Traveling - teaching and taking workshops

Well, I'm off in the morning for another travel adventure. Next week I'm teaching a glass/clay workshop at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN and then the following week I'm taking a mixed media class with Michael Sherrill at Penland in NC. It's going to be an exciting couple weeks!

Michael Sherrill

Where does the time go??! I had hoped to get a few more things done in between coming home from the Clay Studio of Missoula and taking off again. Oh well, my pregnant belly is forcing me to slow down my usually quick pace. Guess it's preparing me for the BIG changes that are coming in about 9 weeks or so!

Cheers!
Meagan

Home from NCECA

Returned home Sunday morning from a busy NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts). It was my first time attending, and I must admit, I was pretty overwhelmed at first. There were so many talks, lectures, discussions, exhibits (over 90 in the Philadelphia area!) people, new tools, fancy equipment, schools, residencies... It was hard to do and see it all. But I had an excellent trip, and left feeling inspired (though a bit exhausted)!

I'm still process and digesting most of the things I saw and info I learned. But I did want to post a few pictures from my trip. Why is it that I never seem to end up taking as many pictures as I think I will? But here they are. I think I just stopped carrying my camera after our first day...

Earth Matters, The NCECA invitational at Moore College of Art and Design.


National Student Juried Exhibition at the University of the Arts' Rosenwald Wolf Gallery
La Mesa - Santa Fe ClayWork by Gwendolyn Yoppolo at La Mesa
My traveling buddies - Nigel and Cheyenne Rudolph. I didn't get any pictures from Off the Wheel (the show Cheyenne curated and was a part of), but it was a great exhibit and they have pics posted at Rudolph Clay Studios.

I added two pieces of pottery to our collection too. A plate by Emily Schroeder. (I bought a cup of hers at Arrowmont Utilitarian Clay Conference in 2004 and it continues to be one of my favorite.) And a plate by Meredith Host from Flotsam +Jetsam. Here's a gallery shot of Flotsam+Jetsam. The work on the right is Rain Harris. Meredith's work on the left and on the back wall.
We also went by The Clay Studio saw some beautiful work and talked to current residents.

That's it. My quick photo tour is complete. It's off to the studio for me. Hope you're enjoying Spring. I came home to beautiful Florida weather and a yard full of azaleas.

Cheers!
Meagan

Headed to NCECA Philadelphia 2010

I'm leaving tomorrow for Philadelphia, PA and my first NCECA conference (National Council on the Education for Ceramic Arts)! I can hardly imagine 5000 ceramic artists all in the same city! Very exciting!

If you're going to be there, be sure to stop by the following exhibits...

Off the Wheel: A Showcase of Slab-built Pots for the Table and Home.
Chestnut Hill Academy, 500 West Willow Grove Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 215-247-4700

Featuring Benjamin Carter, Sam Chung, Marc Digeros, Allison McGowan, Chris Pickett, Sandi Pierantozzi, Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph, Amy Scher, Liz Zlot Summerfield.
My good friend and professional potter, Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph also curated this exhibit. I'm so proud of her!

Opening Reception - Thursday, April 1, 6-9pm


2010 NCECA Invitational - Earth Matters
The Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design,
20^th Street and The Parkway, Philadelphia, PA. 19103

Opening Reception - Thursday April 1, 5-7 pm.

Nan Smith, figurative sculptor and one of my instructors at UF, has a large installation in this exhibit. I went out to her studio a few weeks ago to help her pack this work. It includes over 300 parts!

1,895 Years of Pottery
B Square Gallery -614 South 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147

Linda Arbuckle, majolica potter extraordinaire and another of my UF instuctors, is one of 60 potters represented in this show that have at least 25 years of experience working with clay, adding up to over 1,895 years of experience! Not be be missed.

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 1, 6-8pm

Looks like Thursday night is going to be full of gallery hopping, enjoying great artwork, spending time with old friends, and meeting new one! Hope to see you there!

