Save Arrowmont Petition

I received an email today regarding Arrowmont School of Crafts:

"Below is a link to a petition that was started to help save Arrowmont. Please let your voice be heard and show your support for the school. There are many unknowns at the moment and we don't have a lot of answers but if you have not already shown your support please consider it. Your voice is very important to the future of the school. Please send this message to everyone you know we are trying to gather as many signatures as possible before Friday the 22nd. Thank you!"

It only takes a second to sign the petition. Here's the link: Save Arrowmont Petition

American Pottery Festival

I just found out about this event that sounds totally cool. Northern Clay Center is hosting the American Pottery Festival. I probably won't be able to go. So if you do, please write and fill me in!

Take Pottery Workshops

One of the best ways to learn techniques, network with other potters and to motivate yourself is to take a workshop from a studio potter. I spent 8 years at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago. One benefit was the opportunity to take 1 and 2 day workshops from some of the best potters in the country. I also lived close to Terra Incognito Studio in Oak Park, Illinois. They also have a really fine workshop program. In the span of just a few years I watched Jeff Oestreich, Julia Galloway, Linda Christianson, Bob Briscoe, Dan Anderson, Sam Chung, Malcom Davis, Linda Sikora and others lecture, make pots and answer questions. I always came away with some useful information, a glaze recipe or two, and a deeper understanding of how personal and individual clay can be.

But you don't have to stick close to home! If you can, taking a week or longer hands-on workshop is even better. When you go away to a workshop you can accomplish so much more. You work in the studio every day (a luxury for most of us). You see demonstrations of new techniques and get to try them on the spot. You get great personal feedback from your instructor and your classmates. You meet other potters and make contacts that can be very helpful later when applying for shows, etc.

The big names like Penland, Arrowmont and Anderson Ranch are meccas for big name talent. But there are clay centers all over the country that provide great workshops. I think it is more important to pick an artist who's work really inspires you than a location. I have taken two workshops at Santa Fe Clay in New Mexico. I studied with Julia Galloway first and spent a 2nd week a year later working with Matt Metz and Linda Sikora. Both these workshops accelerated my growth and prepared me for the transition from student to working potter.

I've also taken some really helpful "Business of Art" workshops offered by Arts Wisconsin. Although not clay specific, these long weekends have been invaluable information sources for marketing, funding, grant writing, tax procedures, etc. These type of workshops are very helpful for those of us trying to make a living. And you still meet really cool people.

Come to think about it, I ended up living here in northern Wisconsin because of a workshop. I took a woodfire workshop with a potter who ran one of those ads at the back of Ceramics Monthly. A group of us traveled up to McNaughton, Wisconsin to work with Joan Slack of Riverrun Pottery. We bonded over wood splitting and stoking. Our group returned several times over the next few years and when Joan decided to build an art center and gallery she contacted me to be her apprentice. So there you have it. Take a workshop. It could change your life!

Vacation

After the Northwoods Art Tour I needed a vacation. What's a poor rural potter to do? When you live in "vacationland" it's easy to lure your family to come to you. Mine came from Illinois & Ohio for a one week visit. They rented a great lake cabin about 4 miles from my house. Although I had to work 2 days during the week, I still had plenty of time to pretend I was a tourist. Fish were caught. Marshmallows were roasted. Naps were taken. Here's a photo collage of some of the fun. And the best part... I slept in my own bed every night!

But now they are gone and I'll be back in the studio. My next show is in 6 weeks. Pottery will be made. I'll keep you posted.

Who are the art gypsies?

The Art Gypsies are a band of Northern Wisconsin artists residing in Vilas and Oneida counties. We formed, to pool our creative resources and develop new avenues to show our work. Our group ranges from 4 to 9 artists depending on the event. We work in a variety of art media including; photography, clay (functional pottery and sculpture), fiber arts, beaded jewelry, watercolor, paper arts and collage. We travel around the Northwoods and beyond, offering fine art for sale in eclectic settings.



