Almost Famous...

On the morning my new issue of Studio Potter Magazine arrived I was in the process of recovering from a bout of food poisoning or an evil virus (it didn’t matter which – the results were the same). My husband brought it upstairs to where I lay like a rag doll with no stuffing, as if to offer a cure for what ailed me. I spent the next 20 minutes fighting nausea, chills and a pounding headache as I sobbed over a submission by Vince Montague, “Every Pot is a Test Tile.” Granted I was feeling sort of vulnerable at the time, but his story about the loss of his wife and how the very thing she loved (being a potter) helped him with his grief was so touchingly poignant. Kudos to Editor Mary Barringer for this issue; if you don’t subscribe to Studio Potter Magazine now is the time!

http://www.studiopotter.org/pubs/?view=current

This issue is special to me for many reasons. It is entitled “The Uses of Failure,” a subject that I am not unfamiliar with and I imagine others feel the same way. I too submitted a story for this issue and, much to my amazement, was accepted. At the time I sat down to write it I remember thinking “Failure; now there’s something I can sink my teeth into!” Failure and I have been dancing in the dark since I was knee high to a dragonfly. I knew it was time to shed some light on this tedious Tango. I’ve heard it said that a writer’s voice is usually aimed at one person (an old friend or perhaps a ninth grade English Comp. teacher); well this piece was written for my younger self. Maybe she’s out there somewhere, ready to turn her back on something she’s unsure of when her Studio Potter arrives. As she flips through the pages it dawns on her “Hell, I can be good at failure too!”

This is one of the first pots I made after 25 years of not touching clay

Oh, and guess what else arrived the same morning as my Studio Potter Magazine? My rejection letter from the Strictly Functional Pottery National… I’m so proud of me!

My Haystack Adventure

photo by Nancy Merrifield

So, a dream for a long time, for me, was participating in a workshop at Haystack School in Deer Isle, Maine. I had heard for years about the beauty of the location, the wonderful, inspiring workshops, and the food!

I always hesitated, feeling I wasn't quite ready for it - honestly, I'm just not that serious a person, but I am passionate about ceramics. So I have been waiting, watching the workshop offerings, looking for a good fit. And, lo and behold, the year 2011 offered a perfect fit for me - 'When Animals Go Tactile' with Bernadette Curran, an artist I have admired for many years. Her work is so fresh and alive, it seemed like a perfect tonic for a potter who wanted to recharge and refresh. Lucky me, I applied, a place was reserved, and I just finished with two very inspiring weeks there.

Bernadette demonstrated some wonderful techniques - more, really, than I could keep up with. So it was a relief to get the assignment to design a 'setting'. I designed a breakfast set, for one, maybe two...salt&pepper on a tray with a jam pot, a plate, a cereal bowl with an egg cup for a knob...you get the idea - me going a little too far, but having a great time! I tried to bring the animal imagery into my setting, with the tray having a fence in the middle, the salt&pepper as chicken &egg,




the butter dish as a barn, which was a direct copy from Bernadette's demo (yellow birds courtesy of Nancy Merrifield!)...I made sure everything was labeled 'Haystack' so I will keep it as my workshop 'notes'.



                                                                                

I would recommend that anyone looking for a two-week immersion of studio time check out the current offerings for Haystack, and I think that next summer's offerings will be announced in January.

photo by Marsiella Catanoso

I'm totally a ceramics person, but I have to say that a visit to the fiber studio was magical! Each participant had built their own little kingdom, and produced some awesome work. And a highlight of the visits to other studios was the blacksmith's shop performance of 'inflating' their pieces.

And one more note - I think that the people who make the long trip up to the coast of Maine, to spend two weeks immersed in their personal passion, whether they are teachers, studio artists, or someone with a very serious 9-5 profession, are a charmed group. Everyone seemed totally delighted to be hanging out with each other. Everyone had an interesting story. Many were able to find someone with a very specialized expertise that could help them through a tricky technical problem. And the geographical diversity of the participants was amazing! It was all I thought it was going to be, plus more. I'm very glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to attend.

our wonderful group of potters!       photo from Terri Alexandra 

On to Earthenware. June 14, 2011

                      

Well, in real time I have finished forming 62 mugs.  I have glazed 28 of them. Some I am happy with and some I am  not.  Some will have to grow on me or maybe not.

The bisqued mug above is a delightful shape.  It is so nice and round and sits up on its three feet so proudly.  I love the bare earthenware color and its smooth surface.

I have many more mugs to decorate but tomorrow I am going to Cape May for some sun and sand and great food.  Back to mugs on the 10th only three days from my birthday.  I think it is enough that I finished throwing ( and hand-building one) all the mugs.  The stoneware mugs won't be glaze fired till
August.

Glazing on the kitchen table

One of my favorites

Underglaze on Earthenware

The turquoise is yummy.