What is going on... Revisited...

Some of the greenware that is in the bisque kiln right now... and now I have the chocolate clay going on in wet next to wet white at the same time... DANGER of contamination Will Rodgers!!!!
This new work is focused on sculptural form and there are subtle things I am trying to "say"...
No protests... but  feelings and relationship stuff...
It is ok with me if I am talking to myself right now...
It is OK...

WHAT IF....

Artist/ Creatives...
Some interesting questions came up and I am very curious what your answers are...

IF money was not an issue...(to support you, etc)...

What would your art be like?
Would you continue to make art?
Would it change your focus?
What drives you to make your art?

ANY AND ALL ANSWERS are very appreciated...
 I may share in an upcoming (anonymous) blog post...
You can message me directly if uncomfortable with this forum.

This gentleman comes to mind...
Steve Tobin

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP!

As long as you drop on Friday...
Last Ship Date is 12/20: THIS FRIDAY at NOON!!!
Then I can't ship until 12/28!
A lot of newness in MY ETSY SHOP
So...CHECK IT OUT!!!

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT! THIS IS THE WEEKEND!!!

The Actual Press

Got back from vacation and I received my copy in the mail...
I know, "big deal", but just wanted to share...
Do you see it?

Game on!

Well... the sale started today-
Open Studio Sale and Showing of New Work.
I am pleased with my customers but hope to see more
TOMORROW: MONDAY 9-9!
I parted with a very special piece... I will survive... just barely.
However... I am told that I can visit the piece and borrow it back as needed.
PHEW.

Really worried...

Will THEY...
The collective THEY(customers, collectors, designers...etc)
truly understand my changes?
I am not looking to do more of:
"Can you make another one just like that?"
I will create new work, perhaps in the same vein as the work they are looking at...
but not DUPLICATES...



















I am truly going the "One-Of-A-Kind" route...
I hope people understand...
I am not trying to be a B$@#H....
I am making a life choice.
An artistic choice.
I am moving away from what I WAS doing...
Which means I will be saying "NO" when people ask for work that I used to do.
I really hope they don't HATE me...
That said...pricing is the follow up issue...
Heather has a great post on it HERE!

New artist statement and a few new pots

About to launch my new website that I made using Big Black Bag...
You may be able to check it out HERE... temporarily...
That and a show I was entering forced me to focus on a new "Artist Statement".
Here is my latest:

After spending many years of my life as a fashion and textile print designer, creating forms and fabrics for the human figure, I found clay.
I realized there was an entirely different creative and artistic world out there that I never could fully explore in my lifetime.
This was a world that was centered around mud.
My experience with this medium has been, and will always be, a journey.
It is something I have realized after many ups and downs since I first touched clay nine years ago.
I choose to work in a manner that stimulates me creatively.
Investigating and exploring, I may have an initial idea of where a piece is going.
But then I will veer off in a different direction to allow for a possible fresh approach or, unfortunately, a possible failure.
As Beatrice Wood said, "My life is full of mistakes. They're like pebbles that make a good road."
Moving from fashion and textile print design to “mud” was a transition I never could have predicted.
However, there actually is a thread that seems to connect my previous career with my work today.
This connection involves attention to the human form and gesture of line.
My work frequently involves a focus on this as well as the pervasive development of texture.
The human body, nature, and environment absolutely inspire me.
I am not interested in replicating these but, rather, to reinterpret their energy in my work.
My true passion is in the process of creating the work.
The hand-to-clay contact is both meditative and stimulating to my spirit.
I usually throw a form on the potter’s wheel, alter it, then allow for a period of drying.
After the drying, I continue to alter and carve interchangeably until the piece is complete.
The piece is usually bisque-fired in my electric kiln before any glazing or special firing preparations are made.
At this point I move forward with the final firing.
Experimentation remains present in this part of the process as well.
The work continues to change and evolve as I do.
Initially, I was particularly focused on creating functional forms.
Now, I have shifted to emphasizing the vessel as a sculptural vehicle.
I enjoy creating work that relates in a group, or vignette, as well as stands alone.
I envision my work going out into the world and finding its own place for others to enjoy its presence as much as I have enjoyed the process of its creation.

