A few more new pieces...

As promised, here's a few more of the feltware pieces I've been working on.

Enjoy!

 

This is "Tea Anemone 2". The second in a series I am working on. I have found a way to make the tentacles look more twisty and bendy which I think gives them more character, but at the same time the photograph doesn't really do them any justice. It's hard to get a feel for their movement from one still shot. Otherwise, I'm happy with these pieces. The slate matte glaze makes a perfect neutral to contrast with the colored wool. More colors coming soon!

This work is a set of Nesting Anemone Bowls. I can tell you (as if it's not obvious) there is a LOT of tentacles there. A LOT. I would like to make more of these but we'll see. This particular one I have been working on since October. Yup. October.  I need to figure out how to expedite the anemone-making process for this type of piece. I think everything needs to go bigger but we'll see. The tentacles here are quite thin, which made it very difficult to add the pink tips.

At any rate, I'm having FUN.

Which is the most important part.

I have set aside one day a week for play time. No production allowed! So far it's been amazingly refreshing, but my production for the year really hasn't started yet so we'll see if I can keep it up.

My Latest Stuff...

Since my schedule is a little more open right now than I am used to this time of year, I've been working away on my Feltware Collection.

I was finally able to figure out how to consistently fit travel mug lids to my tall, feltware cups. Look for these at all my shows this year.

The lids are great too, they have a little tab that slides down to close the lid so your coffee doesn't spill and it actually works!

After the One of a Kind show this past December, my tall feltware cups were a huge hit, but some people asked for shorter cups that would fit in a coffee maker.
Well, ta da!

I'm so excited about these little guys! I've been using one myself just to take them for a test drive and I absolutely LOVE it!

I've got some more projects on the go including some custom cozies to fit my round bottomed tumblers so I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll be posting these throughout the week on my etsy shop, so keep your eyes peeled!

The Corporate Whores Strike Again

Every January for the past 5 years, I pack up samples of my work and head to Toronto to display at a wholesale show for artists and craftspeople, where retailers can come and place orders for goods for their stores. It helped me get my business off the ground and put me in touch with all kinds of amazing shop owners all across Canada.

I loved this show. It sent orders and money my way. It put buyers in touch with makers and created a space where those interested in selling handmade out of their stores could find everything they were looking for and then some.

I usually get info on the next upcoming show by about August. This year August came and went and I heard nothing. And then September came and went. After sending an inquiring email to the organizers of the show at the beginning of October, I finally got word on what was going on. Or rather, what WASN'T going on.

I was told that there would be no Toronto show for January 2011.
My jaw hit the floor, and panic set in. How was I going to connect with my wholesale clients? Where was I going to replace this income from?
This part I can deal with. I'll need to send out lots of mailings, print up some snazzy catalogs and make lots of phone calls. But it's the why that has really gotten to me.

This particular show always runs at the same time as other wholesale shows, so that buyers can see everything in one trip into the city. One of those shows decided that we (artists and craftspeople) were too much competition for them (mass-produced crap out of China). They book blocks of rooms at ALL the hotels in the area of Toronto where these shows are held. They also book space at all the major conference centers in the area to host this event. This year, they placed a clause in their contract at ALL these locations, saying that they had veto power over anyone who decided to use any other space in these buildings, and VETO they did. Our show was unable to find a venue for the 2011.

YUP. Those assholes blocked our little show from happening. They were too intimidated by the hand made work of Canadian artists that they decided to block our access to buyers.
How's that for nice?

If I REALLY wanted to, I could sign up to have a booth at this "other" show, and at some point in the near future, I will have to (hence, I'm withholding their name thanks to Google notifications). But signing up for this show requires a $500 'initiation' fee, plus a $325 annual fee. That only gets me a 'silver' membership. From there, I'm reviewed by a board of directors who will decide whether or not my business is worthy of a 'gold' membership. Once I am offered a gold membership, I have the privilege of being placed on a wait list (of one to 4 years) before I can show at their wholesale show. Lucky me.

Now this wouldn't be so bad, except that this particular show is frequented by idea poachers. Industry reps who scour these shows looking for ideas that they can steal and brand as their own.

