A Potter I am Not

Kudos to all those functional potters out there! Though I've had my suspicions, I have confirmed that I am definitley not one of them. I love drinking, eating, and collecting pots, but making them is not my forte.

One of the requirements as a resident artist at the Clay Studio of Missoula is to donate 2 cups and 2 plates for every month of your residency. (Lucky for me, I'm only here one month, so my numbers were small.) The plates and cups are used at thier annual fundraising dinner Missoula Valley Thyme and Plate, which just happens to be this Sunday, June 25 from 6-10pm. So glad I extended my stay to that I can attend both the Bray Bash this weekend and Thyme and Plate!

It took me the better part of 2 days to make just these 6! This is actually my 2nd round of tumblers - ever! (The first 3 I made are too embarassing to even look at, much less post pictures of for the whole world to see.)

They are handbuilt from 1/4" earthenware slabs using a paper pattern that I made from a standard pint glass. Fortunately, I was able to adapt my usual handbuilding techniques fairly easily for this step.

There were casualties early on, however. I lost 2 after applying a few layers of terra sigillata and saturating the bone-dry clay. This one split right down the middle - mostly along the carved lines.
I'm was already down to 4 when I had to face my real challenge. With to do with the surface??

See, none of my standard, favorite, low fire glazes are food safe. So, after exchanging a few emails with glaze guru John Britt, and running a few tests (on the broken cups I might add), I was able to come up with a solution. They're in the kiln now (glaze to cone 04) and I hope, hope, hope that I get 2 decent ones out to donate. And I only made 4 plates. So fingers crossed there too! I'll know tomorrow afternoon...

In the meantime, here's a little eye candy from the market Saturday morning. The lilies this woman had were absolutely amazing. I'd never seen so many varieties and colors!
Cheers!
Meagan

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
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November 2008 Studio Stroll

This Saturday and Sunday from 10-6 is the River Arts District Studio Stroll in Asheville, NC. There are over 100 artists working in 13 buildings, so if you've never been, it's definitely worth checking out. I will be at Curve Studios with a few of these wonderful artists...

Constance Williams

Holly de Saillan

Vicki Brown
Maria Andrade Troya

Laleah Adams

Cynthia Lee

Rick Melby

Pattiy Torno

Curve studio also has work by ceramic artists Ada Lea Birnie, Sandra Wright, Penny Clark and photographer Michael Mauney.

Hope to see you there!

Meagan

PS - Sorry about the wacky format! I've spent way too much time trying to get Blogger to cooperate and still cant get it to line up the way I want! Ugh!

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John Britt's Basic Ceramic Glaze Workshop

I mentioned this briefly in a earlier post, but wanted to tell you more about it...

John Britt is again offering his famous

Basic Glaze Chemistry and Raw Materials Workshop

October 27-31,2008 in Bakersville, NC

Learn basic glaze chemistry of clay bodies and glazes.
Covering low, medium and high-fire glazes.

These pictures are from a previous workshop, but I cant wait to take this class in the fall. And class size is small (only 5-7) so you'd better sign up early!

Here are the results from the glaze tests I ran in my studio a few weeks ago. The flash washed things out a bit in this picture, but overall I was happy with the results. Even the glaze with the strange crustiness on the container seemed to fire ok.

Happy Glazing,
Meagan

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Tea Time

I am not a coffee drinker, never have been. However, I do admit to having a slight obsession with good tea. Except for when it's blistering hot out, I have a cup (or pot) of tea just about every afternoon. (Maybe I was British in a past life?) Probably my favorite part of this ritual is choosing who I will have tea with that day. And by who, I mean who's mug. Over the years it been fun to collect and trade for these wonderful pieces. Each one has a personality and story all its own.

When we have guests at the house, they're always surprised that we actually use these beautiful works of art. It's fun to explain how the potters I know generally want their work to be used and not just admired. I'm not sure if this is the case for every potter though.

To the potters and collectors out there reading this blog: What do you think? Does all functional work, need to used to be fully appreciated?

Just wondering,
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!