shows that may work better with my kind of art.

I'm too late for some of the shows as the deadlines have passed, but I'm putting them on the list for next year.

No rest for the weary though... and no time to really think much about future shows. Next weekend I'll be at the Buckhead Design Center in Atlanta Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I understand the traffic is up and they're doing extensive marketing to try and keep the crowds coming.

The following weekend I'll be in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I think I may have mentioned both of those shows in here already.

Back to this weekend's show in Fayetteville. I did OK. Not jump up and down great, but good. I learned a lot from artists who've been doing this for many, many years. I really appreciate everyone's openness and willingness to share! Aren't artists a fabulous group???

I got to see a lot of old friends, too. It was fun chatting and catching up with folks I haven't seen in a while. I made a few new friends also.

Overall, it was a good show. I'm hoping that we see an uptick in the economy that makes it a little easier for people to feel comfortable buying some non-essentials... well, in truth, I think art is an essential but that doesn't mean everyone else thinks the same way ;-) However, essential or not, I'm keeping my pocket book snapped a lot tighter, too. I understand perfectly well how hard it is to justify spending money on art when you're concerned about losing your job or have a pay cut looming on the horizon.

Anyone read this far? I'd have probably quit reading about half way through this long blog... or maybe I'd have slogged through hoping that the writer would come to some insightful point sooner or later... sorry, I'm tired and am just rambling. No profound insights, just a lot of disconnected thoughts tonight. Let me stop now before I start talking politics or cooking or something!!! Night all.

Fayette Fine Art Show this weekend...

2010-05-14T11:11:00.003-04:00

I'll be at the Fayette Fine Art Show (also known as the Old Courthouse Fine Art Show) this weekend, Saturday and Sunday. We set up around the old Fayette Courthouse, which I understand is the oldest courthouse in Georgia. It's a beautiful setting and a very well-attended, well-known, well-respected show (enough well's for you? ).

This will be the 42nd year for the show and will be my third or fourth time at the show.

I won an award my first year at the show... am hoping maybe I'll pick up another but it really is dependent on the taste of the judges.

All the money raised from the show goes to support art scholarships for students which makes the show even better in my opinion! Patsy Gullet, an excellent artist who has a large following, and Debi Lenox, another artist and lover of arts, do a spectacular job of running the show. I'm sure there are others who help, I just happen to know those two.

Saturday night all the artists are invited to Patsy's for a pot-luck dinner. They provide the main food, the artists bring snacks and whatever they want to drink. I've had a conflict every year and have missed the fun.

This year I'm debating... There's an opening at The Seen Gallery in Decatur which I'd really, really like to go to... but it'll mean running home, showering and changing then getting over to Decatur. Chances are I'm going to be tired after a long day of selling, selling, selling (yes, I'm optimistic!).

I hope the weather holds out. There are other events --- Fayetteville Main Street's Taste of Fayette and the kids bouncy things and stuff, plus plenty of music and other talent.

OK, nuff. I'm running on and on, aren't I? Hope you'll MapQuest Fayetteville in Georgia and then stop by to see the show... and see me, too!

Fayetteville GA - Old Courthouse Fine Arts and Fine Crafts Show
May 15-16, 2010: Fayette Fine Art Show (a.k.a.Old Courthouse Fine Arts & Fine Crafts Show), courthouse square. 10am-6pm Sat; 11am-5pm Sun. Hosted by the Fayette County Art Assoc. Juried by slides. Only fine art show in affluent southside of Atlanta. Fine art, pottery, jewelry, sculpture. Awards: 1st, 2nd, 3rd places + 4 merits. Promotes the arts in Fayette County. All profits from artist booth fees is allocated to HS seniors who will study art in college.

Winning 1st Place is sweeeet....

2010-05-10T09:54:00.000-04:00

What a great weekend! I signed up a while back to do a brand new show in Thomson, Georgia, "Arts in the Alley" on May 8th. I really didn't know much about it, but my parents lived right down the road (OK, 45 minutes away ;-) and it was being held in the home of blues great Blind Willie McTell. A strong arts community, a cool show name, blues in the neighborhood and an excuse to spend time with my Mom (and Dad) on Mother's Day weekend... what could be better?

It's a fairly new show, this is its second year. I can tell that it's going to grow and there will come a time when people are fighting to get in. Marion Ivey did a phenomenal job with every aspect of the show. It was well organized, the entertainment was great and I had a lot of fun talking with he and his cohorts. What a nice community! I had a lot of fun and very much enjoyed the experience... plus some of my work found some new homes with people who really seemed to love my art. Although selling my art is special, I think some days that I enjoy soaking up compliments just as much if not more .

To give the show a permanent place in my "fond memory" category, I won 1st place for a piece of my pottery! It's always nice to win, and even better, it's nice to be appreciated.

You can't tell much from the photo to the left but I don't have time at the moment to take a better photo. This photo is one I took a month or so ago while experimenting with ways to photograph my work. It's looking down into the piece. It's titled "Treading Water". It's one of my absolute favorites. I fired it five times to get the glaze affects I wanted.

The "bubbles" cascade inside and outside. It's "wavy" to emulate the ocean, and has "coral" type flutes. Ocean colors of course. You can't see the variations of the blues and aquas in my poor photo, nor can you see the lines of the piece... Ah well, one more thing I need is a good photographer who's willing to trade with luck.

I came home from the show with a nice 1st place plaque, a stunning basket by Delores von Rosen from Chappells, South Carolina and a few nice pieces from another potter at the show. I haven't unpacked yet so I can't give you her name. I will once I unpack and find her card. Delores teaches basket weaving and if she were closer I'd be heading over to take some lessons. She had some very well made basket ART, true art... unusual shapes, beautiful colors and excellent color combos.

I'm already gearing up for my next two shows... I'm still learning about which shows will work best for my kind of art. My work is what I'd describe as art sculpture. It's definitely not what most think of when they hear the word "pottery".

This weekend I'll be at the 42nd Annual Fayette Fine Art Show in beautiful downtown Fayetteville on the courthouse square (May 15 & 16). I'm not thrilled about the weather... it's supposed to be around 90 degrees! I'm in booth 36 if any of you would like to wander by and see me. It's a fantastic show, the first I ever did and one I'll always do as long as I live close enough. I won an award there my first year, too.

The Fayette show teams up with the Fayetteville Main Street organization and holds a number of different events throughout the weekend. They have the "Taste of Fayette" which showcases lots of local restaurants, caterers and chefs, plus a kids area with those big bouncy slide things and other fun activities for the kids. The Friends of the Library holds a HUGE book sale on Saturday, too. I'm a read-aholic so I'm a member and get to hit the show the day before the public. I'll cart away bags and bags and boxes of books.

The following weekend, the 22nd, I'll be in Buckhead (Atlanta) at another new show being held inside (yeah!) at the Old Buckhead Design Center. It's styled on a European market theme and will have arts, organic foods, events for the kids and other products. It's a last minute addition to my schedule. My son told me about it. He'll have a booth there so I thought it'd be fun to set up near him and if nothing else, bond. I'm trying to finish up a lot of smaller pieces as I think it's probably going to be more of that kind of show.

I don't do small pieces as a rule. Most of my work takes hours to make, not including the firing time. I need to get my butt in gear and get a nice portfolio and get my work in more galleries. My biggest problem in life is that I have way too many interests and don't focus on one well enough to do it right. I need a handler.

On another note, couldn't end without mentioned that they're having a blues festival next weekend in Thomson, GA. Go look up the McDuffie Arts Council or Thomson and Blind Wille McTell if you'd like to find out more... which reminds me!!! There was a very, very cool display by a wood worker at the Arts in the Alley show. Again, the card is packed or I'd tell you the name darn it. Anyway, he tracked down living relatives of Blind Willie McTell and received permission to use wood from McTell's old home. He makes gorgeous wooden knives and other items from the wood. He has prints of McTell playing framed in wood from the home. If you're a blues fan, you'll want to look this guy up and snatch up one of his pieces. Again, I'll share the name and info when I unpack.

Right now I'm heading to the studio to finish glazing some pieces I hope to have for this weekend's show...

Busy, busy bee...

2010-05-06T11:48:00.000-04:00

I know you think I've dropped off the face of the earth, and maybe I have at times this past month or so! First I got sick, way back in February. I'm just now starting to feel about 98% and that's just cause I have found drugs that work...

It's some sort of creeping crud that hit that went into something else that lingered and and and... who cares, I'm not one to whine about things like that. It didn't put me in the bed after the first week, just kept me working slower and not at full speed. Grrrrr...

This month is going to be a very busy one for me as I have a show every single weekend starting this Saturday. I'm excited cause three of them are new shows for me so I'll get to meet a whole lot of new people.

Here's the schedule:

2nd Annual Arts in the Alley
Saturday, May 8
Journal Street
Thomson, Georgia
10am-6pm
Click here to visit web for more info & driving directions

42nd Fayette Fine Art Show
May 15 & 16
Downtown Fayetteville on the Square at the Old Courthouse

Metro Atlanta Artists Market
May 21-23
2133 Piedmont Rd
Atlanta, GA 30324
(The Old Buckhead Design Building)
Click to visit web for more information, driving directions

I don't have the details on the last show yet but it will be in Henderson, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to be going up with my son which is really cool and something I'm excited about! I'll be helping him with his stuff and will just have a small bit of my pottery for sale. Next year if he goes again and it looks like a good show I'll spring for the big bucks to get my own booth maybe. He's also going to be at the Metro Atlanta Market for the month of May. I'm only doing one weekend, he has a booth for the entire month.

I'm going to write a separate blog about the Metro Atlanta Market later, it deserves its own spotlight! If you're an artist in the Atlanta area, or if you know of some organic farmers or similar, you may want to check into getting a booth for one or more weekends. Great concept, looking forward to working with the ladies who came up with the idea and put all the hard work into getting it going. I know it will be a huge success!

Is Pottery "Fine Art" or... something else?

2010-03-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been busy... yep, that's my excuse for not writing. So there.

Seriously, no excuses. While I have been busy, it just doesn't take that much time to pop on here and say hello to everyone!

That said, I have had this burning desire to write about something that happened recently.

Last November I joined a local fine arts group while at one of their shows. I had been invited numerous times to join, but just never quite got around to it. I was warmly welcomed as I wrote my check, viewed their art and talked about mine.

I missed the first meeting as it was the Christmas season but managed to get to the first meeting in January. Very nice group of folks.

They have a few annual shows and the first one came up right after the January meeting. I reviewed the sign up form and noted that it said sculpture and paintings, but didn't mention pottery.

I assumed it was an oversight so I sent a query.

