balance

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the ways and means

July 25, 2011 in art, events, life | 1 comment

As I write, I’m sitting in my very warm studio firing a bisque.  The AC is set at 90°.  An occillating fan is moving the air about a little (it helps).  My kiln is old (read: not computerized), so I’ve got a few more hours in the studio while I turn up switches.  Once I get them alll on ‘high’, I’ll head home – only to return at the approximate time and temperature the witness cone should drop.

My faith in the kiln sitter has been shaken since I had a pyrometric bar fuse to the sensing rod on the sitter.  Overfired the load and warped shelves.  Created several redundant shelf sculpures that took endless hours to chisel apart (no fun).  So then, I make every attempt to be back when the witness cone goes down.

This firing is the first I’ve done since May.  Feeling a bit unproductive during these sizzling summer months.  Nevertheless, I have lived vicariously through a few ceramic artists’ blogs – people that seem to have more creative energy than I ever will.  They are not just productive, but prolific.  (Wow, feeling tinges of guilt…call me a slacker)  I guess I should be doing much more.

But, the day only has so many hours.  And, frankly, there is a correlation between the dry summer heat and clay work.  That delicate balance to successfully deal with handles without them cracking (tea bowls vs. coffee mugs)…or the precise hour available to trim when the clay is still cooperative (light, well designed work vs. paperweight).  If you do any decorative surface work early in the process, your window is shorter still.

Excuses? eh….

What I’ve taken away from those prolific producers of ceramic wares is that I’m not them.  Ceramics.  Clay.  Art…is what I do.  I love what I do.  Create.  On many levels it’s how I communicate – through process, image, surface and occupied space.

However, it is not who I am.  If I were to make a list of roles I fill, ceramic artist would be but one.  Those roles will change over time.  But, who I am will remain constant.  I am a child of God, a follower of Christ.  That doesn’t change.  Yet, it drives the ways and means of the things I do.

Fabens

What I do is secondary and clay would follow things like wife, mom, friend, chief cook and bottle washer, preferred human obsession to our quirky dog (seperation issues), et. al….

I suppose until clay makes it’s way closer to the top of the list, I will never be as productive as some artists.  I think it important to keep perspective.  What I do is not necessarily who I am but an avenue to be myself.

(Man, it’s getting hot in here!)

 

Mark Your Calendars!  Plan to Attend!

Cap, Cup and Mug Sale, Show and Trade

October 7-8, 2011
Friday, 6-9pm
Saturday, 9am-4pm

dessadog studio
1410 W. Guadalupe Rd, bldg. 1 ste. 103
Gilbert, AZ 85233

~a sale of handmade cups and mugs by more than 30 local artists.
~bring in a new knit cap or socks for Set Free Ministries and receive a 10% discount on one cup or mug.

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holding on to your milk money

March 8, 2011 in art, life | 4 comments

Easter, 1970. Ft. Bliss, Texas. (l-r) Tammy, Don, me.

There are few pluses growing up in a military family.  But, for what we went without, we didn’t miss.  So, I guess the pluses outweighed the minuses.  The balance was really closer to a cause and effect relationship.  For example, our medical and dental needs were taken care of.  That’s a plus.  However, stitches and novacain were administered sparingly.  As a result, minor injuries were never motivation to visit the ER and you took care of your teeth.

Also, military families have more opportunity than most to see the world (you moved a lot).  Even on the heels of my dad’s retirement, I ended up in three different high schools.  Being the new kid can be tough – more difficult in adolescence.  Seems making friends is easier when you’re hanging off the monkey bars, turning cartwheels on the black-top and still have cooties.

The new kid learns to survive.  I’ve been known to comment that I’m not overly impressed or easily intimidated by people.

The lesson begins early.  The thing is, if I’m unduly impressed by someone, I run the risk of compromising my beliefs.  In the military community, you are instilled with the ideal that you stand for something bigger than yourself.  The kid easily impressed by the playground hot shot ends up sacrificing his Friday milk money on an ice cream sandwich for the big guy on campus.  It’s a virtual dairy fast for the intimidated kid; that nickel amounts to collateral for the priviledge of being ignored.

