FLUX on Dec 31, 2012

I AM IN COMPLETE FLUX!( which is funny because this is a glaze issue...)
I jumped out of bed with a brainstorm as I try to create subtle colorants for my ceramic work(especially on the white porcelain)...I want really subtle in parts... like a TINT... and I have this idea to spray or brush almost a wash of mason stain with 3134 on the bisque or over matte white glaze on bisque... THEN I SPILL the Pearl Grey Mason stain I had mixed a while back and saved(not a lot...in a dixie cup)and rush to the computer to remind myself what my breakdown of grit/stain and water was on the tests that I ran.... I then pull up Mason Stain's information to find the damn stains I wanted to use are discontinued... f bomb.

So I guess the real issue is I am trying to stop time...or stop the drying process to have the work look like it does when it is drying... the tips are lighter... the recessed areas darker...

I have a wish a hope a dream for 2013.

CLARITY.

Clarity of mind.

Clarity of body. 

Clarity of spirit

and 

Clarity of ceramic torture.

It's alway's SUMTHIN'... Thank you Rosanna, Rosannadanna...

Review of the Winter Whites Show at Vessels Gallery in The Boston Globe.
I think I was pretty lucky regarding the use of scary adjectives for the other work...
BUT my name is spelled wrong....(Judi with an "i"...hmmmm...)

GALLERIES

(SNIPPET)
By Cate McQuaid |  GLOBE CORRESPONDENT    
DECEMBER 18, 2012
Celebrating white

White is the palette at Vessels Gallery. “Winter Whites” features ceramicists who work in or with white. Naoko Matsumoto’s “Coral Teapot” series features tiny pots that are creepy, fey, and exquisite. “Coral Teapot VI” looks covered with radiant barnacles, with spiky leaf-like forms for its handle. Joan Walton’s “Stretched White Tube” appears constructed with small, pebbly wads of gum, each seamed and crackly, mottled with brown. Judy Tavill’s vessels are deeply corrugated, creating a sense of fluid motion in a teapot or a bowl.
Also on view are Boston’s resident abstract expressionist Jo Ann Rothschild’s nutty and delightful cartoony drawings. These are spare and small compared with the artist’s paintings, less operatic and more sly. “Birthday, LC” features ragged inked circles, some squiggled over, some toothed or ringed with petals, frolicking around and over a steamy phantasm of pink folding into mauve — quite celebratory.

Full ARTS Review HERE!

OH... and I hope the apocalyptic ZOMBIES don't get you!

Best wishes!

Etsy Team RebuildRecover

Calling all Etsy Artists/Shops!!!
Jake has just set up RebuildRecover Team on Etsy 
http://www.etsy.com/teams/14770/rebuildrecover?ref=pr_teams
where artists/shop owners can join to contribute as little as 10% of an item that they sell to the rebuildrcover.org cause by selling the item and then donating to their paypal account... you can message rebuildrecover on Etsy with any questions...He asked me 

to reach out to all of you COOL people as they continue to help people affected by Hurricane Sandy and plan to help in aiding those affected by similar disasters in the future(let's hope they have nothing to do...)

That said, they are a great goup of people and they have been contributing funds, items and volunteers to other organizations as well... such as Sea Bright Rising.... Things are slightly better but it is bound to be a "long strange trip" on the Jersey Shore and up through NYC... Thanks.

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE!!!

I decided if my customers are anything like me...

They may have more gifts to buy this holiday season

and I love the internet so I am putting it out there...

I am selling GIFT CERTIFICATES in my ETSY STORE

For $25, $50, and $75 OR you can contact me and we can set up a reserved $ amount!

All of the details are online and I think it is a 

GREAT LAST MINUTE or ANY MINUTE  GIFT!

In case you are in the BOSTON area...

