Pit Firing Project

This month clay students got an opportunity to create work for a pit fire- the oldest form of firing pottery dating back to around 30,000BC. We started out by making hollow forms that were burnished ( rubbed with a smooth stone- or kitchen spoons in our case) throughout the stages of dryness until shiny. 

Students burnishing pottery to be pit fired

Pottery was bisqued and students brought a variety of combustibles to wrap around their artwork including: Sawdust/ wood chips, twine, seaweed, potato chips, pork rind chips, moss and leaves, copper and steel mesh dish scrubbers, copper wire, newspaper, leaves/ twigs, etc. Each artwork was wrapped in various combustibles and placed into the pit that had been layered with additional materials. 

Pottery wrapped in various materials

Here is the basic process of a pit fire: To prepare the pit fire, a shallow pit is dug and layered with combustible materials ( I just used my fire pit out back). Pots are placed above the base layer of combustibles and then covered with more combustibles ( saw dust, newspaper, wood chips, manure, etc.). A fire is built on top and let burn until it dies down, then is smothered ( I poured wood chips over it) and allowed to smolder undisturbed until cool. *This is the smoky part (Students were not present during this stage of the process). The smoke swirls around the pots, penetrating into the clay and coloring the surface. Different elements in the combustibles leave different colors on the pots ( carbon= black, copper= pink, salt= yellow). 

This was such a cool project because students were able to participate in much of the process and experiment with different materials to see what colors they produce when burned. The project also gave students a glimpse of traditional pottery techniques and presented them with new challenges. Students will polish their pieces tomorrow with wax to enhance the colors and I will post more photos of the finished pieces then. I am excited to see how they come out!

Creative Drawing Class "Figuring out the Figure"

My Creative Drawing Class designed their own characters as part of our "figuring out the figure". I first had them sketch out a catalogue of features and then they fleshed out their figures. As always their drawings are wonderful and creative and I had to share. 

March Mosaic Madness!

 I am enjoying a break in between classes and having some much needed studio time! My first project is a mosaic for our kitchen. I made my own butterfly and leaf tiles and much of the river and sky pieces on which I melted marbles and used crystal glazes for some of the effects. I also used flat rocks, river stones, commercial tile pieces, dragons tears, and more. This was my first experience with a real mosaic and not just hand made tiles that all fit together, so it was fun to break up the pieces and arrange them ( and also a little maddening). I used thin set mortar to adhere the tiles onto 1/4" cement backing board that was then fixed to the wall with more thin set and screws. I got grout from Mid Valley Tile in Corvallis. A very fun project for me and I even included some tiles made by my favorite young artists. **Special thanks to my dear friend Avie Meadows for inspiring me with her beautiful mosaic and letting me use some of her tile scraps!

South Town Art Walk 2015

Had a very successful Art Walk this year with roughly 175 walkers, maybe more! The Art Walk is such a great community building experience and I really enjoyed chatting with people and connecting with other artists in the neighborhood. Thanks to everyone that turned out to support local art this Holiday season and looking forward to next year!

Art Walk in the Press:
  GT "South Town Unites South Corvallis Studios, Patrons"
GT "South Town Art Walk set for Sunday..."

Art Shoes!

I was contacted by Soft Star Shoes about a week ago to see if I was interested in painting a pair of Day of the Dead themed shoes for a photo shoot. Totally up my alley and I had a blast working on them! I sketched out a basic design for the skeletons that was loosely based on Frida and Diego and cut out white leather for the skulls. Seamstress Katie Orendorff at Soft Star Shoes kindly stitched the skulls in place for me. I used acrylic paint and gold leaf pen (for the gold tooth). The straps were painted with acrylic on white leather also and the leather was cut and stitched to the base of the shoe. So excited to wear these babies and show them off! Thanks Soft Star, this was super fun and the shoes look fab! Here is a link to the Soft Star Shoes blog about the project as well! 

Collaborative Sculpture

My brother in law, Ian has had a clay octopus planter idea for several years. Last month I helped him make his brain child a reality and we worked collaboratively, with the help of my daughter on the urchin, on this crazy octopus planter. It was given as a birthday present to my mother in law and she loved it! Here are the progression pics and the finished planter with plant in it. It was such a fun project!

Dia de Los Muertos Mugs around Corvallis

With Dia de Los Muertos around the corner I have gotten several opportunities to sell my skully mugs at various locations around town temporarily. My skully mugs are currently displayed in the Art Shop at the Corvallis Arts Center. The Arts Center is showcasing several other artists who's work is influenced by Day of the Dead from Oct 27th-31st. Check it out! 

I have also got some mugs at Irene's boutique downtown which were kindly photographed by Hello!Photo aka Mica Habarad my lovely friend and employee at Irene's. They have wonderful small designer clothing and local jewelry! As always my mugs can also be found at Interzone coffeehouse on Monroe St, funky, family owned and best coffee in town! Thank you Corvallis for giving my little guys and gals the exposure they deserve. ** Special thanks to skilled photographer Mica Habrad for shooting these fabulous photographs! 

Display from Irene's display window