Posts Tagged “porcelain bottle”

Stoneware Vase, cone 6, 8″ h x 4.5″ w
I’ve been working on some new pieces the past month, but didn’t bring them with me to the sale this past weekend. You see, I’m saving them for when they go on view at the Colorado Potter’s Guild when I will be considered for membership to the guild. In addition to the written application, interview, references, etc. My work will be on display along with other candidate’s work so that all the members can get a good look at what we’re capable of before being voted to stay on the island.

Alternate view
I’m quite pleased with these pieces and their organic soft carved shapes. I would like to make more of these forms. After throwing them, I let them set up to an almost leather hard state, after which time, I take a Sure Form to them to get the chiseled effect. I spend a good amount of time sanding them down after they’re bone dry to soften the edges. I don’t really have a plan beforehand, but let the clay “talk” to me, if you will. Making the first cut with the sure form is the hardest decision for me to make…how’s that song go?

Top view
Meanwhile, I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with the director of the Art Student’s League of Denver to teach a kid’s clay workshop there next summer. That would be good….

Thanks for listening to Vinnie Jones’ Change from Introducing Joss Stone - I had this album loaded on my iPod and when I went on my run this am, I thought, ain’t this the truth? I’m living change right now and it’s both exhilarating and scary at the same time. Who knows what’s around the corner?

Till later,

~Cynthia

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Tags: art student's league of denver, colorado potter's guild, joss stone, porcelain bottle, pottery, stoneware, vinnie jones

Double walled salt shaker with no holes
Bottom of double walled salt shaker
A couple of weeks ago, the Etsy Mud Team, (an Etsy group that I belong to) was discussing double walled holeless salt shakers. I really couldn’t fathom how they were made or worked, but gave it a good shot after seeing Keith’s tutorial. I didn’t do any before, during and after photos and instead, opted to wait and see if my creation even survived the bisque fire.

It did. I ended up adding the decorative knob, because without it, frankly the salt shaker looked like a female body part. Please use your imagination here…. As to the mechanics of the piece, one basically fills the salt or pepper into the hole in the bottom. To use, the salt sits within the “walls” until shaken, then sprinkles from the hollow center. Makes sense, right? I’m a visual person, and didn’t get it until I made one myself. I think it needs a pepper partner now.

Bisqued porcelain bottle with handmade ginkgo lino-cut stamps - not yet glazed
Then, I water etched another vase, but decided to use my ginkgo stamp on the bottle. The fat juicy body of the piece, just begged for some kind of adornment. I still need to glaze these pieces, and was going to do so tonight, but one of my favorite shows is on in 5 minutes. I have another true confession - I love the medical drama, House.

Oh yah, I almost forgot about the good news. Before the new school year began, I proposed an after school clay class at my daughter’s school. It’s finally wound it’s way through the ranks and has formally been approved. I begin teaching the last week in October. I can’t wait!

Happy Wednesday everyone,

~Cynthia

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Tags: double walled salt and pepper shakers, ginkgo lino-cut stamp, kid's clay classes in Denver, porcelain bottle

Another wheel thrown porcelain bottle, 9″ x 6″
*New * Wheel thrown porcelain vase for David, 10″ x 5″
A few days ago, I wrote a “true confessions” blog post about being a procrastinator - a not so nice trait that I recognize in myself as it’s happening but over which I feel powerless. A wise bloggie friend, Mary, of Bead Fluff, emailed me privately after reading my post along with a link to an article by Robert Genn that she had just read. Before I had even clicked on the link, I emailed her back to tell her about how until recently (maybe the last year or two) I hadn’t recognized this self destructive tendency in myself. Later on in the day, I read Robert Genn’s article about how often times, artists possess both the yin (female) and yang (male) tendencies which tend to balance each other out. In the article, Robert mentions that often times, many artists who go on to be quite well known are out of yin/yang sync (think Van Gogh, Basquiat et al), meaning that one or another of the traits dominates, creating a successful, yet poisonous imbalance.

The article gave me something to think about since I don’t exactly want to self destruct and am trying to build an art career. I know I recently wrote about becoming a “certified” teacher. I was most likely seduced by the notion of a monetary paycheck and a steady job. I don’t want just any job and left my last job because I was tired of being a monkey and unappreciated. I, along with a lot of other people/artists, am looking for career enhancing satisfaction, self fulfillment, and a longing that I can’t quite describe. Simply put, I am just looking to create a path for myself that is authentic and one I feel good about. I can still teach without going back to school by just doing it - see the going back to school part is the avoidance, ie. I’ll be happy when I do (fill in the blank). It’s easy to romanticize a paycheck when I have to make my pantry stretch for a few weeks and my family’s car experiences a major repair. But is money everything? If I decide to become a “certified” teacher, I want it to be for the right reasons… Boy oh boy, I feel a tangent coming on that I had better divert right this very minute. At any rate, suffice it to say, thank you *Mary* for your keen insight and wisdom - You’re an angel!

Space hogging elliptical trainer that up until today shared studio space with moi
Speaking of angels, I had posted the above elliptical for sale on Craigslist Denver this past week, and woo hoo - a kindly gentleman took it off our hands this evening! I can’t believe how much space that netted my studio - Scratching my head in wonderment??? Next up is an upright piano which was my parent’s when I was growing up. I don’t exactly want to get rid of it, but no one in my immediate family is interested in playing the piano and there’s no space inside our small house either to store or display it. I’m thinking of donating it to someone who maybe can’t afford one, but who is passionate about playing piano. Once the piano is out of the picture, we’re going to begin insulating and dry walling my studio space so that I can work there year round. If you think going on vacation can stall my art making, imaging what a cold winter would do?? Desperately seeking balance….

Meanwhile, today marked the Josh and Gus Run for a Cause that benefits SUDC, or Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood - a cousin of SIDS. I donated the above piece to their silent auction and hope that the group raised a ton of money for research that can prevent future deaths. As a mom, I can only imagine what parents of SIDS or SUDC children are coping with!

So, after much rambling, I am signing off for today,

~Cynthia

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Tags: josh and gus, life of an artist, porcelain bottle, wheel thrown pottery