450 Harrison Avenue #71, Boston, MA 02118
617.426.1950 • VesselsGallery.com

Major Pieces and Small Treasures
Functional and Non-Functional Ware
All by Ceramic Artists who Work in White

Eileen Braun Bryan Hopkins Elizabeth Kendall Joan Lurie Naoko Matsumoto

Megumi Naitoh Jane Perryman Judi Tavill Joan Walton Joan Zagrobelny

Join us on First Friday, December 7th, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm
to toast the holidays and welcome the white season.

SMALL BIZ SATURDAY TODAY ONLY!

ALL DAY TODAY IN MY ETSY SHOP!!!
20%off SMALL BIZ SATURDAY
COUPON CODE SBS2012
TODAY ONLY!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jtceramics

NEWS FLASH: NOT CERAMICS....

Check it out... this is written by my dear friend ANDY who is living with us for now... it may be one of many...
HERE!!! NBC!!!!
and it talks about my other lovely friend Katie Hunt Johnson!

Post Hurricane Sandy

The hurricane has been devastating and yet, I am trying to create some sense of normalcy...

The kids are back in school, Mike has gone to work... and I have gotten into my studio....
I want to show photos of the devastation... but it is just exhausting...
I have a friend living with us now... until she can get her own place after losing her whole rental and most of the contents...

We are blessed in that we had damage but it missed our first floor by inches... but there was 2 feet of water in the garage, all the HVAC  and duct work/insulation under the house had to be ripped out and replaced but we are almost done...

Below shows how the river   came up to the house and washed up all the reeds/cattails, etc up with it...
The height of the water in the garage, and the crap that had to be discarded and replaced.

Lost several trees and various other items but compared to neighbors and friends...
Again, I cannot stress enough how lucky we were that it wasn't worse and the destruction was so much worse at our neighbors homes!

This documentary by Charlotte Nagy(a young girl) is a good indication of what happened to my town and the beach town(Sea Bright) right over the bridge(a 15 walk for me) from me... 

If you have a 1/2 hour... check it out.

Stuff everywhere... 

Boats everywhere... the boats we see on people's lawns are not theirs...
they were originally docked in the water OR DRY DOCKED
 no where near where they landed....

I have been to all of these places...

The reality is that indeed, it will NEVER be the same.

A lot of discussion and controversy as to how reconstruction occurs, especially in Sea Bright...

I have opinions... but for now, we are moving  our HVAC units that were raised to what we thought was high enough , about 1 foot higher...and insulating all the ducts with waterproof stuff!

These "storms of the century" seem to be happening every year or so and
we can not pretend they are not!

The impermanence of all things in life has become very, very evident.

I did get some work fired(when the electricity came back on... after 9 days)
and met with the owner of Vessels Gallery from BOSTON Tuesday
who was in Brooklyn, visiting...
Traffic was crazy getting in to the city,BUT,
I was able to let her choose from some of this work for an upcoming (white) show!

And I was able to dig in to some other pieces and get get started on them in the studio...

So...

The world(and the wheel) keeps spinning and life goes on...

I guess.. but it is very weird...

Hurricane Sandy

Or as I like to call her:

Silica Bitch. 

I am posting from my Iphone

Under 50 blankets in my freezing 

bedroom as the electric is not yet corrected

AND since we had a full crawl space of sea water,

About 2 feet in our attached garage amd missed 

entering the house by ONE inch,

Its cold in here.  

Even when electric gets turned on, we cannot until we rewire/abd get all new

Air con and heat units as ours are seeming corroded by the sea water. 

That said, we were so lucky.  

Our property was covered in cat tails,

The river must have flowed in and out a few times.  It 

knocked down the wood playset, filled the hed,

Turned over 3 giant leland cypresses we planted about 10 years ago.

Pulled mike's new holly bushes outand the wind  threw

down a few massive trees... But compared to our neighbors and other ares of town

And SEA BRIGHT, a 15 minute walk fron my house to the beach town

that is now completely destroyed, we are incredibly lucky...

My family is safe and so is our home... Just needs some work.  

I have so much to say and nothing.  

That us all I can for now.  

