Finally Summer!!!

New Work this week....can't wait to get them fired and glazed. Then make more!

Jennifer Allen http://www.jenallenceramics.com/

Ahhhhhhhh! After a trip south to visit family, I've finally gotten back in the studio. New things are happening and while I'd like to say they are oh-so-spontaneous, they simply are not.

Wanting to take care of mind, body and spirit I made a quick stop at Touchstone Center for Crafts http://www.touchstonecrafts.org/ to see artist Jennier Allen in May. Working in porcelain, she makes delicate, feminine, and intricately glazed pieces. It was refreshing to watch her work, as she is obsessed with little things- like edges, tiny handles, ruffles. I was right at home with ther class. (While not able to take the whole class due to those students who expect me to show up everyday and make art with them, Touchstone and Jennifer were accomodating and I was able to join the class for the day.) It is clear she works with intention and integrity of design. Combining hand building with wheel thrown forms gives her so much versatility to what she can create in her work. While driving home, I gave thought to my production output in the last year. Cranking out functional work (bowls, bowls, bowls, mugs, platters, bakers...bowls)has been the status quo. While this isn't a bad thing and it was has been working for me...it has left me physically compromised and bored. The pots pictured above are the result of this realisation. I enjoyed the challenge of making all the parts work physically and visually. While playing around with these forms, my brain was already projecting into the glazes and where patterns would go, what would be left terra cotta, what would get color.

This is a great day in the studio for me and makes me want to make more. Physically, this kind of work helps my irritated joints by providing a break from throwing. Talking with Jennier, she was very open about how the physical stresses of making ceramic pieces have affected her work and how she she now approaches her studio practice. Actually, everyone in the class talked about the physical demands of what we do and how we deal with it all. I never thought I'd be that person who goes on about health issues, "Oh my (insert complaint here)!" But in a search to find a better way to work and heal I'll put this out here for now...and hopefully the changes I've implemented will continue to keep my happily in the studio!