Still, though people don’t intimidate me, situations can.  There’s this…I can’t necessarily control the situation or environment around me.  Hard to figure.  So, yeah…Dr. PhD Harvard or Rock Star Joe…pish!  But, an exhibition opening or dinner party (is there broccoli in my teeth?), they make me nervous.  Clearly out of my comfort zone.

To help stay my fears, I prioritize.  First on my list, find an enabler – someone who will help me through the event while dismissing my nervous tics as excitement.

With my list in hand, I’m planning something bigger than me.  An event.  The project is in the “throw the idea out to a few people” stage to see if there is any interest.  So far, the comments have been encouraging.  There will be much to undertake (intimidating).  I’ll not let you into the loop yet – still have a few cats to corral.

~The 10th Annual Self-Guided Ceramics Studio Tour
We had a great tour.  The weather was near perfect – less a little drizzle on Sunday.  I took the opportunity to chat with old friends, former students and meet several new-to-me clay enthusiasts…oh, and sold a bit of work too.  Good times!  Thanks for coming out!

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counting the days in dog years

December 15, 2010 in art, life, teaching | 1 comment

There’s a song, All In by Lifehouse that goes, “I spent a week away from you last night…”.  Actually, it’s been 105 days since we last met.  That would amount to more than two years – lyrically speaking (or in the life of a dog).  So, it’s been awhile.

Sacrifice, Beth Shook

~detail: Sacrifice, 2010.

In my absence, life and art, the classroom and students, and due dates and deadlines converged.  Perhaps collide is a more appropriate term.

As October began, my 3-D students were becoming more comfortable with the pace of the course.  I was working to complete inventory pieces and exhibition work for the December show, Journal Entries and Margin Notes, at Practical Art.

Once November crept up (like a commando), a bit of apathy settled onto the classroom.  Thanksgiving was a welcome break.  In the studio, I was finishing up work for the exhibition; to be delivered the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I felt ahead of the curve.  And so, a week earlier I accepted a commission/consignment with Bergies Roast Coffee House for mugs and other coffee related paraphernalia.  That curve quickly circled back on me.  A few more week long days allowed me to get Bergies a bit of inventory before Christmas (there’s more in the works).

Once December became reality, the students had discovered a fresh focus; largely because they were working with unfamiliar materials.  Their naïveté worked to their advantage as they took a leap of faith – with impressive results.

3-D student work

3-D Design: (l to r) C.Covino, alabaster subtractive sculpture. R. Protega, soapstone subtractive sculture.

3-D student work

3-D Design: (l to r) S. Gish, soapstone subtractive sculpture. D. Wilson, soapstone subtractive sculpture.

In the days preceding December, when I delivered my six small pieces for the show, I was assaulted by fear and doubt.  What I had considered a small exhibition space suddenly seemed three times the size I remembered.  Had I really misinterpreted the area?  Panic.  Prayer.  My stomach felt sick.

I saw the work installed for the first time at the reception, 10 days later.  The work held it’s own in the space.  Strong as individual pieces; impressive as a body of work.  Deep breath.  (Thank you, Lord).  The reception was lovely.  I chatted with old friends and made some new acquaintances.  The show will be up through the end of December.  If you have the opportunity, stop in to check it out.

~a little press/PR about the show:

Clay-Ground: Local artist journals with mud, Phoenix New Times.

Ceramics and Chinatown: A guest blog by Beth Shook, practicalartphx.wordpress.com

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missing clay

August 29, 2010 in art, life, teaching | No comments

Oh my! August has been the craziest month.  I’ve come to the realization that August is the end of everything and the beginning of everything else.

August signals the coming end of summer; an end to the routine-free days of fun for the kids.  Yet, a day without routine affects all else – meals, laundry, work, cleaning, sleep, and motivation.

So as August ends, the rest begins.  School starts and throws the kids into a pattern of sleep, eat, class, practice, study, sleep….  Scheduling, planning, consistency in a day/week are helpful – even welcome to me.

As the month began, I started gearing up for a teaching position.  After a three year absence, I am back in the classroom.  I was ready to return.