Nope, they don't consider pottery a fine art. They didn't say so in so many words, but my question was taken to the Board of the group and they politely said nope, no pottery.

I just as politely resigned from the group.

If they'd come back and said only one-of-a-kind pieces, no problem. Anyone who's looked at my stuff knows it's all one-of-a-kind. It's kind of a cross between pottery, painting and sculpture.

I was just curious and thought I'd ask all of you what you thought about the distinctions. Where's the line for you when it comes to fine art and whatever other category you want to put stuff. Do you think some pottery is "craft" and some is "fine art"? What do you think about your own work?

I've done many shows and many are fine art only shows, no crafts. They jury the work, so far I haven't been turned down (knock on wood, pound some clay).

They say patience is a virtue...

2010-01-17T21:51:00.004-05:00

I say patience is a pain if it's forced upon you.

I have none when I've made a piece of pottery and I want it to be finished. I chafe at having to wait for a piece to dry so I can fire it. I sometimes rush a bit to finish up a few pieces just so I can fill the kiln.

Then comes the wait for the kiln to complete its cycle and cool down. Tick, tock, tick, tock... watch the clock... Well, not exactly as I took the clock out of the studio. I watch the kiln.

After it's finished and reaches a certain temperature, I find myself walking by the kiln to touch the top and gauge coolness. Or, if I'm working across the room I can't help but glance at the temp every so often hoping it's dropped low enough to open... (yes, it's well vented)

It's worse when I've made something new, something that I really love, or something that stretched my abilities.

The joy of opening a kiln is usually worth the wait though. I've said it before: it's like Christmas, only better 'cause it's stuff I made. It's a big hot container of presents, waiting to cool...

After I finally get to open the kiln (yes, sometimes a little before you're really supposed to open it), I then have to wait until I've glazed enough pieces to fill it again.

Impatient soul that I am, sometimes I can't wait and I'll use my baby kiln to fire a piece if it'll fit.

Experimenting with glazes makes the second round of firing even more tortuous at times. I can't wait to see if the new glazes or combination of glazes will turn out like I wanted.

I bet most of you who use an electric kiln are familiar with the extremely looooonnnnngggg wait for the last 20 - 50 degree drop? It'll go from whatever astronomical temp you reach down to "almost there" while you sleep... but those last few degrees from "almost there" to "OK, time to open the kiln" take forever!

Tell the truth... how many of you have cheated and opened the kiln, let in a little air, then closed it again hoping to rush that last little bit of time? How many of you have done it more than once because it didn't work the first time? I've never done anything like that, oh no. I know better. I really, really do, I promise. (Want to know how long my nose grew as I typed??? can't type ayn morrae, it's droopnng onaato th key bard...)

Yeah, yeah, I'm guilty. Often guilty. Knock on wood I haven't lost a piece yet due to my inability to wait, but I know it's just a matter of time so I've been working on it for, ummm, how many years? hmmm... impatient potters anonymous anyone?)

Seriously, over the years I've gotten better at being patient.

A little.

OK, not really. I've just learned to schedule the kiln firing, whenever possible, for the times when I know I can't get out to the studio for a couple of days.

As I type I'm looking out my window toward the studio wondering if that last piece is bone dry yet so I can fire up the kiln. Tomorrow morning I guarantee I'll be out the door first thing to check.

Patience is something I doubt I'll ever have in the realm of my clay world. Impatient Potters Anonymous indeed! Where do I sign up?

Recycled bowl...

2010-01-12T20:19:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had an idea, followed it through, then been unhappy with the results? I had that one happen today.

I spent half the afternoon working on this really cool square bottom, round top with two necks. It was OK. It wasn't quite right so I started working with it. I added this and that, then took off that...

Still not right.

Kept at it until I finished, but I really, really just didn't like the finished piece.

Not only did it not look like I'd envisioned, it was just... I don't know... just not right.

I put it on a turn-table and spun it around. I looked at it from a variety of angles. I stepped back and again looked at it from different angles. I got close, eye-level, and turned it around.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it felt confused, junky... not right.

So, I grabbed a huge bowl, sprayed it so the clay wouldn't stick and I tore that sucker up.

It was so much fun! I made a bowl that grew out of the bowl shape I'd chosen.

It's not the first time I've recycled a piece I've made, but in the past it has generally been because the first piece fell apart or flopped.

I guess in a way this one flopped... at least for me. Then it flopped for real when I lit into it to tear it up.

Guess when I write about these things I should take some photos so you'll have an idea of the before and after. Of course, you're all artists so I'm sure you're good at picturing something in your mind.

I will take a photo of the bowl tomorrow and add it to this post, then you can see how close your imagination came to at least part two, the recycled bowl.

p.s. "junky" (used above) is not in the spell check dictionary on here. Hmph.

Waking the brain matter up, thinking about selling pottery...

2010-01-11T09:31:00.003-05:00

Last night I wrote a blog that dithered around a number of subjects, one being having a "staple" piece of art to sell. I've always just blindly accepted the philosophy, or maybe it's more of an accepted business model, that you need to have low end priced items at shows. The thought process being that those are the ones that most will buy and those are the ones that will be your bread and butter.

It makes some sense for the standard show, although I think you do need to know the type buyers that come through a show also. If you're at a high end show and you have under $50 pieces you may find that you sell nothing...

However, for most artists who're doing an arts/craft type shows a large portion of those attending do so to hear the music, to have a family day out, to check out the taste of whatever city you're in, to hook up with friends, etc. They buy on impulse and aren't necessarily looking for a nice piece to take home.

I do a number of those crafty type shows. I enjoy getting out and meeting new people, hearing comments, talking with other artists, etc.

But in a blind flash of the obvious, it struck me this morning as I walked though my home, that I had quite a few pieces of pottery and art that I'd bought at shows from other artists. I usually bought the pieces because I craved one of their nicer pieces and couldn't afford to bring it to my home (where it obviously belonged). So, I bought a smaller pieces.

The sad thing is that I have a lot of those smaller pieces and I couldn't tell you the name of most of the artists. I can't attach the small "production" type piece I bought to a picture in my mind of their nicer work. I know the names of the artists whose work I still crave, or those I saved to buy...

As I reflected on that, I started thinking about how I view my own work. I started thinking about what a chore it is to me to do something over and over. I never, ever like to make two of a kind of anything and when I make myself do it just to make a dollar or two, then it's almost like I'm selling myself out.

I'm being someone that isn't me.

I'm compromising just to make a few dollars.

Money is nice, but it's never been my motivator. I could easily be one of those stereotypical starving artists (but am very happy I'm not ;-).

Continuing to think more about it as I sipped (OK, guzzled) my second cup of hot tea, it struck me that I usually don't sell the smaller pieces anyway. I may see a number of people walk into my booth and pick up a piece to see the price before someone buys, but I sell enough to be happy when I pack up most shows.

So, I've decided to say to heck with the business model. It's always been one of those little guilty twinge-types that stayed with me as I prepared for a show... knowing I need to stop doing what I really want to do so I can make some smaller stuff.

Picture me going to the studio and in my mind I'm stomping my feet throwing a tantrum because I have an idea or muse I want to follow but I hafta be good, I hafta do those stupid money-making-fillers.

Making pottery is a joyful experience most days. It's the high that runners talk about (and I used to have when I ran regularly). It clears the mind of clutter. It's better than yoga.

I needed to write that blog yesterday and I needed to clear my mind of the "hafta" clutter.

Refreshing. Freeing. Seriously. It is.

Potzophrenic...

2010-01-10T20:39:00.002-05:00

New word for the dictionary . I have been flitting from one thing to the next this week in the studio.

I was on hearts for a bit, then made some vase type pots, then saw a magazine at my Mom's house with a cool quilt ad which inspired a whole other day of heart making... then had a midnight wakeful moment that sparked a wall hanging... then saw one of my old pots that I really liked which had me remembering the pitchers I made a while back and I made this nice large pitcher... then another heart or two just to balance my pot karma.

Potzophrenic for sure.

I'm excited about the pitcher. I think I'm going to spend a week doing some more. Then I have to get serious and do some glazing.

I have a few shows on the horizon so need to settle in and think "sales" for a few days a week if I can. I'm finding that my higher end pieces aren't selling as quickly as they have in the past at shows, but as always, people will buy the lower end just to satisfy that "hafta have my art" fix... so I must, I must, try to focus on paying the electric bills.

Most in the art business have their quickly made staple that gets them through most shows. The $10 - $40 piece that they pop out without breaking a sweat. It's uniquely theirs, but it's easy to make, easy to glaze and easy to sell.

Being the kind of person who can't stay on any one thing for long I haven't found the discipline to make those little pieces that fill in the gaps between the big sales. Even when I find something that's fairly quick & easy it has to be perfect... and so sometimes I'll fire a $15 item 2 or 3 times just to get the glaze right. Of course, then the $15 item becomes worth three times the cost and I'm losing money when I sell it, defeating the purpose.

Or I am so entranced with making something new, following an idea, that I never quite get around to making those business card holders or the thing-a-majig to hand on the wall. Boring. Work. Yuk. No fun when ideas are bubbling.

So, I make my hearts, then my vases, then my wall hanging... A

h well, someday some huge famous gallery is going to just hafta carry my art and Ceramics mag will feature me on the front page and my work will be in huge demand throughout the world and... and... Ya know, that'd all be nice, but I don't spend my time dreaming about things like that, I spend my dreaming moments thinking about what I'm going to do with that pile of clay waiting for me in the studio.

I think any artist will tell you creating is all that really matters. Appreciation is wonderful. Recognition feels very, very good. But taking your ideas and turning it into something concrete is an addiction, a compulsion and all the rest of it is just super nice icing on our home-made cake.

Question re: Cobalt Carbonate in glaze

2010-01-01T13:47:00.002-05:00

I have a bowl that I brushed with cobalt carbonate (or is it carbonate cobalt... time for my 'up too late on New Years Eve nap ;-) that I'd mixed with some water. I wiped it off, leaving a decent amount in crevices. I'm going to put a clear glaze, or maybe a white or light blue glaze over it and fire. At least that's the plan. However, it seems that I read somewhere that the cobalt would run easily? I don't want a mess, don't want to ruin the bowl either.

Anyone familiar with the properties? Should I wipe a LOT of it off? Should I wash it all off? What's gonna happen you think if I do what I said? Need a photo to see how much I have on there?

I did an Internet search, no luck. I'll probably take a look through some of my pottery books.

Heading back out to the studio, it's New Years Day and I can't start the year without clay under my fingernails .

Hope you're all having the best ever beginning to a new year!

