Teaching, Website, and DNC Update
Yesterday, I finally nailed down a schedule for my after school clay class that I have decided to teach again this year. If you’ve read any of the past month’s posts, you’ll know I have been on the fence about it – so it’s a relief for me to finally make a decision. Instead of teaching twice a week like I did last school year, I have decided to teach one day a week this fall partly to help with burn out and also because my daughter has a super busy schedule this year including soccer practice twice a week, my clay class and a music class. It means less of an income, but it frees up more time for me to make my own work during school hours – which is a good compromise if you ask me.
I have also been working on my website the past few days and uploaded the current enrollment form for my after school clay class to my Teaching Schedule page, along with a gallery of children’s art work which is a sub page of the teaching page. I’d be glad to hear any feedback if you have any. Next up on my agenda is to flesh out the gallery page for my own work which still shows under construction. Also, I am not sold on the current header image and am continuing to work on the theme template I’ve settled on. I would like to have the colors of the little graphic icons and the text (titles, links, etc.) be in the same color family. I will be working on my website a little bit at a time when I have a spare moment or two and definitely don’t feel the same urgency as I did a few weeks ago after breaking my site.
- Big Blue Bear who stands 40 feet tall is seen peeking into the Convention Center in Denver
The bear is really called “I see what you mean” by Lawrence Argent
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, I pulled my daughter out of school (with her teacher’s blessing) and headed downtown to see some of the sights and sounds of the Democratic National Convention that has taken over Denver this week. I figured it is educational and who knows when we’ll ever be in a city again where either party will be holding their convention. First we traveled by light rail and went to the non partisan “American Presidential Experience” at Invesco Field. There is so much security in town right now that it was like planes, trains and automobiles just to get there. We were on foot from the light rail and ran into swat teams, secret service and all kinds of blocked streets which added quite a bit of travel time to our journey. The Presidential Experience was interesting, but it is a commercial enterprise which devalues it just a bit for me. I’m not sure I’d do it again, but my daughter enjoyed the event (especially touring through Air Force One, seeing an exact replica of the Oval Office, and seeing some of Jackie O’s Clothing) so I guess that’s what counts.
- Invesco Field is ready for Obama to speak tonight
A normal 20 minute walk from Invesco Field to downtown Denver took us an hour because of road closures and other obstacles. We arrived at our chosen lunch destination, The Market, bedraggled, hot and hungry. Luckily the food there is delish and after refueling and cooling off, we set off for Robischon Gallery to see a political exhibit as a part of “Dialog: City” during the DNC. In between, we saw some celebrities and almost literally ran into Senator Tom Daschle, and got caught up in all kinds of protest and demonstrators, which was interesting but just a little disconcerting for my daughter who sort of lives in a protective bubble (like most kids should).
After spending some time at the gallery, we headed towards the convention center where many of the caucuses are taking place. Surprisingly, we were allowed to go in and watch the caucuses after going through a security check point. We wandered around from meeting room to meeting room and eventually went to a “watch” party which sounds way more exciting than it actually is. We had intended to head on over to Civic Center Park where many of the demonstrators where camped out, but when I finally looked at my watch, it was 5:00 pm, so we decided to skip the park and catch a train back home.
Things are returning to “normal”,
~Cynthia
Soda Firing at the Colorado Potters Guild on Sept. 6 & DNC
- The soda kiln in action at the Colorado Potters Guild
Guild members, Ginny, Jackie and Kate injecting salt burritos in the vapor kiln last April
On September 6 – less than 2 weeks from now, the guild is holding a group vapor firing for any members who want to learn about the process and participate. Currently, only about 5-6 people use the vapor kiln at the guild. I love the look of salt glazed pottery, and in fact, it’s mostly what I buy when I buy pottery for myself because it’s not something I make myself. I need to get a few small pots ready between now and then so that I can get in on the action and even think I still have a bit of cone 10 porcelain left in the studio to do so. I don’t really know a whole lot about atmospheric firing because I fire in an electric kiln at home for convenience. I borrowed the book below from the guild to read up on the process and philosophy before firing day. I used to interchange soda and salt for this type of firing, but now know there’s a difference. I’ll have to see what method the kiln director plans to use.
Printmaking Techniques on Clay
My daughter’s slip transfer ceramic wall piece “Ripply River”
My marionette class is winding down at the Art Student’s League of Denver- well actually ramping up into a crescendo of activity as we finish our marionettes. Tomorrow is our last day of camp, yet it feels like we just started. The clay pieces went into the kiln on Tuesday evening and spent the overnight on low in an attempt to dry them out completely before firing. They were fired yesterday and I will unload the ceramic heads, hands and feet this afternoon so that we can finish constructing our marionettes by the end of class tomorrow – I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all the little pieces survived! Otherwise, on to plan “C” for those affected. Incidentally, I don’t know what plan C is – but will figure it out if necessary.
In the meantime, I’ve started writing the lesson plan for next week’s class titled, Beyond Silly Putty – which is basically an exploration of different printmaking techniques on clay. (I didn’t name my class, btw- though I like it) This class won’t require as much prep work as the marionette class since it’s an area of clay exploration that I’m very much interested in applying to my own work. I’ve already taught a couple of the projects that we’re going to make next week in my after school kid’s clay classes last school year.
Some of the projects we’re going to make:
- slip transfers
- handmade roulettes and stamps to use and keep
- relief printing on clay and unlike the linoleum that I carve for my own work, we’re going to use something similar to this which is a Styrofoam type printing plate for kids which does not require the use of sharp carving tools, but uses pens, and other instruments to incise lines.
- stencils
- found objects that we can use to stamp or use as stencils
- collographs – we’re going to make our own printing plates using the contents of the recycle bin and other misc. items like rope and hot glue to make our own texture printing blocks
- paper resist designs
- if we have time, we’ll even make a “Plate-o-matic” as outlined in a recent Pottery Making Illustrated
I’m going to play it by ear as the week passes to gauge the energy and productivity level of the class.
Anna, 3rd grade, “Lucky”, slip transfer wall plaque
While I love all my student’s work, these 4 pieces are a few of my favorite slip transfer pieces that some of the kids in my class made last year.
Ryan, 4th grade, “Copper”, slip transfer wall plaque
Cassidy, 2nd grade, “Cat”, slip transfer wall plaque
These pieces along with several others were on display at the Space Gallery last April. The kids worked very hard and were so pumped seeing their work in a professional art setting.
Needless to say, I haven’t had the energy to make any of my own work this past week and doubt that next week will be any better. I suppose this is the down side of teaching – I find teaching inspiring, invigorating, but thoroughly exhausting. I teach in the morning next week, instead of the afternoons that I’m teaching this week, so maybe I’ll be able to do a little something in the afternoon clay wise.
Until later,
~Cynthia
First snow of the season!
Here’s what Denver, CO woke up to this morning…the first snow of the season. At first I was grumpy about the white stuff, but it’s so beautiful I can’t help but enjoy. My daughter was hoping for a snow day, but we only got about 2-3 inches in town. It takes a lot more than that to cancel or delay school!
My in-laws are in shock weather-wise…they’re visiting from San Antonio, TX. I don’t think they normally see snow down there, especially not in October. They told me that they were still running the AC.
This photo was taken on the SE corner of Washington Park in Denver. In the far distance, are the Rocky Mountains whose peaks are already covered in white. For those of you who ski, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is already open!
