Artist Statement

Regardless of what your artistic medium is...it appears that an "artist statement" is nearly a requirement for every artists' portfolio.  I have been doing lots of reading of various books and articles on what I need to do to get my art out into the world.  I know I have a voice worth hearing; it's just a matter of continuing to hone my skills as a ceramic sculptor and preparing for when the day comes that I feel I am good enough to apply for an exhibition.  

The Dangers of Manganese...

Good evening to all!  I was talking to a potter friend of mine a few days ago about manganese.  I have a manganese wash I was considering using on a few pieces.  She warned me to be very cognizant of the safety precautions I needed to take while handling it...At first I thought she might be over reacting slightly...but then I got my edition of the Clay Times magazine..and guess what it had in it?!?  A 2 page article on the danger and new OSHA standards regarding manganese!

Shoutout to Logan Johnson - a muddy buddy!

Logan is a fellow ceramic artist like myself.  However, it is her second career path.  Prior to playing with clay, she played with food as a chef and cake designer!  I've seen pictures of one of her cakes that looked too good to eat...and it was, because she took her culinary skills to the studio and made a ceramic wedding cake!!!

 

Name: Logan Johnson

Business Name(s):  Audeo Studios

Date Business Was Opened/Created:  1995

Types of Items/Services Offered:  Ceramic Art, Pottery, Custom tile glazing & art work, Classes in hand building, pottery, and glaze making.

Making Paper Clay

There are several ceramic artists who I love to admire from afar.  One of my FAVORITES, is Merry ArtToones. She is an AMAZING sculptor!  We have a virtual/Facebook relationship and she has always been willing to help me out and answer any questions I have.  Well, I found out that she uses paper clay for her sculptures. Turns out paper clay is just as strong as your typical clay, but weighs less. With sculptures, and even wall murals/hangings, weight can play a very important part in the finished product.  
DISCLOSURE --  Before we get started, I thought it might be worth noting that paper clay...and paper mache...are two VERY different animals...

Cleaning My Pugmill - Part I

Have you ever cleaned a pugmill?  I hadn't..until tonight.   I can now see why potters will pick a single type/color of clay to work with.  I have a dark brown clay, a speckled buff clay, and a white clay that I work with.  What can I say, I liked diversity...  But I'm finding out it can be a pain in the ass when it comes to wanting to reclaim my scrap clay using my Peter Pugger Pugmill.  Currently, I have a mixture of clay scraps that I've been reclaiming in my pugmill. It's roughly 50/50 of the white stoneware and the buff speckled clay.  BUT...I want to start working more on my sculptures, and through research, have found that paperclay might work best for me.  So I'm going to make some (another blog post to come, detailing that process...so stay tuned!).  But in order to get ready to make said paperclay...I need to clean out the pugmill so I can get all the colored clay out of the hopper, so I can mix some white paperclay.  :)  

Khnum - Ancient Egyptian Kiln God

I told ya to watch out for a follow up to my Kiln God/Goddess post!!  I have always been fascinated with Egyptian culture, specifically the Ancient Egyptian culture and religion(s).  So while doing some research into the origin of the kiln god/goddess, you can imagine my excitement to see that the Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to adopt one!  Khnum was one of the first/most ancient of all the deities that were worshiped.  There are references to Khnum that date back to the  Predynastic Periods!  How awesome!  See...I knew potters/ceramic artists were special folk.. ;)

Making Pottery Textures/Stamps Tutorial

We all have those certain people, whether we know them or not, that we look up to and admire.  As a potter I have many such people who I follow near and far that I do not know personally.  That's the great thing Social Media has done for those of us stuck in solitary confinement..I mean our studios.. hehe  One person who's work I admire is Gary Jackson, of Fire When Ready Pottery.  His work is nearly always full of unique and gorgeous texture.  On a lazy Sunday, I spent the afternoon reading down through his blog and thought I would try my own hand at making some homemade stamps.  They're not pretty (just like my Sgraffito Tools found here), but they work.  :)  

What is a Kiln God/Goddess??

Sitting here in front of our wood stove, staying awake all night (to sleep during the day) to ensure the fire stays stoked... my mind started wandering.  My first pottery instructor and mentor was quite superstitious about the kiln goddess being placed on top of the kiln for every firing.  Staring into the fire tonight..I got to thinking about the origin of the kiln god/goddess...And I'll be damned if I couldn't find anything!  So here is my interpretation based on some background knowledge I have of ancient cultures.  :)  

USPS Changing Their Rates

Heads up everyone!  I've copied and pasted the new shipping rates going into effect for the USPS.  These new rates will start on 26 JANUARY 2014.

You can find the detailed information about all the proposed price increases HERE.