Busy day in the studio

2009-12-29T22:29:00.002-05:00

I decided to do a series of hearts, something a bit different for me. I'm usually not drawn to something like that, but I started thinking about them over the holidays and had a few ideas I wanted to try.

I made "heart attack", "heart of steel", "cut to the heart", "twisted heart" and others... I plan to get out there again Thursday and improve on the designs, expand on the ideas. I'm not exactly sure they'll be suitable for Valentine's Day giving, but maybe I'll try a few more traditional offerings. I'm not a very traditional type person.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, no clay. I'm taking my three nieces shopping for Christmas and to lunch. Looking forward to seeing them (and my sister). I'll slip out to the studio for a few minutes though, have a few pieces that are under plastic, drying slowly that I need to check on.

I also made a couple of vases today. If you've read my previous blogs you know I'm just not the kind of person who can do one thing over and over, even if there's some variation. I had enough of hearts after a while, took a break and tried something else new. I like the way one piece turned out. I think I'll do a few more in the same line. It's sharper and more linear than some of the work I've posted on any of the slides you've seen (assuming you've looked at my work on Facebook and / or my website).

I have a tendency to do things you're not supposed to do when working with clay. When I first started playing with clay my mentor would tell me I couldn't do something or other... I'd do it anyway, knowing what I wanted. Knowing that what I wanted to do wasn't supposed to work made it a challenge.

I made some interesting "mistakes" that I still own and like. Quite possibly someone teaching art would turn up their nose at some of them! I won an award from a group of artists and instructors for a piece one year. At the next show the judge, a college art instructor, sneered at the piece... Turned out if it wasn't wheel thrown she didn't like anyone's pottery, but still it shows that art truly is a personal experience.

One of the beautiful things about pottery, or any art for that matter, is that it continues on long after a person leaves this earth. Looking at artistic creations tells you a lot about the person, their soul, their spirit. Given the names I gave to pieces of my heart series I have to wonder what it'll tell people about me!!! Nyahhh, ha, ha, ha, he, he... twisted she must be...

Good morning, deer...

2009-12-19T09:37:00.005-05:00

Catching up on some office stuff, updating websites, checking on my ArtFire listings and my newest Hummingbird Hollow pages on http://www.artistsingeorgia.com/ (free for Georgia artists, plus they have sister sites in other states), reading emails, downing my second cup of hot tea, yada yada yada ad nauseum...

Sitting in my office, which is a converted sun room, I can see my studio. It beckons... but today it will sit silent, all alone. Well, all alone except any wildlife that wanders by! Today is my volunteer day at the Clothes Less Traveled, a thrift store. I'm on the Board of this fantastic non-profit. I love that we're recycling other people's stuff, then taking the dollars earned and giving to local charities... One of the most fun things in the world is to give! I volunteer once a month, usually end up sorting through donations (and buying more stuff that I don't need ;-). I get some great things for the studio in there at great prices, too.

Anyway, back to my morning 'cause I hafta get outta here soon:

I caught some action from the corner of my eye as I was playing with my Hummingbird Facebook account. A deer scampered across the yard. Grayer than normal, maybe they do that during the winter cold? Usually they're a nice tannish-brown. I guess the change is natures way of helping them to blend in? or maybe it's a thicker coat for the cold?

I grabbed my camera and popped a few photos of the deer, then glance toward the studio and saw three more. My movement in the window spooked them, two jumped into the woods, one froze in the middle of the yard.

I once got within a foot or two of a deer with a camera while hiking in the mountains. They freeze thinking you won't see them. Ha.

Thought I'd share my morning photos. Both of these were taken through my office windows (double paned with an outside screen, surprised I was able to get anything at all... especially since only the rain washes the things!).

My studio is in the background of one of the shots... that makes this have something to do with pottery, right? Oh, and those rocks behind the tree behind the deer? That's the beginning of my pottery rock garden mentioned in a previous blog.

From Pottery to Turkeys and Back

2009-12-18T14:19:00.007-05:00

One of the things I love about my home and studio location is the fact that they're both located in an area where the wildlife is still around and part of the scenery.

The first year we moved here my studio was still under construction so I spent most of my time getting the home settled. I was delighted when I saw my first deer wandering across the yard, nipping at the trees, nibbling on the grass. I'd sit up some nights just to see if they'd cross the yard.

Then I saw my first wild turkeys! Wow, that was very cool.

Over the years I've enjoyed watching the turkeys grow, gotten kind of used to their habits and noises. They're pretty stupid birds in many ways. If I walk slow, they'll ignore me. If I make a sudden move they may run at me or run away. Many times I've stood near them for long enough to have wacked 'em all if so inclined (I'm not, I don't eat meat so prefer to watch ;-).

Being a want-to-be-good-photographer, I've taken quite a few photos over the years, popped some YouTube videos out there for the world to enjoy.

This year I was thrilled when Mama turkey first wandered across the yard with eight baby chicks. Off and on she brought them back to enjoy whatever it is they seem to like in our yard. Then they stopped coming. The latter half of the summer I wondered if they were OK, kept an eye peeled for them.

A week or so ago they finally came back, pretty much fully grown I'd guess, but still all together. That in itself is an accomplishment. We have foxes and human predators in the area. Most of the homes around here are on 5-acre or larger lots, all of us back up to wetlands and wooded areas that hopefully will never be developed. I hear guns off and on so know that "my" turkeys sometimes end up on someones dinner table.

For a number of years I had turkeys that would hang out on the front porch of my studio. I'd look up and see one or sometimes two on the porch peering through the glass doors. If you go to my website, www.hummingbird-hollow.com, you can see a photo of one looking through the door. I always knew I'd had a visitor or two by the amount of turkey poop waiting for me...

It's a great feeling to be enjoying myself in the studio while also enjoying whatever wildlife happens to end up outside one of the windows. I keep hummingbird feeders around the place, regular bird feeders, plus try to keep flowers and plants growing (but the deer seem to feel that most of my stuff is their personal smorgasbord...). I have chipmunks, squirrels, a couple of foxes and who knows what else. It can get kind of spooky at night when the automatic lights go on and I hear scrambling noises outside the window.

Given that I love to incorporate nature into my work, it's fantastic to have so much of the best of nature around me while I'm creating. Don't know how life could get any better... well, take I that back immediately as I guess I could come up with a huge, long, long list of ways to make it better if I thought about it for a second! However, life is good and I'm grateful for all the blessings.

(Not sure if you can really tell, but there's a turkey flying just to the left of the bird feeder in the tree in that last photo. All of the photos are of "my" nine turkeys, the top two were taken from the vantage point of my studio. I couldn't get them all together long enough to take a good photo.)

And the winner is...

2009-12-17T21:47:00.006-05:00

The pot.

Yep, the bowl, the pot, the blasted thing won.

If you read my earlier post you know I was wrestling with a bowl, refiring, fixing, tweaking, refiring, etc., etc... 'cause stubborn me just refused to admit defeat.

I liked the design.

I liked the colors... at least some color incarnations... the color scheme has stayed roughly the same, but boy have the actual colors gone through a few transformations! Light one time, matte another, marbled, dark, you name it, I think I hit every variation possible in the turquoise / aqua family!

I finally pushed the silly thing past the limit of reasonableness and while it didn't blow up, the glaze rebelled completely.

It popped open into wide gashing, sharp holes exposing the raw clay! Yes, I went way overboard on this contest of wills.

It's so bad I can't even put it in my pottery garden. What's a pottery garden? Mine is a rock garden where I add my failures, pieces of my work that break and other found items from the yard.

I live on a 5-acre place that spits up all kinds of interesting things each time it rains. I'm just outside Atlanta, nowhere near the ocean, and the ground delivers beautiful seashells! I've found ancient shaving cans, cool pieces of metal and other interesting objects. I have a nice pile of glass going, and I'm saving all the broken tile to make a path in front of the studio.

I put the smaller "found" items in the garden along with my pottery, pop in a flower or plant of some sort and plant to let it go where it wants. I just started it at the beginning of this year so I expect to have fun over the next few years as I add things.

I dug up all the rocks from the yard, which is full of quartz, mica and granite pieces.

Next year I'll take a photo and share it with you, assuming it's worthy of sharing.

I suppose I could bury the pot in the ground so the outside edges, where the huge gashes are would be underground, but at this point I think the bowl is cursed. It wanted to die a long time ago.

The photo shows it in my trash can. Looking at the photo you really can't see how bad the glaze has popped and peeled off. The color is more of a dark turquoise than black, and it has lighter marbled bits which show as a light blue or white in the photo. The color of the clay is showing through around the fluted edges.

The outside is where I had fun with this one when I initially made it. There are horizontal and vertical strips on the outside. The horizontal end in a petal at the bottom curve. Ah well, I am going to do it again as I like the design, the flow, the curves... but I'm using a different clay. I think a lack of grog in the clay might have contributed to the inability to curve without cracking.

Whatever.

I'm going to do it again, despite losing this contest of wills.

ArtFire, Etsy and Selling

2009-12-14T08:40:00.005-05:00

I've been playing around with ArtFire this weekend. I listed two items (whoopee) and plan to list more. I plan to keep you posted on how it's working. Many of my friends are on Etsy and like it, some don't. I have not tried Etsy, not sure if I will yet.

ArtFire has the benefit of having a free basic set up without too many bells and whistles so I can dip my toe into the water without laying out any cash. I like the no-contract, month-to-month bit if I do decide to upgrade. Set up was extremely easy, although I still haven't found where to add my Twitter, Facebook and blog links... they don't have a problem with linking to your website, blogs, etc. per their documentation.

Another thing I liked about it, although I can't imagine ever getting to reap the rewards, is a program where you get 12 friends to sign up and you get your upgraded account for free. The catch is that they have to sign up immediately for the paying account (only around $12 a month, flat fee, no percentages of sales, etc. from what I saw when I glanced through details). If they convert later, like I will if it seems beneficial, then it doesn't count toward the 12... Almost everyone I know would probably start out with the free Basic account, then upgrade. However, I'm going to pop the link on here, on my sidebar and on my website, see what happens.

Either way, if I sell something fairly fast then I'll upgrade. If I don't, I'll probably wander over to Etsy. I'm not sure my work is a fit at either of the two, will just have to see. Maybe as I get a bigger following people will check to see if I'm there.

Mentioning Etsy reminded me of something else about ArtFire --- you can import all your listings from Etsy into ArtFire. To my way of thinking, why wouldn't someone on Etsy want to be on ArtFire also?

I can't give you traffic estimates, didn't check. I do know that I popped my first bowl out there and had three looks by the time I got around to checking the next morning. Haven't looked to see if I've had more.

