POTTERS GUILD OF NJ SHOW

While Ellen Mulligan is gallivanting around London, England (we miss you Ellen, but have a spot of tea for us!) - Itsuko Ishiguro, Sandy Pancrazi and Cynthia Shevelew will be selling their work at the POTTERS GUILD OF NJ show - see below for details!

  

Potters’ Guild Hosts Annual Pottery Festival & Sale  

Where:       Community Presbyterian Church

                   1459 Deer Path

                   Mountainside, NJ 07902

When:         April 26th and 27th, 2014

                   Saturday 11 AM to 5 PM                          

                   Sunday Noon to 5 PM

Highlights: This increasingly popular event draws hundreds of customers from throughout New Jersey and the tri state area.  Available for sale will be a fabulous selection of vases, wall pieces, pitchers, teapots, platters, casseroles, raku and pit-fired vessels in varying colors and styles, and one-of-a-kind sculptures and decorative objects of art. The show is the perfect place to find a unique item or gift.

Admission:   Free and Credit cards now accepted!

 

Directions:   Route 22 to New Providence Rd, Mountainside.

                        If going east on 22, cross over 22 at New Providence.

                        If going west on 22, go right at New Providence Rd.

                        Follow the double yellow lines up the hill to Deer Path.

                        Go straight ahead to the church on your left. 

Blizzard of Activity

Potters in panic mode!

Well, I just returned from dropping of a small number of pots for a wonderful craft sale that we are lucky enough to be able to participate in at the Belskie Museum.

The four of us - Cynthia, Itsuko, Sandy and myself - are also members of Underground Potters, a group of potters formed while studying at The Art School at Old Church, in Demarest, NJ. We have been showing together every year since 2003. We have really grown together through the years, and it's a great pleasure to be in such a wonderful group.

So from November 13 thru December 11 our work will be for sale in the Belskie holiday craft show.

But wait, that's not all! The four of us are also members of the Potters Guild of NJ, and our Guild's semi-annual show in Mountainside, NJ takes place this weekend. I think that Cynthia, Itsuko and myself will be there, but I'm not sure Sandy can make this one.

And yet another wonderful show! Sandy is at the Leonia Library, with her brother Ron Pancrazi, for the month of November.

Oh, yes, I will also be participating in a craft sale at the Unitarian Church in Ridgewood, NJ on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19. This sale is for the benefit of a Youth Camp in Patterson, NJ.

Wait, wait, one more - Itsuko will be at a sale in Westfield, NJ on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19.

And finally, you have been reading the words of Miss July, in a 2012 Potters Council calendar, available here.

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 

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a special holiday in my extended family.

I have 5 brothers and sisters, and when we started having children, the yearly excursions to a restaurant, with crying babies, impatient toddlers, long waits, crabby waitresses made it not-so-much-fun. So now we have a nice family party at my house every year. The food is ordered, and I used to use paper plates (no extra work for MOM!).

But now we use all the beautiful handmade plates I’ve been collecting for the last 10 years. I try to get two of each potter I admire, so we have a nice time deciding which to use for the dinner.

But I had no plates for dessert!

So, two years ago I started making a few dozen dessert plates, and sent everyone home with a sticky handmade plate, that they tell me they use for breakfast, sandwiches, etc. It really makes me happy.

Mother's Day plate 2009

Mother's Day plate 2010

I have to plan ahead, so here are some details of the making of this year’s plates.

First I decided on a shape, from a great box I got from some pajamas:

I tried to roll out a slab, cut out the shape and dry it slowly on a foam pillow. Two problems: only had two foam pillows, so this will take forever, plus one more day!

Also, the plates dried almost totally flat, so they just seemed warped.

So, I threw some hump molds. Using a technique I remembered from Bill Van Gilder’s DIY show, I threw upside down bowls, with a stand in the middle like a cake stand. This form then can be trimmed to the curve I wanted. Added bonus: I marked up the hump mold with circles, and then divided the circle into 3rds, 4ths and 5ths as guidelines. These worked out great!

I can put the slab onto the hump mold, using my guidelines to center it. Then I use the pajama box insert as a template, cut my slab, soften the edges, and voila! Good to go.

I still have to decide on this year’s decoration. I make a laser decal from some of my brushwork, and keep the glaze design consistent, sort of.