Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story

I am honored to have been invited to participate in an exhibit entitled "Clay and Blogs: Telling a Story" to be hosted by the Arts Council of Moore County and held at the Campbell House Gallery, in Southern Pines, NC from October 1 - November 1, 2010. Meredith Heywood of Why Not Pottery is curating the exhibit, which includes over 30 artist-bloggers from around the world!My good friend, and potter Joy Tanner described the show in a Jan 25th post to her blog Journeys in and Around the Studio. I'm re-posted this with her permission:

"People blog for multiple reasons and even with the numerous pottery blogs out there you can find a variety pack of topics within the medium, or even a variety of reasons why people choose to blog. I think blogging is a great tool for people to see behind the scenes of the potter in the studio and their quiet musings; the ups, the downs, the successes, the failures, the determination to keep going, as well as a particular technique or what they are currently working on at that time.

For me, blogging is a great chance to clarify my thoughts about choices behind my work, and to show my inspirations behind the pots. Seeing those quiet musings in real words is different than just thinking it. Sharing it also helps others learn the voice of the potter behind the pots. I've always felt you can tell a lot about a potter from their pots. Just like people matching their dogs, potters often match their pots! That's why it's so neat for potters to raise their voices and share the inner workings of their studios. Blogging also brings about a sense of community between other potters and artists alike, who can learn, be inspired, or simply relate to the ramblings of the self employed artist."

I completely agree with Joy! While she talks specifically about pottery, I think her comments apply to other blogs as well - sculpture, painting, jewelry, woodworking, etc. Blogging has been a great way for me to share what I am working on and build a community of support.

Thank you Meredith for curating should be an exciting event! I'm looking forward to exhibiting some new work. (Which by the way is undergoing a lot of radical changes. I'll post images as soon as I'm ready for the world to see what's been going on behind the scenes.)

Cheers!
Meagan
.

Some Days....

... are just like that. I've been struggling a bit in the studio, but I'm trying to just focus and get through it. I cant decide if I'm not thinking about my work enough, or if I'm over thinking it. (Thanks for emphasizing with me Joy!) I feel like I have tons of ideas, but they are only bits and pieces of ideas that I cant seem to fit together into any sort of cohesive Big Idea.

Sketching has been helping, and I might have had a little "breakthrough" idea last night, so hopefully today will be a better Studio Day. It helps to think of these challenging times as opportunity for growth. I feel like I've been focused on the business aspect of my art career, and now it's time to take a step back and refocus on the art itself.

So, bear with me. I'm still around, but trying to spend more time in the studio than at the computer.
Hope your days have been peaceful, warm, and stress-free.
Meagan
.

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
.

The CEO and Janitor

[I have this art business cartoon posted in my studio]

Like many artists I know, I tend to do everything myself. Maybe it's a control thing. Maybe it's a budget thing. But when people sing the praises of the "easy" life of being self-employed vs. a traditional 9-5, I jokingly explain to them how I am both the CEO and Janitor of my business. I make the big decisions (with the help of my amazingly supportive husband), and I sweep the floors (also with the help of my amazingly supportive husband).

This can be both a blessing and a curse. Some days I absolutely love working for myself!! Some days I'm so frustrated and overwhelmed, I'm ready to throw in the towel. I've been alternating between the two quite frequently lately.

After 18 months of planning and construction, I have the new fantastic studio! But I feel like I have 18 months of artwork ideas, internet marketing needs, gallery research, studio organizing, ware-cart building, portfolio photo projects, PR packets, etc that I need to "catch up" on. And I don't always know where to start, or how I'm going to be able to do it without employing a crew of 100s! One day, though, I will be able to hire a staff to take care of the tasks I find the least enjoyable.

My latest business task has been to tackle the online world of internet marketing. This is all extremely new to me. Even blogging. I had been wondering how to increase my web traffic when I read a post by Emily Murphy about Site Engine Optimization. If you don't follow Emily's posts, I highly recommend them. She has a wealth of helpful information.

It does help to know that other artists have similar feelings. I had a fantastic conversation with my good friend and fabulous potter, Joy Tanner this morning about these very topics. What about you? How do you balance all the tasks of being a working artist? I'd love to hear any advice you have on time management!

Thanks!
Meagan

Retreat and Recharge

I left Raleigh yesterday and drove to Bakersville, NC to spend the evening with my good friend and fabulous potter Joy Tanner. We stopped by Will Baker's for a visit too, and then headed up to Roan Mountain for a quick, and freezing walk among the rhododendrons. Joy and Will are two of the most wonderful people I know. If you don't know them, or their work, you should stop everything and absolutely check them out! Every detail on their pots is carefully thought out, and they have mastered soda and wood firing so the results are always absolutely stunning!

The rest of today was spent calmly walking around downtown Asheville,NC. I feel so recharged!! Between swapping stories, sharing advice, and laughing last night with a fellow artist and all the wonderful galleries and shops I visited today, I have so many ideas to take back with me to the studio! It feels great! Thank you Joy and Will! Thank you Asheville!