~ sketch for 'Appropriate Everything'

However, it became immediately obvious how three years can change the mechanics of instruction.  In reality, I haven’t taught this particular course since the late 90′s.  Any idea of the monumental leaps and bounds in which technology has changed the classroom (a show of hands) in three years?  Ten years?

I still had support materials for the course but in an obsolete format (yep, slides).  Even my lecture materials were on a ‘read only’ file.  It’s been/will continue to be a lot of work to stay ahead of the curve until I get updated, upgraded, and uploaded.

The conversion of my course materials has thrown my studio schedule into nearly nonexistent.  Though I haven’t completely neglected my artwork the same may not be said of properly cleaning the house.  I’ve been missing clay the past couple weeks.

While I haven’t had the opportunity to play in the mud lately, I have been drawing.  Drawings always lead to clay – at least in my world.

As scheduled, clay and I will begin again on Monday.

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livin’ the dream

May 18, 2010 in art, life, teaching | 2 comments

I respectfully refer to a friend of mine as a ‘granola potter’ because of his tendency to pare the studio process down; creating is simplified, glazing limited and firing loose.

photo: Amy Mcrary

For clarification: a granola potter is the mountain man potter living in self-imposed isolation in the wilds of Timbuktu (note: hypothetical location.  Feel free to choose any other appropriate geographic area).  This potter digs his own clay from the side of the river bed…any crawfish caught scurrying from the overturned rocks qualifies as dinner.  He throws his simple functional forms from the coarse local clay on a treadle wheel.  He makes effective use of a few simple glazes made from fewer raw materials with unidentifiable organics, spit and apple peels thrown in for color.  Color.  There is white.  Well, really it’s just light with generous iron speckling.  There are greens, browns and a varied assortment of brownish greens.

treadle wheel

~treadle potter's wheel

The whole granola potter ideal is about simplicity.  Simplicity of form, process and life.

Still, my potter friend isn’t atop an isolated mountain, cranking out pots on his treadle wheel while simultaneously generating enough electricity to boil water.  No, my friend is part of academia.  So…the conflict begins.  The nature of the learning process is to allow for risk taking and options.   The teaching environment includes the adrenaline junky, addicted to the rush of opening a newly fired glaze load.  Only to find them self with shoe boxes full of glaze tests – never zeroing in on the few glazes with potential.  This is the sort of student that tries the granola ideals of my friend.  The simplicity is lost…no one needs 15 slightly different, nearly identical rutile blues.  Focus.  Apply the best one to some actual work already!

~rutile blue

While the granola potter can become comfortable, maybe even complacent, in his work, the glaze testing fanatic can get so caught up in the process that they never apply the knowledge gained by the risk.  It’s important to find some balance in the studio.  True enough, I can really only manage a few glazes at a time.  However, I still want the option to move around or away with abandon in order to focus.  Refocus.  Redirection can only happen if we are willing to take a few risks; investigating options that can be feasibly managed.  I really only need one reliable blue.  But green…well, that’s a different story.

For those of you livin’ the dream:

Michael Larose’s Crawfish Etouffee
~this is a microwave version, so best get your treadle wheel going.

1 stick margarine (8 TBS.)
1 C. onion, finely chopped
2/3 C. green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 C. celery, finely chopped
1-1 1/2 lbs. crawfish tails, peeled (about 3 C.)
1/4 C. green onions, finely chopped
2 TBS. flour
1/4 C. parsley chopped or 1 TBS. parsley flakes
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 C. hot water
salt and pepper to taste
dash of garlic powder
1 TBS. ketchup
1/2 tsp.+  Tabasco

In 2 1/2 quart deep dish, put margarine, onion, green pepper and celery.  Microwave on high 10 to 12 minutes or until tender.  Add crawfish tails and green onions.  Microwave on high 5 minutes, cover with lid.  Stir in flour.  Add parsley, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, garlic powder, ketchup and Tabasco sauce.  Microwave on 70% power 10 minutes, uncovered until thick.  Stir once or twice during cooking.  Serve over rice.

Crawfish Etouffee

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