I shudder to think of what this selfish act will do to the artisans who rely on that show for income. I shudder to think of what this selfish act will do to the retailers who seek out one of a kind, hand made goods to carry in their stores. There was no need for this company to do this. In other cities across Canada, these shows co-exist and have for a very long time. They even share the space to show in. Retailers shop around at ALL the wholesale shows looking for products to carry in their shops. To claim that our little show was too much competition is ludicrous. It all boils down to corporate greed. It always does.

Testin' Time Again...

Well, it's the time of year for me to break out all my glaze ingredients and go to town testing, testing, testing!

I recently unloaded 10 cubic feet of glaze tests and ...

Wait for it ...

not a single one gave me what I was looking for!

Glaze testing can be a colossal pain in the ass. I'm not going to lie. But it's a necessary evil. Before I fired this kiln load, I only had a vague idea of what I was looking for. Sort of...

I want another pair of colours to compliment my new line of work. Something simple, and earthy. Maybe a bit "warmer" than the slate gray and ice blue I'm currently working with.

 I had ideas in my head for a kind of warm, wheat colour in my matte glaze, and a nice, toasty merlot colour for my glossy liner. The paint chips here show the colour of matte glaze I am after in the center. It's called "Desert Fortress". (Am I the only one that thinks that's a pretty bizarre name for a colour?) But I digress...The merlot colour is shown on the right.

Since my ice blue is a stain, I thought 'what the hell' and got mason's 6006 to try after seeing some AMAZING results with it from a collegue of mine.

After that last firing, I can assure you that I have no interest in pursuing the 6006 stain. I used this base glaze, which meets all the requirements for a chrome/tin stain (CaO in 12 to 15%, zinc free) but alas, I was disappointed.I want to maintain a somewhat translucent glaze which can be tricky with stains, especially since this one has tin in it. To keep the translucence, I need the stain in percentages of 3 to 4%. Unfortunately, it was too low to give good colour. But any more than that, and I loose the depth and end up with very commercial looking, flat, opaque colours. Oh well...

Then there were the results for my matte glaze. I was using iron, nickel, rutile, titanium, and even tin and copper in various blends to get the wheaty colour I was searching for but to no avail. Most of the tests came out pretty ugly. I got lots of orange-y browns, fleshy colours but not that beautiful shade of "Desert Fortress".

 if you are interested in any of these colours, let me know, I'm happy to share...

There was however, some good news in all of this testing. I didn't get to see all of my results until after a visit I had with an incredibly talented potter, Iris Dorton. We had a long chat about all things pottery when I went to visit her in her fabulous new studio. She has a stunning new line of work and I was picking her brain on how she made this transition. She was quick to point out that her new line of work uses the same colours and compliments her old line of work. This should have been obvious. My new colours and forms are such a HUGE departure from my arabesque collection that I had no idea how to tie the two lines together.


After this visit, and then unloading my kiln to see all these tests, it finally came together. I am going to bring my purpley-blue glaze over to the new collection of work for my glossy liner, and work on the wheat colour I'm after for the matte glaze.
 
 Seeing all of my test results, I can extrapolate and have a much better understanding of the blends necessary to get the colour I'm after.
 So some fine tuning and I'm confident I can get what I want. And I think the two colours will not only look smashing together, but will help to bring the two lines of work together. So stay tuned for some more testing....

The Give and Take of it All

I recently had the opportunity to catch up with a classmate of mine from art school. I haven't seen this person in 8 years. She is an incredibly talented potter whose work I really admired while in school. After graduation, she tried her hand at potting full time, but was incredibly frustrated by the lack of financial security, and the long hours needed to make ends meet. After hiding out in teacher's college, she is now teaching at a facility that she loves, has a stable career and a steady paycheck. And yet...

"You know, I'm jealous of you, of what you have..."

What???????!!!!!

Let's just recap what it is I "have".
I work 7 days a week. In fact, I just finished a two year stint where I could count my days off on one hand. I am plagued with financial insecurity; let's face it, I make luxury goods and we're in the biggest global recession of a generation.

"Yes, but you get to make pots all day..."

Sure I get to make pots all day. Dozens and dozens of pots. Every day. And though I've been better lately, I rarely get to make new pots, different pots, or even just pots that explore the creative realms of my brain.