So, on to the grand ArtFire experiment...

My preference is to stay strictly in galleries, not sure if by having my work on-line that I'm diluting my strength or improving it or if it's a wash.

I'm also considering hiring someone to represent me to new galleries. I know it's probably better to do the work myself as I'm passionate about it and can answer detailed questions, so will see. I guess if I paid someone they'd be passionate about selling it, too! In this economy any time I put the word "hire" or "job" in a statement someone inevitably wants to know if I'll consider them.

I'm appreciative that my work continues to sell, despite the economy! I am very appreciative of those who love my art, those who keep coming back to buy more for their homes, offices, and friends. It's such a wonderful craft.

Register on ArtFire.com

Contest of wills... with a pot

2009-12-13T17:06:00.004-05:00

Ever had a pot that is difficult, impossible, has a mind of its own (and it isn't a good one)? I am currently in the midst of a contest of wills with a bowl and I am not sure yet whether I'll win!

It all started with an idea for a bowl that moved sideways and upward. I wanted a nice smooth sectioned bowl that I'll have to photograph and show you... if it survives.

I was working with a new clay that unfortunately didn't quite lend itself to doing what I wanted it to do. I love working with red clays, this one is a tan clay. My students got a kick out of listening to me fussing at it and about it as I attempted to make it meld to my vision... After tweaking, letting it sit, coming back and playing some more, I finally made the bowl and it looked fairly close to what I intended. It only took a few weeks of working on it off and on between projects, which is already more time than I typically spend on a project, but it had already become a challenge, a duel.

I covered it and left it to dry very, very slowly.

I checked on it periodically and for the first few days of very drying it seemed to be holding up. Then I saw the crack forming. Yarrgggg... after all that work I was determined to make it work.

I tweaked, used some paper clay mix, tweaked some more and once again left it to dry.

It formed another crack in another place. I knew the top was pulling the thing down some, but I kept it in a full support while it dried, it shouldn't have been splitting. I've since learned that it's more the clay than anything else. (Side note: I adapted to the clay, made some other pieces, all cracked during firing or during the drying process so I only make flat, non-curved pieces with it now. I won't be buying the clay again after I finish the batch.)

Finally I had a finished pot, no cracks, ready to fire. I picked it up and broke off one of the pieces. I won't share my reaction... needless to say, I fixed it again. It's not visible, in fact the places I fixed are probably the strongest part of the bowl!

Luckily all that happened before bisque firing.

All seemed well through the bisque process.

Then came the glazing...

The clay absorbs glaze like a sponge. I checked to be sure I'd fired to the correct temp. I had. It's just a porous clay.

I thought though that my problems were at an end, couldn't wait to see the finished piece. Of course, the glaze crawled, didn't adhere to spots, and the colors weren't consistent.

I should have tossed the piece, but I had to0 much invested in it at that point.

I re-glazed and re-fired.

I re-glazed and re-fired.

I re-glazed and re-fired.

Somewhere in the re-glazing and re-firing I lost count.

The last time I re-glazed I included it in a batch of red pieces, which fire at a cone lower than the the glazes on the bowl called for, but I figured with all the glaze firings it wouldn't matter.

It did.

The glaze bubbled and didn't have time to settle so now it has these ugly big broken bubbles in places.

I'm firing it one more time at the correct temps. I'm going to hold the temp at the end and make sure the kiln cools slow to give the glaze time to settle.

If it doesn't turn out this time, it's going into my pottery garden... where it should have gone weeks and weeks ago, along with the entire batch of clay.

New colors, going vibrant!

2009-12-13T07:42:00.008-05:00

Am on a roll with some new colors, primarily reds. Off and on over the years I've used some reds, mainly in small part for highlights or decorating edges. A while back I went to see Peter Max and had a burst of primary color pottery energy. It didn't last long as I lean toward natural colors, earthy tones, blues and similar.

However, recently I decided to experiment some with the reds that have been languishing.

Reds can be finicky. Part of the reason I haven't done much with them (aside from liking my earth and ocean glazes) is that the reds I use can't be fired the same way I normally fire. I have to get a big enough batch of work going to justify firing up the kiln. I haven't been in a red mood ;-)

Now I've found a whole group of my glazes that seem to work well being fired with the reds, although a few I had in the batch will need to be fired again so I won't be including them in the future!

The red glazes can't be close to other colors, they need a lot of oxygen and they have to be fired fast. Normally I fire slow and add a holding time at the end. Sometimes I ramp up slowly, depending on the glazes and clays.

I've been trying to figure out what the new color scheme reminds me of since pulling the first pieces out of the kiln. It was driving me batty as I looked at them on the shelf with the lights hitting the colors.

At my last show a number of us talked about the subject at different times. Everyone seemed to like the colors, but no one helped.

As I sat here to write this it hit me... remember when you were a kid how you'd take multi-colored crayons and cover a piece of paper? then you'd cover it entirely with black paint or maybe a black crayon? then etch through to make a really cool (or so we thought) picture?

Voila. That's my new pots. Of course, with these I've etched away a lot of the black paint!

You'll see hints of purple, green and lots of red in the new color scheme. I'm going to play with using some blues and other colors, but want the red and black to be the predominate colors that catch the eye.

The problem with these colors is that I'm not really sure how many people have color schemes that work with such strong colors. Howeve, as with most of my work, I make it like I want it and then hope others like what I created, too.

These pieces would make nice accent items, and as with most of my work, look best with lights hitting them, sunlight being the best.

On a side note, I remember when we were looking for a new house a few years back. We found one that was decorated in rooster. As in roosters that peck on the ground and make lots of noise if they're not pictures on a wall. Loved the house, but didn't care for a house that didn't seem to have a room without roosters. Even though the owners wanted to sell, they wouldn't repaint or sell to anyone who didn't like / love their roosters. I guess my new pieces would have worked pretty well with all the black and red roosters!

I think I'm gonna call the new group crayon resist.

Logo Theft

2009-12-10T09:31:00.004-05:00

A week or two ago I set up a fan page on Facebook for Hummingbird Hollow Pottery Studio. Before setting it up I did a quick search and was shocked to see my logo pop up when I put in Hummingbird Hollow.

At first I thought I had lost whatever clay-soaked brain cells were left and that I'd already set a page up and forgotten... but nope, I can still lay claim to some form of sanity! Some cheap, cheesy you-know-what stole my logo.

Yep, took it, copied it, pasted it, deleted the word "studio" and voila, he had a logo. Some guy in Mystic, Connecticut is putting together a new development named Hummingbird Hollow. From doing a search I gather he's pulled back the request from the city council for now, possibly due to the economy, who knows.

He had a fan page on Facebook for the development. I became a fan just so I could post a message, then let my friends (on my main Facebook account) know about the duplicity, the theft. Within a few days he'd taken the page down.

However, I'm keeping an eye on him, doing periodic searches to make sure he creates his own stinkin' logo in the future. I kinda hope that maybe he's simply someone who has a large piece of property that he's wanting to develop and maybe he just didn't think when setting up the fan page on Facebook. Maybe when I brought it to his attention, that ended the problem. I hope so.

I used to be a graphic designer, create logos. I made my logo, created it from scratch and have many hours and designs to prove it.

I've already talked to my lawyer, and contacted the state to find out what the next step will be if he continues to use my copyrighted work...

I'm sharing this with you mainly to suggest that 1) you trademark if you can afford it and 2) you do periodic searches on the Internet for your business name to make sure it's yours.

If you had a designer create your logo, make sure you have documentation with the time frame as that could be important. Throw it in a file and hang onto the info.

I'm sure there are lots of other things you could and should do... if you have an attorney they're your best bet (albeit the most expensive route) for protecting your creative work.

Busy little bee...

2009-12-09T08:53:00.002-05:00

Not quite as little a bee as I used to be , but I'm still busier than most bees these days. I needed a down day without a lot of pressure or physical activity to decompress after my shows so I took yesterday and worked on getting the pottery side of my personality set up on Facebook and Twitter. I have new accounts (Janet McGregor Dunn Hummingbird on Facebook, HHPotteryStudio on Twitter). I now have them all feeding (I hope) to each other in a way that allows this blog to feed to Twitter which then feeds to Facebook.

I just checked Facebook and I'm up to 85 friends already (thank you very much)! I'm on the hunt for good arts friends, plus friends from home and family who support the arts (or me!).

This blog is a test to see how it's all working... I've connected everything before on my political sites and my business sites, but it's been a while. I had to go searching through old memories to find the names of aps. One of my personalities is a computer geek. My multiple personalities also have multiple personalities.

Need to run out to the studio soon to check for damage. Had some nasty stuff running through the area last night, saw on one of my twitter accounts that areas of Georgia had storm damage. Doesn't look bad out the window, but we're in a heavily wooded area so there's a good chance we have limbs down. My studio sits in a little "hollow" surrounded by trees.

Art friends...

2009-12-08T20:34:00.004-05:00

My brain is still on the "art" node today. I was just thinking about the ladies who shared their art along side me yesterday at the Hollingsworth House. There was some amazing art in the building!

Susan Norton www.thepaintedthread.com. I met Susan recently at an event at Beyond the Door in Senoia (a very cool place). I saw one of her wall hangings and started drooling. She had another there also that I almost grabbed, but had to sell some of mine first to be able to justify. I had to invite her to join me for my annual show! When I saw all of her work displayed yesterday I was truly in awe. Talent, an eye for color, great composition, and, and, and... there's some of her work on the website I posted, but not enough to give you an idea of how talented this beautiful lady is! She's someone I hope to get to know a lot better and expect to find that we'll become great friends.

Gail Jensen, www.studiogg.com. Helena Marette (I'll tell you about her in a minute) came to my house for a small get-together and, special and giving person that she is, brought me a gift of these very useful and lovely glass dip markers (you have to go to Gail's website to see what I'm talking about). After that sort-of introduction, I saw one of her guitars at the Dogwood Gallery in Tyrone. Loved it. So, when Helena suggested that she join us for the show, I had to say yes. She didn't get to bring a lot as she'd been on vacation. While I didn't get to see much of her work, I did get a chance to get to spend a little, little time with her (we were all non-stop last night, not much of a chance to visit). I can't wait to see the ornament she's making for me and to get to know her a bit better!

Helena Marette. Sad to say, I don't know if Helena has a website and the two of us have been friends for quite some time! I'm going to hafta ask the question. Helena and I are art friends and political friends. She is a lovely soul, someone anyone would be proud to call friend. I love her work. Yesterday she brought some of her jewelry and it walked out the door... actually, it was worn out the door! She is an extremely talented person with a big heart, and is someone I value as a friend and fellow artist.