Cheers!
Meagan

Back to work in 2009!

Happy 2009 to everyone out there reading! I hope your holidays were spent enjoying good food and the company of friends and family. After a whirlwind holiday tour that included stops in New Orleans, Raleigh, Asheville, and Atlanta, it's great to be back home!
And back in the studio!! On Monday, I started rolling out 1/4" slabs for more Tile Plaques, and have been cranking away. These pieces are also great studio "warm up" exercises. The design imagery can be as quick or involved as I like, and I often think of them as tiny sketches in clay. They will also be an excellent way for me to begin incorporating my new glazes.

Here are a few 4" earthenware tiles I unloaded just before we left town. All of the glazes I used are from my recent testing extravaganza, and I am very excited about the possibilities. Thank you to everyone out there reading and following along in my studio adventures.
Hope you're enjoying day 7 of the New Year! Personally, I love January! The holiday stress is behind me. And the new year is full of inspiration, hope, determination, and optimism.

Cheers to a happy and healthful 2009!
Meagan
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Happy Holidays!

Well, not exactly clay, but I'm enjoying myself none the less. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday! I'm signing off until next year. See you in 2009!

Cheers!

Meagan
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Clay Line Drawings

I've been working on Custom Tile Plaques orders so that they can be shipped to their new homes in time for the holidays.

Today, I thought I'd share a little of the process of creating these tiles. Though I make a fair amount of custom orders, I avoid using molds because I still want the individual handmade look to be present in each one. Instead, I have a set of paper patterns that I use as guidelines.

First, plastic wrap it laid over these patterns and traced using a permanent marker. The plastic wrap is then positioned on top of the soft clay. It helps to brush a small amount of water on the clay so the plastic wrap will stick. Using a rubber stylus, I then press down and re-trace the sharpie line until it has created a nice impression in the clay. The plastic wrap is pealed back to reveal a nice, clean line in the clay. I'll then leave the tiles flat until they are at the leather hard stage before smoothing the edges . I've also done this technique with kids, and it worked great! Just have them create a line drawing on a piece of paper, trace it onto plastic, and then trace it again onto the clay! It always seems to be a crowd pleaser.

On a personal note... This weekend my husband was able to get into the dark room (AKA our bathroom) and print some pictures from our trip out to California earlier this fall. Yay! Here they are hanging to dry in our kitchen. Thanks for taking the time to stop in. I'll be back later in the week.

Best,
Meagan

Home Sweet Home

I love traveling! But after being away for a whirlwind 3 weeks, there really is no place like HOME!

Got back Monday night, and managed to get in a few hours in the studio today. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to start the process of getting caught up on emails, blog posting/reading, computer work, letter writing, etc.

Until Then,
Meagan
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Glaze Workshop Results

My head is still spinning with ideas after the glaze workshop I took with John Britt last week. He has a fantastic new studio near Penland in Bakersville, NC that was built with classroom use in mind. The class was pleasently casual and extremely informative. John is a walking encyclopedia! And he's hysterical!

[John looking over notes for the triaxial glaze blend we did.]

Before this class, my glaze knowledge was very limited. Though I mixed my own glazes, I bacically could only follow the recipe. If anything went wrong, I had no idea why or how to fix it. It was like baking a cake without know what flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda were.

Call me a dork, but I found glaze chemistry fun! It has been years since I looked at a periodic table or thought about chemical formulas. But John made it both easy to understand and practical - explaining how it was relavant to ceramics and glazes. I learned even more than I expected to! Though it will be quite some time before I'm able to recall or recite all the information with ease.

[Tiles from the ^10 gas reduction. A line blend with increasing amounts of iron oxide, and a base glaze with various oxides and stains in the back.]

Because our class was small, we were able to focus specifically on the areas that interested in us. We fired both a ^10 gas reduction kiln and a low fire ^04 electric kiln. So, we got quite the range of glazes. I cant wait to incorporate some of these crunchy, crawly textures into my work!