Our next show, “Art in the Yard,” will be held on Saturday, September 27th from 9am to 4pm at Wild Expressions Gift Shop located on Hwy B in Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin. The 6th annual show will feature 9 artists: (from left to right) Louise Engelbrecht, Carol Miller, Debra Ketchum Jircik, Amy Higgason, Kathleen Kimball, Wendy Powalisz, Cathy Wirtz, & (not pictured) Anne Appel, & Janice Zindel.

Past attendees of the event have learned to expect a memorable experience at “Art in the Yard.” We invite you to gather your good friends around the fire, laughter and really fine art. And don't forget your hula hoop!

The Northwoods Summer Art Tour

The Northwoods Art Tour started 9 years ago as an opportunity for artists in my area to demonstrate and show their artwork in their home studios. There are some artist-owned galleries on the tour, but for the most part the 23 tour stops feature private studios that are not generally open to the public. I have participated in the tour for 5 years, first at Riverrun and for the last 3 years at my studio in Lake Tomahawk. You'd think it's easier to do a show at your home. But as I wrote in the last post, there's just as much, if not more work involved. This year I cut it really close, but as I predicted everything got done in time for my first visitors on friday morning. Here are some photos from the 3 day event.


The south window of my studio is shaded by morning glorys.


Some inside shots of the gallery area.




These ladies had a great time travelling around to studios on friday. They decided to buy matching pendants from me. The "sisterhood of the travelling pendants" wondered if their husbands would notice at dinner that evening.


These are some of the tiles made by visitors to my studio during the 2007 summer and fall tours. We are in the process of mounting and installing the tiles on the exterior of my studio as a permanant clay guest book.


Here are just a few of my favorites.


Emily was just 3 years old last year when I helped her make a tile.


Here she is this year with her finished tile.


Here are some other visitors who came back to see their creations.








Biker babe Cheryl gave us a "gun show"


I couldn't have made it through the weekend without my helpers. Jeanne and Wendy were camera shy, but here is my artist friend Katlyn Koester during a brief break on saturday afternoon.

This was my best art tour yet. We had great weather, lots of interested visitors and terrific sales. I have several people interested in commissioning new versions of "THE PLATTER" (see photo below). Thank you to everyone who helped and attended. Come back in the fall. Till then I am headed back into my studio.

Panic Week

The Northwoods Summer Art Tour is in six days. Hundreds of people will visit my studio over the 3 day period of July 25-27. It's a lot of pressure. In between going to work and other responsibilities, I will have fired my kiln 3 times in 14 days. The studio is currently trashed from front to back. (So is my house.) I still have a days worth of glazing to finish. The lawn needs mowing. Nothing is priced. I've had to create a flowchart to make it through the week. At this point it seems impossible to get it all done.



Prediction... next friday morning at 9:01 I'll be sitting in my spotless studio surrounded by new work wondering when that first car will roll in. If you live in the area I hope you come for a visit. Here's a preview of some new pieces that are ready to go.







For more information about the Northwoods Art tour go to www.northwoodsarttour.com.

Collections

I came home from work one day recently and found this doll giving me a thumbs up at the entrance to my studio. I laughed and smiled because I knew exactly who had left it for me. My good friends Jeanne and Tony picked it up at a rummage sale because they knew I'd like it. O.K. I admit it. I like creepy/funny baby dolls.



Jeanne and Tony knew it would make a perfect addition to my COLLECTION. I keep it out in the studio where I am allowed to be quirky without judgement.

That's only one of the collections in my collective living space. I have rocks from around the world, rusty oil cans, Hello Kitty stuff, wind-up toys, good fortunes from long ago chinese meals, and circle shaped metal objects just to name a few. I have a great pottery collection. Over the weekend I considered starting an antique wood fishing lure collection. Why? Because they are cool.

We are by nature collectors. I can't think of any artist friend who isn't collecting something. Wendy has antique Irish postcards. Debbie has a rusted metal headboard graveyard. Carol has more baskets than any human could ever use. Chris collects antique science books. Jeanne & Tony are pottery junkies, rock hoarders, fans of all things rusty, etc. etc. etc.

What do you collect?

Some more pretty pots...

Photos by Guy Nicol


I made this jar in 2003 for the Setting the Stage show at Lillstreet. It is white stoneware, fired cone 10 reduction in a gas kiln.