Fiona Dennis, artist. Unfortunately Fiona was ill, but she did manage to bring her fantabulous paintings to the show. I "met" Fiona initially through a mutual friend. When I popped over to her website and looked at her paintings I fell in love with her vibrant colors and subject choices. She has contributed two chairs to the annual Chair-ity Event here in Fayette County which benefits The Children's Village at Christian City. Beautiful chairs, my favorite being the Mermaid Chair she put together this year! I'll try to share some of her work with you at some point.

Donna Rosser, www.thebarefootphotographer.com Donna and I have been friends for quite some time. She brought a few of her note cards and her cookbook to display but had a conflict that night so she wasn't able to participate fully. I would love to have had some of her photos to display! She is an award-winning photographer and a good friend. I'd write more, but I'm beginning to fizzle out, still in wind-down-from-non-stop-prep-and show-itis .

So much talent in one house yesterday! I do so appreciate having such talented friends and very much loved having them share their art yesterday.

I'd also like to give a BIG thank you to Belinda Fitch, owner of the Hollingsworth House and MC Events (catering). I have been so impressed with her big heart, giving so much to help the kids at Christian City (and I'm sure many other charitable groups!). She walks the walk.

In recovery...

2009-12-08T19:52:00.004-05:00

We've already established that I'm a wimp (if you read my previous post). These past few days have proven that I truly am a wimp!

While I had a wonderful time these past few days, I could live without the sun-up to sun-down set up, break down, packing, unpacking, clean up, whine, whine, whine . I need a Samantha nose that I can tweak and wiggle just enough to move all my work from home and studio to shelves, then back again. Better yet, from home and studio to new owner's homes... with payment, of course!

I am very happy with sales over the past few days. More importantly, I'm very happy with those who fell in love with a piece or two or three of my work and just had to take it home! I discovered a very long time ago that I love to create and I love to be appreciated. Money is what supports my habit, praise is what feeds my soul (along with the creation of a piece, I think I'd shrivel up and blow away if I couldn't do something artistically creative).

I enjoy making the making of each piece so much I sometimes think it might not bother me all that much to just have a huge, huge warehouse with tons of shelves to display the end products. Then I do a show or have someone stop over to buy a creation of mine and I realize just how much I enjoy having others see and appreciate my art.

I have a good friend who now owns maybe 5 or so pieces of mine. Whenever she stops by to see my work I drop everything and just follow her around to hear her comments, to "see" through her eyes. She makes ME appreciate the finished pieces!

Back to my whining and wimping... the end result was well worth the effort, so I can't really wimp and whine too much. I had so much fun with my fellow artists at our open house and reception yesterday! Plus, I made some new friends in recent days through the Saturday show and our show yesterday. No matter how tired I might be today (a whole lot extra goes into doing your own show when you're in charge of putting the entire thing together), I would do it all again tomorrow.

I laid in bed last night working on a way to have another event before Christmas, thinking about our Spring show, reviewing the past few days to find ways to make it go better, churning through ideas on how to display my work here at home so all those who've asked to see it before Christmas can do it without it being a big production, etc., etc., etc.

If it's not raining tomorrow I'm going to unpack the boxes left from the weekend and take photos of each piece as I do. My friend Donna Rosser, The Barefoot Photographer, put together a mock-up of a photo portfolio for me a few months back. I plan to get my tush in gear and capitalize on her idea... so many plans, so little time.

So much for recovery, I guess I'm happily addicted.

Call me a wimp but...

2009-12-06T08:04:00.002-05:00

...there's frost on the ground, it's coooollllldddd outside and I need to start a kiln load. I really do. But I don't want to go outside and cross the frozen tundra (ha ha) to get to my studio. I'm sitting here with my first cup of hot tea for the day, next to the little "extra" heater that I keep in my office (which is a converted sunroom, thus a bit chillier than the rest of the house). I have my socks on, my sweater wrapped around me, and I keep looking outside the windows toward the studio and I know, I know, I know I have to go out there... brrrrrr....

It's 24 degrees outside right now. Double brrrrr....

I have a show tomorrow at the Hollingsworth House in Fayetteville, Georgia. If I start that kiln load before 10 today then it should be ready in time to open tomorrow afternoon. Should being the operative word. If it's not, I'll have a nice load of Christmas gifts for my family, plus some stuff for sale later.

But I gotta get my butt out there to the studio.

Will I, won't I, will I, won't I???? How important are those pieces waiting to be fired? No guarantees they'll turn out anyway... and if they do, no guarantees they'll sell... But then again, they probably will turn out fine (they better as much time, glaze and kiln energy it takes!). And then again, if one sells then it could be the piece that makes it all worthwhile tomorrow night... Course, even if I fire the kiln up before ten, it might not be cooled down enough to open by tomorrow afternoon anyway... but with the cold temperatures it will cool faster than usual so...

Oh darn, this is taking up too much brain power this early in the morning. I think I'll go fix another cup of hot tea and mull it over a bit more.

Sand art...

2009-12-03T07:32:00.002-05:00

This has nothing in the world to do with my pottery... a friend sent this to me and it was so amazing I had to share. I intended just to pop over & look at it quickly to see what it was all about, but couldn't stop watching. Then, to make it even worse (time-wise), I saw another off to the side on YouTube and had to watch it, too.

The following was included in the email I rec'd from my friend:

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about £75,000.

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

Kseniya Simonova says:
"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."

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Here's the second one I watched, "Don't Be Late":

You're invited... Pottery Plus and St. Andrews Arts & Crafts Fair

2009-11-29T22:37:00.004-05:00

I have been working my tush off, my fingers to the bone and whatever other over-used phrase that depicts non-stop "work", trying to finish up some new work for two shows next weekend.

I decided to do a lot of white clay Christmas pieces. Christmas tree decorations, platters, bowls and other things that I think will make nice gifts. I'm trying for a variety of sizes and price-points. A lot of the pieces are new for me as I typically like to be rather free-flying with my clay. I made some more "traditional" pieces (along with some not-so-traditional).

I also made some smaller items such as business card holders, soap dishes, etc. in my very favorite red clay. I have a batch in the kiln as I type... can't wait to see how they turn out.

I'm now firing my pieces multiple times as a rule to allow for more depth in the finished piece. I layer glazes, add colors, include textures and am incorporating more bright, vivid, underglazes.

Here are the two upcoming events I mentioned:

St. Andrews Arts & Crafts Fair Dec. 5th

I'll be participating in the St. Andrews Arts & Crafts Fair on Dec. 5th, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. in Peachtree City. This is a juried / invitation only event and I can guarantee it will be jam-packed with quality art! 316 Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree City, GA.

Pottery Plus Dec. 7th

This is my annual Christmas pottery show with a few additions. I invited some friends to join me this year! Helena Marette will be showcasing some of her jewelry, Susan Norton will share her fabric art, Fiona Dennis will fill the walls with her fabulous paintings and Gail Jensen will have some of her glass pieces on display. Of course, everything is for sale!

We'll have an open house from 11 - 2 (drop in, have a cookie, see the art, buy the art)

The main Reception will be from 6 - 9 p.m.

Hollingsworth House
Fayetteville, Georgia (Hwy 54 next to Stonewall Village / Fayette County Government Complex)

Visit my website for more info... www.Hummingbird-Hollow.com

Chair-ity Event to Benefit The Children's Village at Christian City

2009-11-29T22:31:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite charities or causes or place or whatever... is Christian City in Union City, Georgia. I've been working for the past few months on one of their annual fund raisers, The Chair-ity Event. We ask artists of note to paint chairs which are auctioned off at the event.

This is our third year, the second with chairs. MC Events and the Hollingsworth House donate the food and location at absolutely no cost which enables us to take every single penny raised and give it to the children.

I painted two chairs last year, this year I painted one and donated a piece of my pottery. Here's a slide show from the artist / media reception we held at Dogwood Gallery and Framer in Tyrone.

Southern Palettes

2009-11-29T19:27:00.003-05:00

I had a few pieces of pottery at the Southern Palettes art auction recently. It was a fabulous event! I think some of the works are still available. If you'd like to find out more let me know and I'll get your in touch with David Boyd Jr, OR you can do a search for The Heritage School in Newnan, Georgia. David is the art instructor for the school. You'll see some of his fantastic work in the slide show below (the "before" the auction shots, I'll add the "after" later). You can find his work at the Dogwood Gallery and Framer in Tyrone, Georgia (and many other galleries)... you'll find some of my work there, too.

Draw + Decal at MudFire Gallery

2009-07-09T21:43:00.000-04:00

MudFire Gallery's exhibition Draw+Decal presents the work of thirteen contemporary clay artists known for their use of imagery and narrative on vessel forms. In doing so, the exhibit and sale takes a detailed look at updated studio techniques for creating illustrated ceramic surfaces. Featured artists include Patty Bilbro, Naomi Cleary, Bruce Gholson, Erik Haagensen, Samantha Henneke, Ruchika Madan, Brooke Noble, Stefan Ritter, Elizabeth Robinson, Justin Rothshank, Luba Sharapan, Sue Tirrell, and Betsy Williams.

Draw+Decal will be on view at MudFire Gallery July 11 - August 1, 2009. The opening night reception will be held from 5-9pm on Saturday, July 11, 2009. All works displayed will be available for purchase.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

It is impossible to grace the surface of clay without acknowledging thousands of years of history. Many of the techniques and materials in use today were developed millennia ago, but those leading the field are combining new technologies with fresh viewpoints on design and illustration. In the contemporary studio pottery movement, it is no longer enough to simply master form and apply the age-old transformational alchemy of glaze and firing. A new visual language is developing on the surface of today's vessels.

American studio pottery finds itself at a moment both awkward and illuminating. We stand gratefully venerating the pioneering masters of the post-war studio pottery movement, while also looking eagerly to the next generation and forward to where we are heading. Today's studio pottery takes advantage of new technology and contemporary design and illustration sensibilities that allow us to update ceramic surface and lay the groundwork for new traditions. Clay artists benefit not just from an instantly accessible global compendium of illustrative inspirations, but also from the ability to deploy an updated set of tools and technologies to realize their visions. Traditional techniques using pen and brush, the magic of silk-screening, or carving and resists, are joined by more recent innovations like vector art and one-off continuous tone ceramic decal printing. Never before has so great a catalog of commercial finishing materials and purified chemicals been available for mixing and innovating with. Studio pottery, so enabled, is taking on a frenzied, energetic exploration of where clay surface can now go.

