Kicking off Fall in the Mad River

It's been a year of many changes but I am happy to take a breath of familiar fall air and set up the work for display again.  Taking a season off from the Farmers Market has given me ample time to reflect on the direction of my work as well as try new venues and meet new customers.  This is my first year at the Mad River Craft Fair and I am thankful for everyone who showed up to show their support today!  

A huge part of participating in Craft shows is educating the public on the process and the why behind the work.  It was bitter sweet today to share my passion for salt fired work as my body of work has been shifting. 
It is not without much discomfort that I prepare to leave a kiln behind that has defined my art work for over fifteen years! One moment I feel lost, floating in the clouds without creative direction, the next I am invigorated with an creative intensity I haven't felt since my studio days at Alfred University!  There is so much to learn, so many failures ahead and so many places to stumble. 

Today while reflecting with a friend and fellow potter we dissected the phrase "I stumbled upon it" 

To fall, to stumble, to fail..... to allow yourself the creative freedom to do so without letting it define you as an artist.  What a wondrous adventure to have.  Many thanks to all who have supported me in the past 20 years and much gratitude to all who will cheer me on thru the next!

Open Studio Weekend

The Final Countdown

The count down has begun.  Artists across the state have been working hard and earnestly creating in anticipation of the weekend that kicks off the season for many of us.  The Vermont Crafts Council has done a fabulous job as always getting materials ready for the big Open Studio Weekend.  If you haven't picked up a map you can find one online at http://www.vermontcrafts.com/OSW/maps-directions.html  I can not say enough great things about this event.  Visiting an artists studio, watching them in action and just talking face to face will you give you a much deeper experience into the art and the life of the artist.  There are many new artists this year participating in the Mad River Valley and it should be a wonderful weekend for a joyride from studio to studio.

Glazing and Loading

For many of you who follow my work you know that surface is a large part of my process.  My pottery is highly decorated and patterned much of which I do in the glaze process.  I am pleased to announce that this year I get to share some of that process with you during Open Studio.  For the past decade I have been transporting bisque work to my salt kiln which is in another location.  Many times visitors are curious about this process and I do my best to explain it with photos and descriptions but seeing is believing, or rather a better learning experience.  I will be busy glazing up a new body of work for the recently built propane reduction kiln so this is a unique opportunity to see some wax resit, glaze trailing and patterning techniques that have become a signature in my work.

I hope to see you next weekend or Saturdays at the Waitsfield Farmers Market.  Here's to a great season!

Clay Club Hits The Road

Clay Club Joins the Warren Summer Camp        

BIG NEWS!!!!!! Clay Club will be hitting the road this summer!

I have been running an after school Clay Club in Moretown for several years.  Every year the kids look forward to it.   And every year I forgot how much they love it!  Each Tuesday after school they are lined up at the art room door, all smiles, waiting for me and eager to get started.   This summer I will be joining the Mad Mountaineers and their crew at the Warren School to bring clay club to more kids in the valley!  I can't wait to share this experience with more children.  The location and warmer weather should bring along opportunity for more clay installs and an epic experience for kids this summer.  Check out the The Mad Mountaineers for more info at  https://www.facebook.com/madmountaineers Jesse has been doing some great work with kids and I am honored to join him this summer!

Whats been Happening in Clay Club     

We have had a blast this spring at Clay Club.    We have been busy creating and installing different work talking about primitive toys and play, and making pottery with simple tools.  This year while we were making our simple press mold plates a kiddo said to me "but we aren't allowed to really put food in these right?"  This child is a Clay Club veteran so it was disheartening to say the least that there is still such a huge stigma for pottery being toxic for food.  I have been inspired to add a new lesson to Clay Club.  This session we will be breaking thru that stigma and ending our time together with a picnic snack served on our very own creations!  We will talk about pottery, art and the role it can play in our life.  I am so excited to open this door to the world of "pots in action" with my crew!  I am looking forward to exploring together why art is important in life and how pots can be art for daily living! 

BURNERS!!

Well its finally coming together! This kiln has been long awaited sitting patiently as piles of bricks in the corners and under the tables in the studio.  The idea for a reduction kiln was inspired when I tore down the kiln at Warren Village Pottery several years ago.  Since then I have been holding the materials and picking away slowing at designing and building the new "recycled" kiln. It has been an amazing process transforming the materials into a new kiln! My husband Andy has been a champion helping me weld the frame and refurbishing new functional burners from old pieces and parts.   I am lucky to have him and his ingenuity on board with this project.

Inspiration in the Studio

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.   -Carl Jung

Of course along with the excitement of a new kiln comes the excitement of a new process!  It has

been a decade since I have fired with reduction glazes and I am excited to be reunited with my old shino, tenmoku and celedon friends.  This has started a frenzy of inspiration in the studio.  Textures have exploded throughout the work anxiously awaiting the glossy pools of glaze goodness to come!  Pattern lovers have no fear because I also have an array of ideas floating in my head for wax shino patterns and have been mixing glazes that promise to carbon trap some beautiful surfaces for pattern development.  

This should be an exciting summer of creativity and play in the studio and I look forward to the months ahead!

The Kiln: A Potters Secret Tool

Building the Arch

I've been taking advantage of this mild Vermont winter and working outside on the new kiln.  Using the recycled bricks I had collected I created the first layer of the arch.  Here's a peek at progress on Woods Road!