From the minute Joyce and Carol arrived I knew it’d be great.  We made pots,

Trimmed, slipped, carved, waxed, glazed, and made some more…

We took the occasional road trip. (Wine run… it IS the Wine Country!)

We decided on soda firing, since the kiln was the right size for our work and since we wanted to soda, [...]

In so many ways I’ll always be a student. I love learning more and more, and the more I learn the more I realize I need to learn. But I decided to run a workshop out of my studio. Rather, two gals called me up and said, “We’re coming for a workshop.”

Carol is a teacher [...]

Porcelain and Fish, that is!
Here’s pictures of my booth from this last weekend’s Live Oak Park Fair, where the weather was divine.  Lots of nice items were there from painted silk jackets to hand forged knives with fancy wooden handles to ceramics to jewelery jewelery jewelery and more jewelery… and it was the good stuff [...]

It’s not that I “like” being last minute. And it’s not that I can’t plan my time. It is that I enjoy the challenges of each new set of ideas. This time I once-fired to save fuel. The clay and glazes performed so well I think the pieces may be better and have more character [...]

Guacamole + Margaritas = Summer
No better way to start out the flagship first weekend of summer with that classic kick-off.  Beyond the squiggly guacamole bowl are the first two margaritas of the summer, one in a Jeff Oestrich and the other a Jack Troy, blended with salted rims.
Speaking of classic summer kick-offs, a visit to [...]

Vince and I had so much fun visiting our friend Paul Wisotzky at his Blueberry Lane Pottery in Truro for a reunion of pals and a soda firing.  It was the perfect kick off to the summer! Vince and I love the beach, but we don’t eat seafood.

Yes, it’s unusual.

Wierd even.

Who would not want a [...]

Bakery Fresh! Just unloaded porcelain pots… I’ve been having fun with porcelain in the electric, but cone 10 is a workout for the kiln. The last three hours are strenuous.

Check it out!  Here’s my very own gallery!  It’s a beautiful little shed in the woods, and it’s so fun to have an actual place to display work. It gave me so much more room in my studio to make things, and now a place to put them.

Yay! Please email me for directions to come [...]

What a creative group, that Clay Club at the beautiful Rossmoor community digs in Walnut Creek, CA. The inspiration abounds here. As I alit from the truck upon arrival, a few Canadian Geese flew overhead coming from the nearby creek.

We’re getting ready for a pit! The Clay Club has their very own, pre-dug, ready to [...]

So smooth, so easy, so minimal.

The elegance, patience, and quiet movements of closing the bottle is the best part, and I love how he solves the wobble upon closing! I could watch it again and again, but I wish it had the sound of the swish of the clay too… enjoy.

Do I need to post anything more?
Recognize these boys?

Those cacti! Art and architecture, and pure survival in a harsh climate is a miraculous thing to see.
The spring is really surprising too, to see flowers in the thorns.

Vince and I took a hike, and looked down upon the golf courses of Scottsdale. (Gray water, all graywater we were reassured…)

Here’s a highlight reel NCECA gallery of photos from some of the shows in and around Phoenix. Please note the works of Bennet Bean, Kurt Weiser, Esther Shimazu, Patti Warashina, Frank Boyden, Joe Hawley, John Toki, Don Reitz, and too many more ceramic celebrities to mention each.
I really enjoyed Frank Boyden’s economical, expressive strokes depicting [...]

I’ve uploaded a detailed photo gallery of Sergei Isupov’s beautiful, beautiful NCECA show. Please enjoy these pictures of up close, and far away, as Sergei himself would want you to enjoy them. Even the underside of each sculpture is painted, so they sit atop clear glass pedestals, with a mirror and light below.  Details!

Looking back at the exhibits at NCECA I found I had many pictures of sculptures depicting humans, and exploring the human condition. Some, like Viola Frey’s, were impressive in scale, color, impact.

Others, like these Esther Shimazu’s, were impressive based on attitude, detail, pose.

And others showing surreal, dreamy realities, like the above Sergei Isupov, and below [...]