Draw + Decal presents a snapshot of this moment, an educational survey of available techniques, and the opportunity for both collector and creator to engage fully in this exciting time in clay.
Images and additional information about each of the artists can be found at:http://www.mudfire.com/draw-and-decal.htm

ABOUT MUDFIRE CLAYWORKS AND GALLERY

MudFire Clayworks and Gallery is a unique community art center dedicated to clay arts. Celebrating its 7th anniversary this year, MudFire Clayworks is home to over 150 artists, and is equipped with pottery wheels, sculpting equipment, communal tools, glazes, kilns and plenty of inspiration. Artists in residence and "free range" instructors make it a perfect place for beginners as well as seasoned ceramicists. MudFire also brings high profile artists from around the world to Atlanta for lectures, slide presentations, demonstration workshops, and intensive hands-on classes.

MudFire Gallery is Atlanta's clay-only gallery, providing representation for some of the Southeast's top potters and sculptors. MudFire also celebrates this diverse and accessible medium with monthly exhibits of functional and decorative works including solo, group and themed exhibits.

The gallery is open Thursday - Monday from Noon to 8pm and by appointment. The studio is open Saturday & Sunday from Noon to 8pm, and on Monday-Thursday-Friday from Noon to 10pm.
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R.A.D. Studio Cruise 2009 February 7, 5pm - 10pm

2009-01-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

From Mudfire:

Our BIG neighborhood arts celebration is coming up fast. Save the date and rally some friends to head to the Rail Arts District of Avondale/Decatur for an unforgettable night of art exhibitions, demonstrations, music, performances, refreshments, and art, art, art.

This year RAD is just in time for selecting a magnificent artwork for a Valentine's gift. Buy local, buy handmade, buy unique, and delight your honey (or yourself!) with your artful sweetness.
MudFire will host pottery making demonstrations by Marissa Hudson, and will present an exhibit and sale of new work by founders Luba Sharapan & Erik Haagensen. We've also got the shelves loaded up with killer work by Marissa and dozens of our favorite artists.

Get a RAD Map

Download our one page map with all the studio locations noted, directions to the neighborhood, and contact information for participating studios.
Print the RAD map and mark your calendars!

What Will You See?

RAD Studio Cruise includes over 50 artists displaying and selling their latest work. RAD includes pottery, sculpture, ceramic wall art, paintings, drawings, photography, furniture, blown glass, digital art, jewelry, mixed media, and metal.

Many of the studios will host demonstrations and studio tours, so you can see where and how the work is made. Watch lumps of clay spun into pottery on the wheel, hot glass blown and shaped by a tightly synchronized team, jewelry being meticulously crafted at the bench, and see a plasma torch cut thick sheets of steel creating sculpture components. Magicians and performers will entertain at the Academy Theatre, the host of the RAD artist market for even more local artists.

RAD is a celebration of creativity and community, and at each location we'll have music, food and drinks, and plenty to look at it!

Thank you for your support! We look forward to seeing you at RAD!
porcelain & stoneware pottery by Erik and Luba

MudFire Clayworks Location and Hours
175 Laredo Drive, Decatur, GA 30030
Studio Hours
Weekdays, Noon to 10:00 pm
Weekends, Noon to 8:00 pm
Closed on Wednesdays Only
Regular Gallery Hours
Open 12:00 to 8:00 pm
Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday
maps and directions
Please call us with questions at 404-377-8033.
Loads of information and images available at www.mudfire.com

Liz Zlot Summerfield Workshop

2008-08-16T10:51:00.000-04:00

It's been a long summer with lots going on! One of my favorite treats this summer was a workshop, courtesy of my wonderful husband (birthday present), with Liz Zlot Summerfield at the MudFire Gallery in Dekalb County.

What a great instructor! She has the perfect balance of personality and teaching ability (plus a great artistic talent) to handle a widely-diverse group of students.

All backgrounds and all levels of knowledge converged the first weekend in August to learn what we could at the workshop. Here are two sets of photos from the workshop. The first shows Liz teaching and highlights how she makes some of her outstanding pottery. The second shows the students, some of Liz's completed works in the MudFire Gallery and photos of some of the student's work. - Janet McGregor Dunn

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Chair-ity Event

2008-07-23T09:16:00.000-04:00

The Fayette Front Page has teamed up with the Hollingsworth House and others to bring a new "Chair-ity" event to Fayette County! The event will be held in early December and will benefit Christian City's new children's village. Artists around the area will paint or decorate chairs which will be displayed around the county, then auctioned off at the Hollingsworth House event. I'll be keeping you posted on this nifty new way to raise money for a great cause! I'll be doing a chair myself (check out my work at www.Hummingbird-Hollow.com... and yes, I know I need to update my site, but the Fayette Front Page and the Georgia Front Page are keeping me plenty busy!).

- Janet McGregor Dunn

Easier to write when the weather stinks...

2008-04-26T13:41:00.000-04:00

The weather has generally been wonderful recently and I've had a difficult time writing. I'll have to admit that when the weather isn't quite so hot, but not nasty, I tend to run to the studio to squeeze in a bit of time with my clay.

I've excited about a new direction I'm veering into! My pots are usually rather earthy and mimic the tones of the outdoors. After seeing Peter Max a few months back I've been leaning toward the stunning colors he favors. However, the red clay I have been using doesn't allow for the brights reds, yellows and other colors without a white underglaze or similar. Too much work.

So... I just picked up a bunch of buff, white and stoneware clays.

Well, in looking out the windows I can see a storm brewing. Any minute I'm going to lose my sunshine and will have to shut off the computer. Crazy weather!

I just got back from Lowes, my SUV is loaded with dirt, plants, herbs, fertilizer and things for the garden. I guess I'd better at least get the plants out so they'll benefit from the rain.

More on my new adventures in clay later!

Gotta love the clay

2008-03-23T18:15:00.000-04:00

So many analogies, so little time. I'd rather play in the clay than write, but writing (as poorly as I may do it) is in the top ten things I like to do after playing in the clay!

As I walked in to the computer room to do a bit of work it struck me how similar pottery is to life in general.

I had just finished a short article about keeping your mind in tune. According to the data in the article, doing things outside the norm, breaking your routine and learning keeps brain cells in tune and increases brain power. As we get older our minds may slow a bit, but we can actually add brain cells by discovering new things, getting outside our comfort zone (as in, break that boring routine you're in!).

Working with clay is perfect for stretching the mind and adding those new cells. If you started today with the idea you were going to never, ever do the same thing twice with clay you could easily succeed.

Each clay body reacts differently. They fire at different temperatures, are any number of colors and they all have differing properties. Some are great for hand building, some for raku, some for sculpting. Some are perfect for outdoor use, some are so delicate they need to be kept in a glass container for protection.

A person could spend a lifetime just learning the properties of the various clays. If you happened to tire of the available colors of clay you could jump over and start learning how to add components to marble, colorize or otherwise change the clay.

Then there are glazes. Again, another entire lifetime of learning if you had the mind for it.

Those are the basics. When you toss in some imagination it's a wild day any time you're in the studio!

Playing in the clay is a great way to stretch the mind and keep those brain cells growing! The article suggested little things like holding your toothbrush with the hand you don't normally use, or going shopping in a new grocery store. Can't knock the suggestions, but it seems to me that attempting something new with a block of clay is so much more fun. I'd bet an MRI of a clay playing babe's brain would show much higher brain cell creation than a toothbrush hand switching babe (or dude ;-).

Is your hut on fire?

2008-03-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big fan of the emails that tell you the horrible things that will befall you if you don't forward that particular email to a million friends in under 3 minutes. Usually you get some sappy message first, or something that pulls your faith strings, then they hit you with the whammy.

So, most of the time I just delete them and move on. The following email came from my daughter-in-law and, happily, did not have the hex at the end! It's just a good message, so I thought I'd share with the world.

The message is much broader than pottery, it's a life lesson. But as I'm heading out to the studio in a few minutes I easily thought of a pottery analogy, one I've experienced myself. I'll share with you AFTER the "Is your hut on fire?" email:

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened by the so und of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

OK, now for my poor pottery analogy:

Ruined pots. You put so much into a piece of pottery - it's amazing how much time can go into one creation. Sometimes that pot doesn't come out of the kiln in one piece, or it's cracked, it flops, it doesn't look right, there are any number of problems that can occur in the firing process.

Rather than lament the loss, put it aside and, in a few days or weeks, come back and look at it again. Can it be broken up to make a mosaic? Could you separate the pieces and glue to another pot to give it depth?

I have one pot that I hated, it cracked, it didn't look quite like I intended and I was just generally unhappy with it. I left it sitting out on the shelf in the studio for ages. A visitor stopped in and went right to it. Loved it. Hmmm... It wasn't glazed so she couldn't buy it.

It sat for a few months longer, unglazed.

Another friend, another beeline to that stinking pot. Geez.

Finally, I got up off my duff and realized my mistake. It was in looking at the pot as a failure rather than looking at it as a new direction.

I learned to look at things a bit differently. My tastes aren't always the be-all, know-all, what's gonna sell-all.

Granted, I'm not on a desert island and it's not life or death. But it is a life philosophy that I ignored when making my pots. The Hut story is about the grace of God in everything. You can take that message and translate it down to the smallest of small things in your life. If you're not inclined to want "God" in the message, you can still take the philosophy of seeing good in everything.

Sometimes your worst days turn out to be some of the best in retrospect.

Have a great day, even if it's not!

Janet

Powers Crossroads Slipping...

2007-09-05T07:56:00.000-04:00

Monday we trekked down to Powers Crossroads (PC) for the arts and craft festival. It was disappointing to say the least.

For years it’s been a must on my schedule.

I never leave the event without seeing some great talent, pottery I can’t walk away from and jewelry that I have to wear home. My wonderful husband, Greg, always buys me some sort of one-of-a-kind jewelry, usually earrings because that’s what I pick out and we usually find at least one piece of pottery or other work of art to carry home. This year I took home a pair of earrings, and while I like them a lot, I usually have a hard time choosing which ones I want and often get two or three different pair. This year, one pair, no competition.

So much of the art seemed to be… well, typical, run-of-the-mill. The same items that you’d see at any non-juried craft fair (as opposed to an ART festival that’s judged and juried). I’ve always gone to PC to see something a cut above. Not saying there weren’t some great talents at the show --- there just weren’t anywhere near as many. The overall quality is down. Way down.

I had an idea things might not be going well a few weeks back. A fellow potter friend of mine had missed the deadline for getting into the show, so she thought she’d try to get into the Moss Oak Plantation Craft Fair that piggybacks on PC traffic and fame. It’s not a juried show like PC. She saw the office for PC while down there trying to find out how to get into the other show, and on a whim stopped in and asked if she could by chance get into PC. She showed the lone lady in the office a photo of her work (or a piece of it, don’t remember which), and the lady said sure, there’s space and you’re in. So much for being a juried show. And this was almost two months after the entry deadline, and just a few short weeks before the show.

