Hummingbird Hollow Studio

More changes...

2012-06-05T22:21:00.000-04:00

If you're not open to change, if you're not willing to expand then you stagnate. As a rule. I would imagine there are exceptions.

This blog is going away. I've started a new one titled "Janet McGregor Dunn". The new address is http://janetmcgregordunn.blogspot.com. I slid all the blogs from here onto the new one so nothing will get lost...and I'll leave this one out here for a while.

My website is now http://www.janetmcgregordunn.com. The old Hummingbird-Hollow site will be there until everyone in the world knows about the new site. In other words, it's gonna be there for a long time!

I'm going to work hard to blog more often, too.

Nuff for tonight. Bedtime.

What a month it has been!

2012-04-22T08:15:00.002-04:00

I've had some crazy times in my life but lately it's been ultra-roller-coaster-crazy! We threw a surprise birthday party for my Dad to kick off things. Great time, best Dad in the world and for the first time ever, we actually pulled something over on him. He swears he didn't have a clue about the birthday.

Then I got what I think was food poisoning from the food at the restaurant where we held the party. Days of misery, lost five pounds.

I had some shows coming up and really needed to find time for the studio but couldn't get muster the energy to leave the house for a few days after the worst was over.

Of course, everything got behinder and behinder.

My house suffered (more than it normally does). Somewhere in the catch-up-with-everything phase I put out hummingbird feeders, picked up some grape vines to plant and did some of my non-studio work. Volunteer at a local thrift store, serve on a Board, managed to handle those much-loved "chores" also. Websites needed work, Comcast threw in some curves (oh, I want to ditch them soooo bad), we discovered an armadillo was burrowing down by the foundation of our home, the air conditioner went out, the termite folks came and luckily didn't find any problems aside from some work we needed to do to prevent problems, we bought a truck to haul things around...

Then had a visit with my cousin and went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant near his home. Next day, food poisoning or whatever. Milder than the last bout but still dropped another three pounds.

I'd continue down the list of craziness, but this is a blog about POTTERY, not my nutty life.

FINALLY I managed to squeeze in studio time! Yikes, shows coming, needed some new pieces to put out. I'm experimenting with adding glass in various ways. A friend who does stunning stained glass gave me some of her cast-off glass. I picked up some clearance glass from a craft store that's usually used in mosaics. Very bright and heavy as it's made to be cemented into those tiles you walk on. I also have some glass chips and tubes that are meant to be used in "regular" fusing.

I was told by the glass instructor to fire their glass to 1550 degrees, which is about cone 012, so I had to fire my pieces twice --- once to normal cone then a second low, low fire to 012.

I had three non-glass pieces that I was able to carry to the show on Saturday. The rest that I re-fired with glass weren't cool enough to pull out yet.

One experiment is with three boxes I made and loved but the glaze bubbled and popped on the inside bottoms, ruining them for all practical purposes. The clay did not like the one glaze that I used in that area I guess.

I refired to see if I could get them to lay down but they just decided to hang in there. I learned that I need to fire that particular glaze at a higher cone to get rid of those impurities or gases or maybe just avoid that type glaze. Or the clay. It's a bit temperamental.

In this third attempt to fix the pieces I added a multitude of glass chips that complemented the glazes I'd used. I managed to do a cheat quick kiln open and ran my hand over the bottom of one of the boxes -- voila, smooth! It'll be my luck that the sneak peek I took letting in that cooler air will cause them the glaze to ping and crackle!!! No, that is NOT going to have happened.

Later today, I head out to the kiln and I'll see the results of all my experiments.

Top two photos:
Back to the Beach. Five glazes with added glass. Fired the glass in with normal glaze firing.
Whisper Will. One beautiful glaze that reacted perfectly with the textures and clay. I need to take a photo of the inside as it has stars laying on the bottom and against the side. I love making the insides of my art as interesting as the outside.

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.