Just support any one affected by this natural disaster.  

We are sttarting by having a displaced friend stay in our

"igloo" with us and reaching out to other friends in need.  

I know there will be a lor of charitable opportunities 

and as I hear of "good" ones, I will reach out...

In the  meantime don't forget about the JERSEY SHORE!

What is happening in the studio NOW

IN process: All Porcelain:

Standard 551.... trying to slowly dry...

The girls are done!!!

Stick a fork in them!

Now I need a vault to put them in so that I don't have

any disasters before they get to their soon to be new home in Long Island!

That said.... I have had some other work come out but my new way to take photos is by 

an open door and right after I shot these, the sun came out!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

(works great when overcast...)

They really shrink... as you all know... 

They started at over 26" as the tallest height and 

we are down to 22 ish...

However, here is a smaller little sumpin' sumpin'

that I am saving for Vessels Gallery in Boston as a possibility for some work she will be showing!

Shhhhh....

3 Sisters....

Well.. I am done creating the girls...

These chicks are about 24 inches tall give or take so we shall see what happens as they shrink... but they had to FIT IN THE KILN....

This is a commission and my buyer wants to see how some glaze ideas I have will work on it...

The real deal is she would have loved wood fired pieces... But that ain't happnin' so...

I am going to try out some sprinkling of color on some small pieces I still have to carve a little...

Using glaze.... the clay is tan...standard 225... which I like, alone... but hopefully I can achieve something she likes.... I have some ideas...

I am also thinking a lot about pinching clay again... frankly I really like to mix up my techniques.

Bothe creatively and physically it feels good to switch around a bit especially when the thumb or brain starts to go numb and tingly...

1 down, 2 to go...

In the studio...and so it goes...

Drying a bit ... close to 25" now... They have to shrink to fit in the kiln... 

They are DYING to be carved!

These are currently being bisque fired... I did a 12 hour hold at 180 F so hopefully no explosions...

This is Chai... She is meditating... She is ZEN like that...

Really?

You have GOT to be kiddin'.

Until we meet again Deer Isle...

So.... this was my farewell view before we headed back from
Deer Isle, Maine yesterday at sunrise.
This trip was fabulous... Amazing nature...outdoor activities.... ARTISTS ARTISTS ARTISTS... INCREDIBLE farming... delicious fresh home grown produce, eggs, cheeses.... handmade food... and craft...
Nice nice people... new friends, old friends, potters, writers, gallery owners, painters, black smiths, metal smiths, multi- media artists....cooks...
Dogs... cats, chickens, pigs, goats, SEALS...
Standup Paddle Boarding in the bay.... scrounging for drift wood and inspirational shots along the coast...
Our puppy swimming and catching a ride on our stand up paddle boards...
Our sons harvesting 75 mussels for dinner, fishing, swimming, boating, paddling, finding insects and starfish and the SEA URCHIN...
LOBSTAH LOBSTAH and MORE LOBSTAH!
Amazing sunrises and sunsets...
Oh and WINE....
So let me back up... I was working on these pieces before I left... Hope to get the teapots into the kiln tonight...

This was my car knitting on the way down and back.... more to do but close to finished... It's a mercerized cotton yarn with texture(picked up on the boston trip) Hope to finish the "Wrap" soon to wear it... Plus... I have other knitting to get to...

This was one of the many views and the SEALS would swim around a little island out there making wide circles around the stand up paddle boards!! They are like DOGGIES!!!

Inspirational rock.

These are some driftwood finds..

Crazy inspirational tree roots...

LUSCIOUS cabbages planted at Four Seasons Farm!

The view from the studios at Haystack School of Craft.
I WILL do a workshop there... eventually...

More rock inspiration.

and more...

and more...

Listen.... it was an amazing trip and we seriously have thoughts regarding longer term plans up there someday... but for now... it is back to it... The Garden State... full of inspiration and ideas, activity and peace... I already took a walk and paddled on the river here to GRASP on to the feelings that we

had there. It is a magically wonderful peaceful place... you should go... if you can. 