I remember when artists complained because they couldn’t get into the show as their work didn’t qualify. It was a little never-wracking hoping you’d make the cut. There was strong competition to get one of the booths. Could be my faulty memory, but it appeared that one whole section was empty this year.

I talked to a lot of the artists at the show as I wanted to make PC my fall pottery show. It’s close to where I live, which put it high on my list to target. Only one artist said they were happy with the show.

I saw many of the vendors who are usually in the Moss Oak Plantation area had booths at PC this year. Many of the regulars I usually visit weren’t there this year. It had more of a flea-market flavor.

I’m not sure what’s going on, whether gas prices are keeping artists at home or whether there’s something happening at PC. I know there are new people running the show this year. There were some glitches with that, long time booth spaces given to someone new, putting the same type artists next to each other, etc. But you have to give the new guy on the block a bit of a break, learning curve, etc., etc. and I doubt that affected artists wanting to come this year. It might affect them for the following year if ruffled feathers weren’t smoothed over.

PC did a lot of TV advertising. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great until Monday so walk-in traffic wasn’t as good as it could have been. Most of the artists I talked with took that into consideration knowing you can’t judge a show by one year.

I decided not to show down there next year. The artists I talked with said they were mostly selling things in the $15, $25 and $35 range. Most said they had to make $2,000 to break even (gas, hotel, booth costs, material costs, etc.). That’s tough to do when you’re selling small dollar items.

Just another quick side-note: I dragged Greg over to Moss Oak on the way out just to get some veggies (there's usually a fresh-product stand with great fresh fruit and products). Hardly anyone displaying at all over there. Maybe ten booths? As said, a lot of them were over at PC this year... However, my produce vendor wasn't anywhere to be found.

OK, I’ve moaned and whined enough! Hate to be so negative about the show, but I really find it sad that what was once a quality show is so obviously on the downward spiral.

I’m going on-line to see if I can get on some email lists for other local shows. I’ll be checking them out as I want to find a fall show for selling my pottery. I miss the Atlanta Arts Festival!

Art Program Funding Up to $2000 (per organization) in Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry and Spalding Counties

2007-08-15T12:24:00.000-04:00

THE GRASSROOTS ARTS PROGRAM

8/15/07 What is the Grassroots Arts Program? The Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) is funded by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly to make sure that all Georgians have access to the arts activities which enrich all of our lives. Arts Clayton has once again been named by the Georgia Council for the Arts as the FY 2008 re-granting agency for GAP in Clayton, Fayette, Henry and Spalding Counties, and is very pleased to announce that Coweta County has been added to our re-granting area for FY 2008.

The idea behind GAP funding is to help smaller, “emerging” groups get off the ground – to “fill in the gap” between start-up and when an organization is ready to apply directly for larger funding to agencies such as the Georgia Council for the Arts, OR become self-sustaining through admissions and/or other resources. Ideally, Grassroots Arts Projects will create new opportunities for citizens to experience the arts, while fostering greater awareness and developing local partnerships in the arts. Examples of projects eligible for funding include: visual arts exhibits, concerts, readings, theater and dance performances, film programs, folk art projects, storytelling, workshops, and art festivals. Projects combining arts and education are encouraged.

This statewide arts program is designed to encourage local collaborations between artists, arts organizations, and non-arts organizations, in order to serve a broad range of Georgia’s residents. Every Georgia County receives an equal per-capita allocation. Funding is open to any non-profit 50l(c)(3) tax exempt organization or unit of local government. Civic clubs, churches, theatre groups, arts festivals, Boys & Girls clubs, libraries, senior citizens’ centers, Parks & Recreation Departments also may be eligible to apply!

There is plenty of time to apply for the GRASSROOTS ART PROGRAM (GAP) grants. Forms and granting guidelines are available on line at www.artsclayton.org, by email request to artline@artsclayton.org or by calling Arts Clayton at 770-473-5775. The deadline for submitting completed applications is October 1, 2007 at 4 p.m.

Four GAP application workshops will be offered by reservation/appointment, at the Arts Clayton Gallery located at 136 S. Main Street in Downtown Jonesboro. Available times and dates are: Saturday, September 8 at 10am; Monday, September 10 at 10 am and 6 pm; and Wednesday, September 12 at 2pm. Please call Sara Cookson at 770-473-5775 to reserve a date and time to attend one of these sessions. Applicants should obtain application forms and funding guidelines prior to attending, and should bring their rough draft applications with them. The purpose of the workshops is to demystify the grant-writing process for potential applicants. All applicants (especially new) are encouraged to attend.

Funded projects must be accessible to the general public, must provide 50% of the total project cost as a cash match for the grant, and projects must be completed by June 30, 2008. For more information about the Grassroots Arts Program, to discuss a potential project, or to request assistance with an application, visit the Arts Clayton website at www.artsclayton.org where you may download the application and granting guidelines; email Arts Clayton at artline@artsclayton.org to request information; or call Sara Cookson at Arts Clayton 770-473-5775.

Hummingbirds & the Cold

2007-04-15T20:21:00.000-04:00

I've been worried a bit about the cold weather & what it might do to my little hummingbirds. I had three up at the house tonight... it's getting dark and one is at the feeder right now. Usually they're long gone by 8:30 at night.

About half an hour ago I noticed one laying on the deck. There were two others dive bombing him (or her, I couldn't tell). I had the idea they were trying to get it to move, to revive it, but who knows maybe they were in attack mode.

I wasn't quite sure what to do, thought maybe I'd give it a rag to move into? Doesn't matter, I opened the door and it flew off. I suppose if it's on its last leg then tonight's cold weather will finish the job.

Here's a site if you want to find out more about the affects of cold weather on hummingbirds: http://www.hummingbirds.net/coldsnap.html These guys survived the freezing temps, hope they hang in there through this latest cold weather.

I was in the studio most of today, didn't see any of the ones that hang out down there. Could be I just missed them, I was concentrating on getting some work finished. I have another kiln load ready to go just as soon as today's creations dry sufficiently for me to fire. I'll be concentrating on glazing for the next couple of weeks. New colors to try! Can't wait.

Hummingbirds are back!

2007-04-15T09:14:00.000-04:00

I was late putting out the hummingbird feeders... they were fussing at me. I put a couple of feeders on the porch, then put up all the feeders around the studio. They depleted the feeders around the studio in no time. It took them a few days to stop pouting and come to the feeders on the porch.

Now I have two hummingbirds coming regularly to the porch feeders, and two or three coming to the ones around the studio.

My favorite is the little feeder I hang inside the window bird-feeder I have. I know I've mentioned the bird feeder before? My son & daughter-in-law gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago (bought it at Wild Birds Unlimited in Peachtree City). It protrudes into the room and has a mirrored film so I can watch the birds eat up-close.

I've been able to be two inches away from the little hummingbirds as they feed. There are two hooks inside the feeder to hang the smaller feeders (97 cents at Wal-Mart).

The world just gets a little perkier & is a bit brighter when the hummingbirds are back. I'm watching the feeders on the porch as I write this. A bird just came up & perched on the feeder. My mom has birds that drink from her hummingbird feeders. Thus far the birds around here haven't figured out how to do get their beaks into the tiny holes. I'll try to take some photos when the sun comes out in a few days (rainy week ahead of us).

Experimenting

2007-03-15T10:06:00.001-04:00

Experimentation is just a matter of course when you're working with clay (or any artistic media). Clay in particular lends itself to trying something new.

I have two full kiln loads of fired pots ready and waiting to be glazed. I have been playing with a new clay (Billy's clay, he teaches at the Fayette Art Center & Gallery). It's completely different from the normal clean, stiff clays I usually like to use. His has a bit of rough matter in it which really ads character. It's looser and more "wobbly" than what I usually use, so I've had to experiment a bit.

I also switched from the majolica red clay I've been using, which is low fire, to a red clay that fires from low to mid-range. I switched because I'll be teaching some slab classes at the Gallery and wanted a clay that allowed participants to choose their own range. I prefer low-fire for a variety of reasons. Others like to work in the mid or high fire ranges. If I ever get bored with discovering all there is to learn and do in the low-fire range I'll go back to working in mid and high... hopefully my life will be long enough to get there!

Sometime soon I'll be popping photos of my new works out on the site (www.Hummingbird-Hollow.com). I have some new glazes I'm playing with also. I just read an article on experimenting with bought glazes... ha, a whole new avenue to explore! Not that I haven't been mixing & playing around already, but the article did give me a few new ideas.

Frustration

2006-11-01T08:24:00.000-05:00

I am trying to finish up a glaze load so I can switch out my display at the Fayette County, Georgia library. Time is against me. Or maybe it's life instead of time. Or maybe both. Any which way you look at it, lots of things are happening and there seems to be a conspiracy to keep me out of the studio!!!

I suppose it's my own fault if truth be known. There are so many wonderful things to do in life and there is so little time to do them.

Still it's frustrating not to be able to get to the studio. My day is always perfect if I can find time to get out there.

By the way, my hummingbirds finally took off for warmer places.

Tolerance

2006-10-16T19:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was at an art's event where some of my work was being showcased (along with a LOT of other artists!). I was generally pleased with the comments by those viewing my pieces, although I didn't sell any.

I have one piece that I am very attached to and just love. Why, I don't know, but something in the colors and the shape or combination thereof fits my idea of nice. Someone was talking to me about my work, giving compliments and then told me they were talking with another artist and the two of them had agreed it would be a much better piece without the additions. I explained why there were there but didn't say what went through my mind, which was that I liked them.

Everyone has their own ideas of art and what is good. It didn't offend me that the person offered their opinion, although it might offend some. I appreciate constructive critism, even if I don't decide to act on it.

Some people are purists when it comes to pottery. They don't want to marry various materials. I'm like that with nuts. I love to eat them... alone. Put them in a batch of brownies and the brownies are ruined. I'm a brownie purist . Some folks want the pottery to shine for what it is and feel that additions detract.

I'm a potter, a crafter and an artist. I like mixing and matching various materials. Some pots would look horrible with additions, and some might think some of the additions on a few of my pieces are horrible.

If you're going to be an artist and show your work to the public, you're going to have to learn tolerance. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has different tastes, you're not going to please everyone (in some cases, you might only please a few people). If you are pleasing yourself with what you're creating, and you're willing to grow and learn, you'll sooner or later find a market for your work.