One of the highlights of NCECA was at the Mission terracotta sewer pipe factory, where a handful of artists were given giant extrusions to decorate.

Artists are a funny bunch, who are often happy to walk industrial yards, and this was exciting. On the way in we walked past rows and rows of this beautiful pipe.

The [...]

As if hanging out with my mentor Cynthia Bringle isn’t enough inspiration, I saw and touched so many beautiful pots and sculpture that I feel saturated with art. Saturated.
NCECA in Phoenix may have been a bit smaller, and the trade show floor may have been less active than past years, but the quality of the [...]

Michelle Gregor is The Bomb (sorry about the Old Skool, but stay with me here), a great sculptor, who makes pieces like this:

and she teaches ceramics at San Jose Community College. She invited me to demo last Saturday, and I had a blast.

The facility is really arty/industrial warehouse with nice big windows and light.

It is [...]

It can be hard to leave the birdsong for the big city, but once a week I attend a drawing group. Cynthia Bringle encourages her students to draw every day to develop “seeing.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I loved the drawing tools, so I went about collecting inks and crayons.
And [...]

Here is my current situation. Chemicals in the studio. So in honor of higher taxes, I got a chemical shed. Prep is underway!
and all that so I only have to wear this:
in the shed.
…spoiler: more coming re: the GALLERY!

Quick, shop. Taxes are coming tomorrow, and this ain’t a joke for the Fools of April. Here in Sonoma County country it’s going from 7.25 to 9.ouch, and to 9.75 in Santa Rosa, where we country folks will think thrice about the Costco run. I haven’t mentioned those who’ve broken the 10% mark. OUCH.
Okay, so, [...]

This little nectarine tree is making a big show this year. Last year it struggled through a hard season fighting leaf curl.  This year it did this.  Just looking at it made me go outside and hiking up to the ridge top. It looked kinda like this:

and the Spanish Moss
Nature is the best decorator. And [...]

I’m into inlay. Way into inlay.
It has a different quality than painting directly, or than carving into a slipped surface to show back to the clay body, scraffitto. I use 2 tools: a tiny loop tool for carving, then a metal rib for scraping the surface. I guess I also use a brush, to [...]

California Conference for the Advancement of Clay, that is! I’m very proud (very proud!) to say these two pots have been selected for the California Clay Competition held at the Artery. The conference takes place in Davis, California at the beginning of May.  Here’s the link to the conference. If you’re going let me know.
California [...]

Rainy days are good for soup, so we had Mushroom Barley. And by “we” I mean when your city friends come out to have a relaxing overnight in the country! So the first course:
Mushroom Barley Soup:
olive oil
onion
celery
carrot
mushrooms
garlic (if you like!)
sherry
sherry vinegar
chicken or veggie stock
barley
dill
other chopped herbs
Chop veggies. Sautee onion, then celery and carrots together in [...]

At craft fairs I tell visitors that my pots are dishwasher safe, but truthfully when you have handmade pots even washing and drying them is pleasurable.  But the shine and heat from the pots when you get them out of the dishwasher is another pleasure you’d forgo if you did them by hand! The daily [...]

Spring. It must be!
Everything is lime green, and the creek is flowing with that last rain. There are also wild Douglas Iris growing all around. Here’s more blossoms.

Wait, where are my glasses?
After weeks of consternation, I managed this entry to the Sonoma Arts Guild “Repo Show.” As you can see, it’s made of repo’d goodies… perscription glasses, an umbrella, a few ball point pen springs, clay bag twisties, other metal findings. The “Repo Show” opened last night with a bash, and all [...]

YAY!

This tumbler was accepted to the LUX art center’s National juried cup show! Yay! Juried by Pete Pinelle. I’m so excited. This tumbler also got in:

Finally, rain. And rain and rain and rain… so, soup.
I didn’t have a picture of the soup, but I do have this picture of the most wonderful dinner of the winter: Vince’s Ragu.
Some virtual aroma… Oh yeah.
Well, I don’t have the recipe for Vince’s Ragu, but I did make a really nice winter soup the [...]