So worth the 10 hour plus drive!!!!

Taking a Break

Deer Isle, Here we come!
Going to enjoy Down East, Maine.
I plan to relax, walk, stand-up paddle, sketch, do yoga, meditate, walk, explore, maybe bike, relax, try to check out Haystack, sketch, write, read, do puzzles, drink wine and eat LOBSTER!







Now....
If the kids can get along, and the weather can cooperate, I hope to pull myself out of the latest black cloud that prompted that last post...  Pottery explosions, freak accidents of pieces toppling over, kiln stilts sticking to a shelf and then dropping and cracking huge, labor intensive platters.



And then,
I think about how we must take each moment of each day with presence and embrace life.

A woman I knew as a beautiful lady, rocker and amazing photographer was heading to a job and stopped at a gas station complaining of a headache.
Then she was gone. Aneurism.
You NEVER know, so seize it.

Your light lives on, Linda.

Impasse

See that blank space?
That is where my head is.
Or is it...?
You know how light/white is actually All COLORS?
Well...THIS is actually where I am now...internally.
EVERYTHING and NOTHING.
Mid-life crisis?
Nah...I have these crisis issues throughout my life so I can't chock it up to that.

I am referring to my art but it is not like I live in a vacuum(although, sometimes when I am working in my studio, it feels that way)...It IS EVERYTHING and NOTHING.
WHAT AM I DOING?
Certainly not saving the world...
Of course, I never really set out to do that.
I am intensely drawn to create, to MAKE, to use my hands, etc, and produce.

And so I start to analyze...
"Why Clay?"
Well, Clay drew me in with the touch of it.
The malleability.
The way in which it responds to touch ...but that is fleeting too...
The way it changes at different stages.
It is so responsive at first and then it is eventually DONE.

It is like Clay is telling me,
"I gave you a chance back there and you blew it...
You need to pay more attention to me when I need attention...
NOT when you feel like it...Miss Thing!"

Now, this starts me thinking,
"WHY CLAY?"
Well... As we all know(ceramic artists especially),
She/He is really tricky, that little Clay You-Know-What...
She/He lures you in and entices you and all while letting you see from existing creations what she/he is capable of becoming, as well as coyly letting you infer other future outcomes...
"If I could do that(for Voulkos, Karnes,Takeazu,fill in name of masterful artist....),
you might want to see what else I can do...Come on baby, give it a try, I dare you..."

A little slutty, no?
I mean, really.
And so for about 9 years now, I have let that little trollop in...
flirting with me, taking time away from my family, other interests,
exercise at times, giving me back problems... you name it...
And yet...Clay has thrown me a few bones:
Happiness when pieces please me visually.
Interesting discoveries that lead to more, heavier involvement.
Accolades and purchase from others that reinforce the direction I am going in.
The huge array of possibilities of what can be done with Clay...endless...

That "YOU-KNOW-WHAT" has me wrapped around his/her little finger and messes with me on a regular basis.
AND, I can't help wondering if he/she is keeping me from getting out there and meeting some NEW interest/medium/life interest...
If you are in a relationship already it's pretty hard to put yourself out there to meet others...
Just sayin'.
I mean, I feel like Clay and I have been heavily seeing each other over these nine years...
We have a history, wonderful memories, as well as knock-down, drag-out fights and really, it can be a little difficult...(exploring abuse and toxicity)...

I am in a strange place.
(As a fashion designer, I NEVER thought that I would leave....)
I consider myself an artist. I do.
What that means, REALLY, can be rather loaded...
But, is it time to explore other mediums(or even techniques, applications,genres) more seriously...
I have gone out on a few friendly dates while maintaining this "serious relationship" but I have continued to return to Clay...
I continue to knit...but not any serious fiber work...
Drawing, only to sketch pots...
As I type this, I have a sinking feeling...
Sort of like I am being a cheater even  revealing these thoughts...

