Colorado Art Studio

Bussing Mary Cay in front of her porcelain wall pieces in her new studio

My good friend and former ceramic’s instructor, Mary Cay, has just moved into a new studio in the East End Arts District in Aurora, CO.  This makes me happy on so many fronts because this means she’s going to start making work again after a bit of a hiatus due to change in her life and she’s showing her work again.  On Friday, I had the opportunity to visit her studio as part of First Fridays Art Walk and had a blast.

There are several studios in the East End Applied Arts Gallery and Studios where she has her work space now including a jeweler, painters and potters.  The owner of the building is a potter, Walt Weinberg, which is pretty cool if you ask me.  He happened to be firing the gas kiln while the opening was going on and I took a peek at the kiln yard and the back end of the studios.  While the gallery is open Thursday - Saturday, it sounds like the artist’s studios will be open to the public on First Fridays.

Look closely...

I laughed so hard when I saw one of Mary Cay’s bowls on display!  It’s so subtle, yet disarming.  I told her I coveted this, and before I knew it, Mary Cay and I struck up a trade and I walked out the door with this gem.  No, I’m not feeling the urge to have a baby or anything - I just think it’s funny.

Jules and Janet

While Mary Cay hasn’t been making any new work in awhile, she has been teaching some clay classes part time.  Jules and Janet are former classmates of mine at the Art Student’s League of Denver - we took classes together a few years back.  Janet recently built a studio at her home where she and Jules work and have continued taking classes privately with Mary Cay.  They’ve been playing around with crystalline glazes and their new work is rockin’!

Pottery Party Posse

Meanwhile, the secretary at my daughter’s school begged me to teach a “pottery party” at her home after I allowed her to participate in one of my after school clay classes a month ago.  She had so much fun making a mug and thought she could round up a few of her friends for a party.  I’ve never done anything like this before nor have I ever considered it and wasn’t sure how to price an event like this.  I cut her a deal since she does so much for the school and helps make sure my after school class runs smoothly - not to mention being one of my biggest cheerleaders.  Many of the participants were interested in doing something like this again - I suppose I should decide if I want to pursue this and post something about pricing, min. & max participants etc. on my website.

There’s a fascination with wet clay that you just can’t get from a paint your own pottery shop - and many don’t have the time to sign up for a class.  They made a variety of different kinds of cups, mugs and tumblers - along with some clay jewelry.  The ladies had fun and also have a much better appreciation for handmade pottery after last night.

Meanwhile, I’m substitute teaching the next 2 days and won’t get back in my studio till Wed.  I am going to work a couple of hours this afternoon - more of a getting ready for the next extended studio session.

Have a great week,

~Cynthia

Tile by Mary Cay

My good friend and former ceramics instructor, Mary Cay, popped over for a visit last Monday evening.  It was so good to see her again and she came bearing a gift for me.  She gave me the tile above that I had long coveted and was originally part of an exchange we arranged when I helped her set up her website last year.

It was so good to catch up and I was very excited to hear that she has found space to set up a ceramic studio again in the Denver area after a period of abstinence from clay due to a bit of a life change.  I’m looking forward to visiting her studio once she has it set up.  Maybe she’ll let me share a few photographs of her studio at a later date….

Bottom of mug attached to kiln shelf

I learned something valuable the other day.  I did a couple of glaze tests in my test kiln on a couple of mugs I will be swapping with other EMT members as a part of our annual EMT Secret Mug Swap this month.  Unfortunately, this one experienced a bit of a problem and one for which I’m grateful.  Why am I grateful, you ask?  Because I discovered something about using Amaco LUG Decorating Colors that will save me from making a similar mistake again.

At cone 6, the Amaco LUGs melt like a glaze - they must have some fluxing agents included in the recipe, whereas at cone 05 (the recommended firing temperature), they are a flat matte texture.  I figured that if Duncan Cover Coats can fire to up to  cone 10 and maintain their color, then the Amaco products should too in theory.

The problem is that the Amaco underglaze acted like a glaze and fused to the kiln shelf - the good news is that it only affected 1 mug and not 40 (the number I have waiting to be glazed this week).  Lesson learned.  Why does pottery have such a learning curve?

Another good discovery, the raspberry color on the exterior is left over from my cone 6 pink and violet glaze tests and is very stable - it stays put and doesn’t run AND I can brush it on which means that I could conceivably make smaller batches of the glaze so that I don’t have to make big dipping batches.

Meanwhile, I mixing glazes today since I have about 3 bisque loads to glaze in the next week and will visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver later on this afternoon with my family.  Stay tuned for more on solar energy in the coming weeks.

Have a good weekend,

~Cynthia

Mary Cay and I at the opening standing in front of 2 of her pieces

I drove up to Evergreen by myself yesterday evening for the opening of the “Fine Art of Craft” at the Center for the Arts Evergreen where some of my work was on display. Unfortunately, my husband and daughter did not attend because my daughter came down with strep this past week and wasn’t feeling 100%. It was a fun evening, and while I had peeked at some of the other items on display when I dropped off my work last Monday, it truly was a feast for the eyes to see a variety of different crafts on display together ranging from glass blowing, fiber art, beading, ceramics, to wood working.

The gallery is fairly small, but at its busiest, there were about 150 people crammed in there (that’s my guesstimate). My ceramics mentor and good friend, Mary Cay, had some of her wonderful work on display, including groupings of her bone china canvases. Some former Art Student’s League classmates of mine also came up for the opening and afterwards we all enjoyed sitting down and catching up at The Wine Bar nestled in the pines by the Evergreen Lake.