Here are a few more photos:

Some Oldies but Goodies for SALE

BIGSALE10 is the coupon code in my shop until I pull it!
It gives you10% off everything!
Making room for new work!
These are some of the pieces you will find:
IN MY ETSY SHOP!

Feeling like a SLACKER...

on so many levels....
The dog is growing, learning and CHEWING.
I have finally configured shelves to block out her ability
to "get into stuff"...
She has a passion for CARDBOARD.
I never realized how much cardboard I have...
Well...Here is the latest:




















So, I have pursued some tableware ideas...































which I am fairly excited about.... but too early to tell...

And then there is my RED thing....
RED hair streaks,
My RED mug, and CHAI TEA!
















(which is how we have a puppy named CHAI!)
Anyway, I plan to do more work...
HENCE THE SLACKING FEELING...
and my LACK OF BLOGGING!
I REALLY PLAN on it....
BEFORE NCECA!!!!!

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!! Brooklyn Baby.

Judi from the block?
More like Judi in the BLOCK.
Of POTTERS that is!
Come to The Old Can Factory in Brooklyn SUNDAY!!!!
December 5th
11-5pm...
Click on the info at the right for more details.
Perhaps I'll break into a little JLO for ya...
Yo Yo Yo...
Get it?
... Ho Ho Ho....

love.

I need to thank June Perry by way of Tony Clennell for the link to this video in which Eva Zeisel(then 94) Now she is....about 104...yes, it appears she remains alive!
Keep in mind, Beatrice Wood lived to be 105....
Anyway, it is so intense, as I have read about her before and truly adore her work, sense of exquisite design. She is from Budapest which my grandmother, Frances Pearl Kronheim Geller's family was from and I can't help wondering if the families knew each other, back in the day...(Frannie only made it until about 92...but she, too was creative and artistic,schooled in art, and in her 60's designed and made semi-precious stone-based jewelry that she sold to Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales and called herself "The Grandma Jewelry Designer". I miss her.)
I wish this talk was longer!

Things are happening.

I know.

It's a process.

I have been doing a lot of glaze tests and this speckled clay definitely absorbs the mason stains/ glaze and pulls the color out a lot.
Actually the glazes are just totally different some times...
I will also start testing the 266 chocolate brown with the glazes too....
I am making headway and I like the pieces but I think I have a lot more exploring to do and I am trying to teach myself something I have been trying to teach myself FOREVER.

PATIENCE.

Not one of my strong suits.
BUT I tell you, I am seriously working on it, while enjoying the ride.
Because really, isn't that all we really have?
The ride.

A little more from the Workshop...

Takeshi Yasuda WIRE WEDGING!!!

Takeshi Yasuda rams head wedging
Originally uploaded by ellen mulligan

This man is amazing...
This just gives you a taste...
I will just post a little at a time...



















This is what i looked like for 5 days...plus mosquito bites.

Keywords: handmade ceramic pottery : unique, elegant, modern, contemporary, sculptural, sophisticated studio, ceramics, art, blah blah blah...

So... I re did my listings and I tried to have the words attract people who would be looking for WHAT I MAKE... it does become rather scientific and sterile.... HOWEVER... the internet is definitely a venue for sales... In the mean time...I will approach Galleries/ Brick and Mortar... Just want to make sure they are the best fit...
I have some opportunities and now I have to think about which to pursue...

I can't thank you guys enough for your super feedback.
It gets a little "lonely" in the studio....

MEANWHILE... I am having
an Open Studio Sale Next Wednesday, April 28th at my studio...
ALL DAY: 9am-10pm...
WITH Refreshments...
So you can feel REFRESHED(of course)...
email here if you need directions: jtceramics@aol.com
Mother's Day is coming...
Wedding and Anniversary "Season"...
of course...there is always the WEBSITE to beat the RAGING CROWDS!
and...yeah...I am kidding...
a little...