Special Piece for a Special Person

2006-10-11T13:47:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a piece in honor of a special friend, Jim Steinbach, who died last week. The old saying that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone is somewhat true in Jim's case. We always appreciated so many things about him, knew he was a very special person. However, somehow when you lose someone it all gets pulled together and you see the person as a whole rather than splinters. It was amazing how all the people at the various services and get-togethers all had pretty much the same picture of Jim. Says a lot for his consistency.

Some of my pieces take days, some take weeks, some I roll out in an hour (not counting the drying, firing, glazing and re-firing times ;-). This one is still rolling around in my mind. I'm still not settled on his entire essense so it's hard to form a shape in my mind. I think probably I'll end up staring at a block of clay someday soon, thinking about him and how much he has meant to Greg & I. I'm thinking this is going to be one of my longer productions as there was nothing simple about Jim other than his single-mindedness when he tackled a project! Guess I better block out some time if I'm going to pursue this with that same dogged spirit...

All I really know about this piece is that it better be perfection at its finest! Like all of us, Jim wasn't perfect, but he knew what perfection looked like and he strove to do it right. I'll strive to make something that will honor his memory in some form and I'll shoot for perfection.

I don't know that I'll want to give it to anyone as it will be my own personal memorial for Jim. I do think though that I just might have to make it a trio of pieces - one for his wife, Ellen, and one for Fayette Senior Services. Oops, I bet his church, St. Matthews might want one, too. Hmmm... I am assuming a lot in thinking that they'll all like my work! Maybe I'll just stick with a piece that Greg & I can look at!

Lucky Bamboo

2006-10-03T08:04:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be making some pots for lucky bamboo. I found a great place that sells the bamboo, liked it, bought some, potted it, then found out it's considered "lucky." Here's what I've found out about it thus far:

It's luckier to get it as a gift.
It's a feng shui MUST.
Different numbers of stalks bring different kinds of luck:
• 2 stalks = love
• 3 or 6 stalks = happiness
• 5 or 7 stalks = health
• 8 stalks = wealth
• 9 stalks = general good fortune
• 21 stalks = blessings
(Note: I picked up 3 stalks, but they weren't a gift - wonder if this negates some of the luck? Since I'll be buying them and putting them in my pots for others to give as gifts, will I have blessings galore?)

Also, this lucky plant is poisonous. It's not really bamboo, it's Dracaena Sanderia. If you get huge stalks and have pets, beware. Your best bet would be to stick with smaller versions that can sit up on shelves.

The lucky bamboo does best with low, indirect light.

It loves water but it doesn't like the chemicals most folks have in their water so use filtered water or rain water. If neither of those options work for you put tap water in a container and let it sit out for at least 24 hours so the chemicals disperse. You may also want to try your dirty aquarium water - the bamboo loves the organisms that the fish don't particulary care for!

Change the water every week or so.

If you'd like curly bamboo (it's naturally straight) you can train it but it is slow going. If you're not a patient person, pay a few extra dollars and buy it. If you'd like to do it yourself, block the light on three sides (a cardboard box with one side cut out works great) or put it in an area where there is a stronger bit of light in one direction with very low light on the other sides. After a while the bamboo will start to turn toward the light at the top. Turn it a bit to give it a "curl." Keep doing that until it curls and curls.

It's a very easy plant to care for but it can develope problems. There are great sources on the Inernet (search words that seem to work best are lucky bamboo container grow).

Once I have a few pots completed with bamboo I'll pop some photos onto the website and will put them on here.

Trapped in the Studio!

2006-09-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

Yep, I was trapped in the studio.

Yesterday after working for quite some time in the studio (time slips away when I'm down there!), I realized I need a bathroom break. Fortunately, there isn't a bathroom in the studio or I'd never leave!

Luckily I looked up before opening the door (they are glass) and saw the family of deer hanging out in front of the porch.

Ooops, I was trapped!

The mama deer had been hurt, probably hit by a car, at some point. Her hindquarter was scarred with a crosshatch of large streaks and she limped. I had seen her right after the accident when it was a fairly fresh wound and she was holding her leg up, not letting it touch the ground. Her two little ones at that time still had their spots.

Now she is walking, albeit not as steadily as before the accident. It looks like she's probably in a bit of pain judging by the way she only touches the leg lightly on the ground when she moves. Imagine having to go through life with bones that weren't set properly. Ouch!

The two little ones are bigger but they still have a way to go before they'll rival mama in size.

I learned something new - deer eat birdseed. Greg (my husband) says they'll eat almost anything, but I was surprised to see one of the little ones feasting on some birdseed I had dumped out of a feeder because it got a little wet. The pile of seed kept him eating and kept me waiting.

I knew they usually didn't stay long in one place having watched them often in our back yard. This time the birdseed kept them around for much longer than I wanted. I know I could have tapped on the window or opened the door and they'd have taken off. I doubt it would have stopped them from coming back permanently.

However, even though I had to walk fast to get to the house once they finally left, I wouldn't interrupt their trek across the yard. I marvel at the adaptability of deer. Yes, they can be pesky and will eat anything I plant around the studio, even it it's not something they like! Yes, I've hit a deer while driving and it was not a pleasurable experience. But I love having them in the yard (ticks and all) and figure there were deer running around these woods long before there were houses and people so it's good to let them have free reign whenever possible.

Photos: The photos are not the deer I'm writing about today. The photo was taken a few days ago from my driveway. However, that is my studio down in the 'hollow.'

Ya gotta be humble...

2006-09-25T11:37:00.000-04:00

...and you have to have thick skin.

You've probably been to a show of some sort where you didn't like something. A painting you thought your 2-year old nephew could have painted, a piece of pottery that had what you thought were gaudy colors, a play that was chocked full of bad acting, an off-key piano or singer... there's something out there you have judged harshly at some point.

Chances are you didn't hide your feelings and voiced them in some way. Curled lip, cutting comment, rolled eyes... or maybe just a low whisper to your companion.

With art beauty is in the eye of the creator and some beholders. However, regardless of how you might feel about the art or the artist, most put a part of their soul into whatever they create. Most are always slightly holding their breath on some level, hoping their creation will be loved or at least appreciated.

You might think it's the ugliest sound, painting or sculpture in the world while another thinks it is fabulous. Every artist lives not just to create, but also to have other appreciate their creation.

That cutting remark made in low tones to your neighbor, if heard by the artist, can negate every positive comment received that show. Intellectually we all know that our work is open to critic, and we're probably our own worst critics. But it can still hurt.

I once walked into a booth with a friend who made a quiet comment about how tacky the work of the artist was. I didn't particularly appreciate it either, so their quip brought a quick smile. I looked up over my friends shoulder right into the eyes of the artist.

I've never forgotten the quick wince of pain or hurt, then the cultivated shutter that he affected to mask how he felt. I felt so badly I almost bought something, but realized that would have been worse. It would have been salt in the wound to know he had to sell to someone who didn't like what they were buying.

However, when I looked at his brochure, I saw that he had been selling his works for quite some time and was fairly well known in the scheme of life. Someday I'll walk into someone's home and see one of his works on the wall and it will probably look great in the setting they've chosen.

Now I have my work on display and will be selling it. I have received many compliments and everyone in my family thinks it's the best in the world. But I know there will be some who will think it stinks. There will be some who look at it and think they can do better, and there will be some or maybe many who can do better! But these pieces of decorated clay are my babies, my creations and I have some of me tied up in every piece. I hope I never have to overhear a snide remark about my work, but I expect I will.

I'm hoping I'll develop thick skin... (truthfully, I'm really, really hoping I don't have to, but I think that falls under the category of dreaming!)

I am already humbled by those who like my work. I'm just glad there are those out there who do like it!

Mistakes are not always bad

2006-09-22T14:00:00.000-04:00

While clay can be very forgiving in that you can smash a bad piece of wet clay back to its beginnings and start all over, it can also be a hard taskmaster.

Put too much weight in the wrong spot and everything under will collapse. That's actually how I started what I call my smash pots. I had a wonderful shape going and a design firmly in mind. I was so wrapped up in the design that I forgot that the clay had its own properties and 'mind.' About halfway through, the pot started to listen to gravity and it began slowly settling.

I usually know to give a piece some support but for some reason I must have been so single-minded that I neglected a basic and lost the shape.

My first inclination was to try to prop it up so I could continue, but as I did I saw that it wasn't structurally sound. There were weak spots and a few beginning tears that showed me it was not a good idea to try to recover the piece. I was frustrated (with myself) so I stopped the propping process and took a break. After all, the pot wasn't going anywhere.

After a bit of lunch, I came back in, looked at the pot across the room and liked it. It had a wonderful shape of its own making and thus began my smash pots.

Now I make them deliberately. Most times I let them take their own direction, sometimes I direct. Sometimes I end up completely smashing them and starting over.

Knowing when to quit

2006-09-20T21:06:00.000-04:00

There are some pieces that just never seem to be right. I don’t have an easy time letting them go. I often add to my clay pieces, doing multi-media work. I’ll add beads, straw, yarn, glass or whatever I think needs to be used to complete an item.

Sometimes I add to a piece because it’s just not quite right. It doesn’t “feel” finished.

Sometimes I’ll re-glaze a piece two, three and even four times (that’s tops so far) trying to fix it.

Sometimes I just don’t know when to quit. A piece will come out of the kiln and it doesn’t make me happy. All I can see are the flaws. Sometimes I actually put a piece in the kiln that I’m already not happy with (sad, but true, I just can’t let go of something I’ve spent so much time on!).

However, there is a time when I need to just chuck it. I need to quit. There have been a few pieces that I played with and played with, let them sit for days or weeks or months, came back and played with some more. I’m finally learning to toss those pieces. They get a decent burial in the huge trashcan if they’ve been glazed, they go out in the yard to return to dust if they haven’t been fired.
I’m still working on this lesson

Patience

2006-09-17T18:54:00.000-04:00

Patience is the number one lesson I am learning as a potter. It is not one of my strongest areas!

Waiting for the kiln to cool is truly a lesson in patience. Open it too soon and you stand a good chance of ruining the best work you've ever done... Crack the top to sneak a peek and hear the crack of the glaze as the cold air hits it... oops. Patience.

I've found that it's virtually impossible to see anything looking through the little peep hole, too. (That falls under the category of failed ingenuity!)

Patience is waiting for a piece to dry. Patience is getting ready to glaze and realizing you need to clean the pot first, and wait for it to dry.

Patience is having to grocery shop when you'd rather be creating.

I'm learning... so far it hasn't helped me much when it comes to waiting in lines or for the book I ordered to arrive. But I'm learning.