[Some of the ^04 glaze tests that will be making their way into my work.]

Since then, I've literally been dreaming about glazes. Last night I imagined I mixed the most beautiful terra sigillata! I cant wait to get back into the studio and try out some more of these ideas.

I stayed with my good friend and pottery Joy Tanner while I was in North Carolina. We had a great visit - up late talking and laughing every night! Thank you Joy!

[Friends and potters Joy Tanner and Will Baker. We hiked up near Roan Mountain Friday night after class and watched the sunset. Perfect ending to a great week!]

I'll be in Atlanta this week with family before heading back up to Asheville for the Studio Stroll.

Be back when I can! Thanks for stopping in!

Best,
Meagan
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Arrowmont Fused Glass Workshop

Hello! I wanted to post a few pictures from the beginning glass fusing workshop I taught at Arrowmont this weekend. Fall is the perfect time to be Smoky Mountains!We had a fantastic, but fast-paced weekend! Starting with 2 electric kiln firings in our first session Friday night, we worked and fired till 2:30 this afternoon. I am so proud of my students and everyone seemed to get over their kiln firing fears!
Here they are! The wonderful, enthusiastic group of 11 from this past weekends class.
Tonight, I'm in Asheville, NC relaxing and switching gears. I get to be a student tomorrow in John Britt's glaze workshop. Cant wait!

I'll drop back in when I can.

Thanks,
Meagan
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Home Again and Back to Work

I love to travel, but there really is nothing like sleeping in your own bed with your own pillow!

I spent this past weekend in Kure Beach, North Carolina celebrating the upcoming marriage of a good friend. We had a great time! Sometimes I feel a bit out of place being the only artist in a group of women with more "traditional" jobs and careers. But I'm learning to appreciate this difference more and more. And I think I can say with certainty that I was the only one not dreading the return to work.

I love working in the studio! And thank goodness, because I basically have one month to crank out work for all of my fall shows. Time to get busy!

Still in search of a new camera, so no pictures from this weekend, but thought I'd pass along a few pictures from California.

San Francisco Airport waiting for the BART to take us downtown.
Ben and I at Presidio Park with the Golden Gate.
The Tamales Point Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore.
Stunning views the whole way. This is one of the last shots I was able to take before my camera died.

Hope you're doing well.

Best,
Meagan

Back for a Bit

Whew! I just got back from a fabulous 2 week trip out to CA! Thank you everyone for your travel itinerary suggestions!

Ben and I spent our first weekend in San Francisco before heading up to the Point Reyes National Seashore. We stayed in an amazing little cottage and spent all week hiking the area. Absolutely gorgeous weather and amazing views and scenery! Oh, managed to fit in a day trip to Sonoma for some wine tasting. Spent a couple days driving down the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway (again, absolutely beautiful!!) Then a couple nights visiting friends in Santa Barbara and onto LA. For my first trip out to California, we sure were able to fit a lot in!

I'd post pictures, but... my camera broke!! It worked the first weekend, so I have a few pictures from SF that I can share later, but then it just died randomly! My husband had his nice SLR loaded with black and white, so we will still have some pictures from our hikes, but it will be a while before he's able to get into the darkroom to develop them.

So, my question is, does anyone have a great point-and-shoot digital camera that they can recommend? something smallish and affordable, but with good quality photos because I'll also need it for portfolio pics.

Lots of catching up to do! (Especially because I'm heading out of town again on Friday.)

Gotta go,
Meagan

California Anyone?

My husband and I are going to California this fall, and I thought I'd ask if anyone has any suggestions on what not to miss. I've never been to CA, so it will all be new and exciting to me. We're flying in to San Francisco and staying in that area mostly, but then driving down the coast for a brief visit with friends in Santa Barbara/LA.

Do you know of any art galleries, fun activities, hikes, or tasty places to eat?

Cheers!
Meagan