Upcoming Events

Evening Workshops:  Tonight the eight-week evening workshops come to an end.  We will have potluck and ohh and ahh over the finished work.  This is my favorite part of the workshop, when the students see the rewards of their hard work.  I am so proud of them. 

NCECA:  Next week, March 31-April 3 I, along with several thousand other ceramics professionals, professors, students, hobbyists, wholesalers, and enthusiasts will descend on Philadelphia, PA for the Annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference.  The city's galleries, store fronts, coffee shops, etc. will be filled with ceramic art.  In addition to all the art on display, the conference center will host demonstrations, lectures, panel discussions, video screenings, and a huge room filled with vendors, schools, and non-profits.  Throughout the conference an atmosphere similar to a family reunion will prevail as old relationships are renewed and new ones are made.  I can't wait!

AIR Opening:  Just a reminder that applications for the Clay Artist-in-Residence position are due at the Craft Center April 1, 2010.  You can find the particulars here.  It is a great job in a beautiful place.

Summer Workshops:  The Appalachian Center for Craft has released their Summer Workshop Calendar.
They have a new schedule for this Summer.  In May the workshops are weekends (Fri-Sun) only.  They will be taught by Marc Barr, Nancy Jacobsohn, myself, and Susan Smith.  June will be a three-week intensive that can be taken for college credit.  In clay, Suze Lindsay will be teaching! July will consist of three one-week (Sun-Fri) workshops featuring classes taught by Gay Smith, Kristen Kieffer, and Aaron Lee Benson.  I hope you can join us for a lot of workshop fun.

Clay AIR Job Opening

My time here at the Craft Center is coming to an end in August and the search is on for the next clay Artist-in-Residence.  I believe the deadline for applying is April 1, 2010.  So if you are interested or know of anyone who might be, please send in your applications.  Full details can be found at https://www.tntech.edu/jobs-cs/artist-in-residence-clay-appalachian-center-for-craft-684010/.

My Statement for AIR 2010 Exhibition

The artwork presented for this exhibition is a sampling of my explorations in clay over the past few months.  The questions, "What happens if . . .?" was a dominant aspect in the creation of the work.  It factored into almost all formal decisions, including whether the pieces were for the wall or pedestal, size, color combinations, use of materials and techniques to create the designs/patterns, and the forms themselves.  Through this the work became a study of form, composition, color, materials, and technique.

To keep from limiting myself in the discovery process, I used a variety of construction and surface decoration methods.  I borrowed techniques from industry in the creation of form through the use of molds and templates, and from printmaking for ideas about applying surface.

While the formal elements of the works were carefully considered, I allowed the conceptual aspects to evolve in a more intuitive manner.  The imagery became reflections of my moods and inner thoughts about relationships, transitions, and memories.

Artist-in-Residence Exhibition 2010

The Appalachian Center for Craft Artists-in-Residence have installed work in Gallery II for their annual exhibition and will be on display from February 28-April 14. Below is a sampling of the work.  Hope you can come see it.

Entering the show.

Jess Jones:  Fibers AIR

 Jess Jones:  folded books, handmade paper

My work: Loafing & Passing 1 & 2

My work: Installation view

My Work:  Prints

My work:  Nostalgia Series

My Work: Spring 1, 2, & 3

Sarah McClary: Exhibitions AIR

Sung-Yeoul Lee: Metals AIR

Sung-Yeoul Lee

Andrew Najarian: Glass AIR

Trey Gossett: Wood AIR

Outdoor Fun

It is a snowy wonderland outside this weekend.  Normally, that would be a perfect time to stay indoors and work in the studio, but the urge to hike down to the lake was too great.  The fresh air, falling snow, exercise, and the beauty of the woods in winter did more to calm my mind and refresh my spirit than staying indoors would have done. I ended the afternoon with hot chocolate and cookies with friends.  A great day overall.  Here are a few pictures from the adventure.

A robin eating berries.

Me on the Lake shore.

The inlet shoreline.

Winter is Here!

Winter, or at least what I always imagined winter being, is here!   I grew up in South Texas where winter usually consisted of a month or two of 40-50 degree weather, and the occasional 20-30 degree day.  Few and far between were a day or two of ice, or if we were really lucky a smattering of snow.  I'm now in Tennessee where we have four seasons that are definable, and I love it.  How do I know winter is here? Well, the temperature has been in the 20s or lower for more than 4 days AND there is snow on the ground!  I must admit I am extremely curious about the snow.  It is beautiful and romantic, but it is also dangerous, and I wonder how people who have it on the ground all winter deal with it.  In the meantime, I've been out enjoying the white stuff. Here are a few pictures from around campus.  We even had a student try to sled on a garbage can lid down the hill out back.  Unfortunately, I don't think we had enough snow for it.

sledding

Icicles

The lake, can you see the snow on the opposite shore?

More of the lake.

Me bundled up.  My fingers were beginning to get a little numb at this point.  I went in shortly after.

Welcome 2010

A new year has begun and along with it a new journey. This is my last Spring here at the Craft Center, as my residency ends in August. I am realizing that this year is to be filled with bittersweet moments alongside new experiences. Where I will be after this, I don't know. Will it be a teaching position, residency, or setting up my own studio? I am open to all these, but know I will be sad to leave this wonderful place that has allowed me to grow as an artist, teacher, and person. So many good things have happened to me here in Tennessee, and so I must believe that wherever I land, good things will happen there too. Welcome 2010.