I guess all I'm trying to get at here is that there's a trade off to everything. For those of us who do production work, we DO get to make pots all day, but that comes with a heavy price. I'm stressed. I worry about finances. It's hard to find time for creative play. And while making work all the time can be incredibly rewarding, it can take its toll. There are others who maybe teach pottery classes, so that they don't have to do as much production but that comes with it's own price too. Teaching can be exhausting. It might subsidize the pottery making, but it also takes time away from making your own pottery. Other potters try to balance a part/full time job with a pottery career and that's no small feat either. There's only so many hours in a day, and so much energy that one person has.

So everything comes at a price. The price you are willing to pay for what you want is completely personal. I would never begrudge someone for leaving a studio career to pursue a full time career somewhere else. I can't imagine how difficult a decision like that would be. Nor would I begrudge someone who doesn't pot full time.  While it's flattering that people are envious of what I do, at the same time, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm pretty envious of others who don't have to worry about how their bills are going to be paid next month.

I guess the most important thing is if you REALLY  want to make pots, that you find a way to do it whether it be full time, part time or even sporadically. And don't come down on others who choose to do things differently. It's ALL hard. It all comes with sacrifice.

Nose to the Grindstone...

With summer officially out of the way, I find myself elbow-deep in clay and glaze. Christmas is coming! (It's exhausting just thinking about it!) Things are in full production here and the studio is already overflowing with work.


My cat Frank, sleeping in the midst of some bisqueware

This coming weekend is my local studio tour. This year is the first time that I will be at my own studio. The previous three years I have been featured as a visiting artist at Linda Rapai's studio in Port Rowan. I'm excited to showcase my creative space. My studio is in a century old barn on my parent's apple orchard. There are hand hewn wooden beams and floorboards up to 19" across. It's a beautiful space and I'm lucky to be able to use it.

AND... you'll be happy to hear I'm still doing really well with my pledge to maintain some creative time amidst all the production. I've got some new test bowls in the kiln as I type this, some more drying out on my work table, and some new felware to show off.


feltware cups


Anemone Teacup and saucer


Feltware Vase

Where the heck did summer go?!!?!!

Okay. So basically summer's over. And exactly where the hell have I been, you're wondering?

My summer has been incredibly hectic. I spent three days a week at an art fair in Stratford, Ontario. Which doesn't really leave me a lot of time for making work, packing and shipping orders, glazing and firing, keeping up with my paperwork, and definitely NO time for keeping up with my blog posts.
My most sincere apologies.

BUT, here's a taste of what I have been working on...

I've tried my hand at casseroles, and I can honestly say I never thought I'd be so excited by them! Working on several different sizes, including an individual one.


I've also been working on my feltware collection. Here's a little covered jar from an anemone series I'm working on. People seem to be a little weirded out by the anemones but I'm having fun. I've also got some other pieces in this series I"ll post soon.

AND.....
there's some functional feltware...


I decided that rather than felting the wool right onto the porcelain, I'd make it removable. This, after listening to customers at shows. So thanks everyone for the feedback! On the left is a travel mug. It was tough getting the top to fit, especially with porcelain's tendency to warp, and I'll admit out of 4, only one was round enough to fit the lid snugly. This guy now happily resides in Michigan! The other pieces are dessert bowls. I fell in love with frozen cherries this summer as a refreshing treat... little bit of brown sugar on them, YUM! But I found I had to wrap my bowl in a towel because it got so cold and there was a lot of condensation on it. So voila! Hand felted cozies that perfectly fit the bowls. Just wash them like you would a wool sweater, in cold water, and then stretch them over the bowls to dry. Perfect for ice cream or even hot apple crisp, or a steaming bowl of soup in the fall to keep you warm!

With all of the fun I've been having taking my work in a new direction, I have found I've come full circle and have added several new pieces to my Arabesque line as well. And you remember some of these tests I did a while back? I've found my way back there and using some techniques involving transfer paper. I have some ideas on how to incorporate this into my work so we'll see how this works out over the next little while.

Making new and different pieces has been very invigorating. It's been really hard to "fit" in the time to make them, but has been well worth the effort and stress it caused. And with the hectic fall/Christmas schedule I have lined up, it will important for me to take these creative diversions for my own sanity.