A recent stoneware pitcher fired in my electric kiln to cone 6.


These two ewers were done in fall 2004 for my Philly show.


One of my favorite recent pieces, still available for purchase from my studio!

Weeds

I live in a rural area on about 1/2 an acre of land. My lot is shaped like a bowling alley with my house and studio/garage in the middle. I do have some "traditional" lawn space around the house, but about 1/3rd of my property is growing wild and unmanicured... just the way I like it. It's full of daisys, tall grasses, clover, thistles, ferns and other plants. What some would consider weeds, I consider source material.




Some of my current work features drawings inspired by the plants and weeds in my yard and the surrounding woods. Pieces are thrown and trimmed at my potter's wheel. When the pots are leather hard I apply a chocolate underglaze to the exterior of the pot, and then brush on designs with black underglaze. Once the underglaze has dried to the touch, I use tools to carve through the layers of underglaze and expose the white stoneware clay underneath. After the pieces dry completely they will be bisque fired, glazed, and fired again to cone 6 in my electric kiln. After the glaze firing the pots turn a honey brown with black and white details (see previous post). The pots shown above are still in progress. They will be available for purchase during the Northwoods Art Tour at the end of July. For more information about the tour go to www.northwoodsarttour.com.

Moon Raven

This platter was made as a gift for my friend Wendy. Photo by Guy Nicol.

Another bowl

Photo by Guy Nicol

Brown & black bowl with scrafitto

My latest series of work features this brown and black color pallet with scraffito illustrations. Photo by Guy Nicol.

Green Pitcher

This stoneware pitcher was created for a show at Vessel Gallery in Philadelphia. The show, "Double Vision" was with my former studio mate Lorin Klein Costolo from Lillstreet in Chicago. I created this piece at Riverrun Center in Mc Naughton, Wisconsin while I was working as the "Live-In" Apprentice. It is one of my first successful pieces fired at cone 6 in an electric kiln. Although this is how I fire today, at the time it was traumatic to move from high fire reduction to mid-range oxidation.

The pitcher appears in "500 Pitchers" by Lark Books. Photo by Guy Nicol.

Green Sprigged Platter

This platter was created in 2003 for my first solo show — Setting the Stage, at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago. It is white stoneware, fired in reduction to cone 10 in a gas kiln. It was wheelthrown. The center of the platter contains dozens of individual clay button spriggs that were applied one at a time.

It appeared in the May 2004 issue of Ceramics Monthy when I was selected as one of their Emerging Artists of 2004. It also appears in the new book "500 Plates and Chargers" produced by Lark Books. The platter remains a personal favorite and a part of my private collection. Photo by Guy Nicol.

Welcome

I "played with clay" on and off in college and beyond, but my true potter’s journey began when I signed up for a wheelthrowing class at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago. I was seeking a creative outlet and distraction from my job in graphic design. Within the first 10 weeks it became obvious that coming to Lillstreet was more than a way to pass the time and meet new people. I was a potter, starting down a path I hadn’t anticipated.

For 8 years, I learned from the instructors, peers, and visiting artists who came through Lillstreet. One of the advantages of being an urban potter was the opportunity to work within a large community. The support, encouragement, and camaraderie I experienced at Lillstreet was pivotal to my development as an artist.

In April of 2003 I moved to Wisconsin’s northwoods to pursue pottery full time. I took a position at Riverrun Center for the Arts in McNaughton, Wisconsin. As Resident Artist at Riverrun, I was able to work daily in the studio, teach classes, and learn how to operate a gallery. I had intended my move “up north” to be temporary, but in the fall of 2004, this self-described “city girl” decided to make the northwoods her permanent home. I got a "day job" and eventually bought my “little blue house in the woods” on Pigeon Road in Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin.



I built my studio (Pigeon Road Pottery) in 2005. It’s a lovely space to work in – filled with mementos from my old studio & friends. I'm not a full-time potter yet, but I realize how lucky I am to be on my way. I live surrounded by incredible natural beauty and I've found a new community of artists as encouraging and supportive as those I left behind.