On my drive up to Evergreen I snapped this photograph of a local landmark - the Spaceship House in Genessee, CO. I would love to tour it someday, but, it’s privately owned. Built in the 1960’s by architect Charles Deaton, its futuristic design is so unusual that it was used in the filming of Woody Allen’s movie, Sleeper in 1973.

Cone 10 porcelain platter freshly thrown

Meanwhile, last week in my studio I threw quite a bit of work to add to the gas firing at the guild taking place this weekend. Out of necessity, I threw bigger than I normally do in an attempt to take up real estate in the kiln since one of our firing partners dropped out at the last minute. I used the tutorial on Emily Murphy’s blog that she calls the “quarter trick” to throw this platter. I normally have a hard time centering more than 5 lbs of clay at a time, so I used 4 lbs as the base, and since I couldn’t find a quarter, I used a 1970’s nickel in the center. Then I centered another 5 lbs on top of the nickel. Once I opened it up, I removed the nickel and was pretty pleased with my 12″ platter. While that’s not as big as the 24″ raku platter I saw on display last night by Bob Smith, I was pleased with my efforts. After the guild sale next weekend, I’m going to practice throwing larger.

I just unloaded the bisque kiln this morning and was so happy to see the platter in one piece, with a nice deep foot. As expected, I lost 4 mugs that went into the kiln damp. I should have made them tumblers instead of trying to add handles at the last minute. Live and learn!

With that said, I have some glazing to do!

Happy weekend,

~Cynthia

PS.  By the time I got up to Evergreen, 2 of my pieces had already sold!

Mary Cay at the opening of her show this past summer at Firehouse Gallery in Denver
My good friend and local ceramic artist, Mary Cay, approached me about a month ago about writing a guest blog post. At first, being the wise aleck that I am, I replied, “Get your own blog!” Okay, I really didn’t say that - I said sure, I’m running out of things to say (not really).

Mary Cay and her development of kiln jewels were published in Ceramic’s Monthly in February 2006, A Glittering Obsession
Let me back up and tell you how I met her…. I moved back to Denver in the summer of 2004 after graduating from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in art - ceramic’s concentration. I did not feel very confident when I graduated because I didn’t have a really good technical background. I found the Art Student’s League of Denver and signed up for their advanced throwing classes taught by Mary Cay. She’s generous with her knowledge and is a wonderful and inspiring artist. While I am no longer taking classes with Mary Cay, I know that I can always call her with a clay question and she’ll point me in the right direction.

Two porcelain vessels with kiln jewels by Mary Cay
Meanwhile, she has also become my friend. On Friday night, I went out to dinner with her and a new friend of ours, Jane - who recently moved to Denver from Steamboat Springs. The 3 of us could get in serious trouble. I spent yesterday recovering from our night out. Let’s face it, I just can’t party like a rock star anymore!

Wheel thrown and handbuilt porcelain planter, watering can and tray with kiln jewels by Mary Cay
So, with no further ado, I give you Mary Cay’s first ever blog post. Maybe now, she’ll go get her own blog! ;D
Cynthia

Janet and Jules, Mary Cay’s students
Mary Cay:A few weeks ago I asked Cynthia to let me blog about my students, Janet Andrews and Jules Muscari, who are taking semi-private lessons from me and doing really well. A “private lesson” situation is not for everyone because I think potters are naturally drawn to a “community” of artists. But then there are the students who seem to need more time and ask a lot of questions, which is a good match for private lessons. My goal for all my students as well as Jules and Janet is to meet them were they are in their learning process and then push them just out of the comfort zone.

Janet’s bowls on left, Jule’s stemless wine goblets on left
Before starting these classes they had about a year of experience in a community art center. So our first assignment was to work in multiples of six, using the cylinder form, and making pieces that were the same size and shape. Intention and Consistency was the point of the assignment. They chose shapes inspired by the Lark Book 500 Cups. The next assignment for Janet, who wanted to improve making handles and have a signature mug, was to choose a shape she liked and add a handle, again working in multiples. Jules, who is a wine connoisseur and distributor, chose to pursue a simple yet elegant stem-less wine goblet. Jules decided to make the inside of her goblets a golden color after drinking wine at my home from a Connor Burns mug. So we are testing rutile washes under white glazes in oxidation, which is their available firing method. Janet found a new altered bowl shape she liked while working on her own, so we made it into an assignment of making 20 with the quirky handles. Currently, we are working on making trays.

Bowls by Janet

Janet and Jules both have busy lives—they own their own businesses and Jules is planning her May ‘08 wedding. But they have chosen to be committed to their ceramic work through building a studio, buying a kiln and other equipment, and most importantly dedicating time to their assignments — when they are making pots they are working with Intention! I think their progress is impressive and I look forward to our mutual goal of having a show and sale in the fall of ’08.

Jule’s wine goblets
On another note, I just returned form a road trip to Taos, NM, and there are some wonderful new ceramic studios and a BIG wood fired kiln that the two studios are using. If you are into wood-fired pots, don’t miss J. Bradford Pottery and Taos Clay. One of my all time favorite shops in Taos is Wabi Sabi because I love the Japanese aesthetic-awesome glazes.

Thanks Cynthia and Happy Holidays to everyone. I think 2008 is going to be a great year!

Mary Cay

Thank you Mary Cay - Janet and Jule’s work is shaping up beautifully! By the way, visit Mary Cay’s Etsy Shop to see some of her kiln jewel jewelry and other work. She does not currently sell her pottery online.