Meanwhile...I won't likely be DROPPING Clay like a hot potato...
BUT... before I DIG in even deeper, I feel like I should put these thoughts out there
and ask the universe for thoughts, opinions, empathy?
I have always seen other mediums coming later in life...

Don't get me wrong... I don't want to work specifically with Glass or Metal....

I may want a "three-some" with them some day...

NO... it is more about remnants of my past...

Fiber, Textiles, Jewelry... perhaps... Drawing even...

And I really think I am just getting an itch that will be satisfied if I continue to explore...without abandoning...

Just feeling very "carpe diem" but also not sure I want to do play the field so much that I never have any real intimacy and rich relationship...

On that note... I will be going into my overheated(bisque is going) studio to
"hook-up" with Clay and see what today brings...
Please don't mention this to Clay as it may just be a phase and I don't want to rock the boat....

Sidney Swidler

Yesterday I was out taking a walk with Mike and I get a phone call that shows up as Michigan... I am thinking... WRONG NUMBER.
This gentleman introduces himself as Sidney Swidler... sounded familiar but wasn't sure why...
He tells me he is interested in this piece of mine on Etsy and that he really has been a collector over the years and a couple of years ago he gifted 804 pieces to the Crocker Museum and he is retired but he is still doing some collecting.
It sounded real and I agreed to help him purchase the piece and thanked him so very much for his interest!!!
We followed up on the telephone today as he completed his purchase and I had a long, lovely conversation with him about his decisions were made, especially the gifting decision...
He continued by telling me he has already sent a photo of the piece to the lovely lady at the Crocker Museum as they are to choose pieces from his collection to take when he leaves this earth( I let him know I truly hoped that was not in the near future...being in his mid-eighties, he had no interest in leaving yet.
Of course NOW I need to buy the Book!
Needless to say, this was a wonderfully cool experience and I could not be happier having met this fine, appreciative gentleman... so I wanted to share it with you!

Kansas City Clay Guild Teabowl National

Happy to be included in this show again this year!

"KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2012"

August 17-September 28, 2012

Opening Reception is August 17th, 2012 

Thornhill Gallery • Avila University • 11901 Wornall • Kansas City, MO

BOOM!

Happy 4th.
These 2 were entered in the StarBrick Gallery Salt n Pepper show.

They are in!
Gala Show opening Friday July 27th 5-10 pm 
Starbrick Gallery 
21 West Columbus Street, Nelsonville, Ohio
in the Historic Square Arts District, one block north of RTE 33.
starbrick@gmail.com

Frustration with a dash of... Happy?

None of those last items worked out exactly as I would have liked...
The teapot is ok... but the texture is not my favorite...
I didn't love the glaze on the carved  cups and I drop one and it shattered while glazing... nice..
The bowl is the saddest... 3 places with cracks on the inside carving that did not repair when I tried.
Makes me cranky...
Frustrated.

I get little fissures too and if the pieces were glazed and covered with color and texture, it would not matter... Wabi Sabi and such.
BUT... my aesthetic seem to bring me back to these pieces that are glazed or slipped or sprayed with slip of various clay colors and the little "imperfections"(sad but true description) ruin the pieces for me... and others?
I guess I have to SUCK IT UP and go with my gut...

One thing I have been working with is spraying slip on the pieces and the finish becomes sort of sprinkle-y finish.
I may play around with layering, going forward but for now, the clean, dry, matte finish is the the closest to the the way the pieces look leather hard- my favorite time in the process.
Below are some quick shots or what I have pulled together for some upcoming competitions and recent pulls from the kiln with the  subtle sprayed slip texture...
The white pieces are stoneware with a porcelain slip, the tan salt and peppers have a red clay spritz of slip and the others have a porcelain spritz of slip...
The beginning...

Off to the Outerbanks tomorrow... LONG 8 hour+ car ride... I will take photos, sketch book and maybe some thrown pieces to carve down there... we shall see... 

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