Hurricane Season is Upon Us.

Today, mandatory evacuations have been called for Jefferson County, where I live. Hurricane Gustav is scaring the city officials and they don't want anything bad to happen like what did with Rita and Katrina. I spent four hours yesterday looking for a hotel space that was animal friendly to large dogs. It is amazing how little are. I was glad to hear tho that every single Inn I called in La Grange accepted dogs of all sizes, and count. They were the nicest out of all the places I called yesterday. I figure I went through about 2-300 hotels in my search.

But, we gave up. We decided to stay. It is what I originally wanted to do anyway- This hurricane is nothing. It will dissipate by the time it hits here and will be a Cat 1 or a tropical storm, at least I hope.

This is a blog about ceramics right, and you're probably thinking... where is the talk about ceramics? Whats will all this hurricane crap???? Well- The hurricane has already affected my plans for this weekend, lol. I was up at campus on Friday, throwing, and they closed campus. I was the last person in the Art Department, minus the security guard kicking me out.

So far this semester, I have thrown 5 raw mugs. By raw, I mean they are pretty unrefined, not much thought in them at all. The first 5 have been trimmed and have handles, I started on five more Friday. This next batch will be much better, in terms of form. I ended up making pieces for two goblets, as well as a pretty nice bowl and an old fashion milk jug. I am attempting to balance out the small things and the big things. I want to have a large amount of items this semester, but I want it to be of various sizes this time. Usually I'll stick with one thing or about one general size of items. I tend to stick with between 1-4lbs of clay on the wheel.

So what I anticipate doing when I prepare for the wheel is to make my balls of clay of various sizes. I found that getting all your balls of clay ready before getting on the wheel makes throwing that much more enjoyable. If you have a mass of clay sitting, ready to be used, you don't worry to much about what you're throwing. Instead, it allows you to be more open with the piece and not so closed down on what it HAS to be. If I mess up, I just throw the clay into a pile. By the end of the session, I'll have 4-8 lbs of clay stacked up from scraps which in turn I knead and throw. I figure the more I mess up, the larger I have to try and throw something.

Class is canceled until Wednesday at least, which affects me because I was anticipating going to campus and working this weekend, and Labor Day. But oh well, I have some Raku in the garage I need to do something with.

So, it is that time of the year again.

The Fall Academic semester is slated to begin tomorrow, and I can't wait. I went up to Lamar earlier in this week and packed up all the stuff I had sitting in the Art House ( small grad studio ) and turned in my keys for the building. I had been given the right to use the building when ever I was in Thesis for Sculpture. Since I dropped out of Sculpture, I no longer have a need for it nor a want to use it. It was nice though, having a free studio space to use.

I mixed clay with a good friend of mine earlier in the week also. I don't know what it is about me and clay, but I always get covered from head to toe. I looked like a mess, and we went out to eat at an upper scale restaurant, looking like a mess. I kept expecting someone to tell me I wasn't allowed to eat there. That never happened though, and the food I ate was pretty damn good.

I can't wait to get started in the clay. I caught up with all my work at my job on Friday which means I'll be able to leave early and go get started in ceramics before class begins. I'm excited!

I have ordered about 20 towels and 15 aprons which I am going to have embroidered for my ceramics class. There are 11 advanced students, and I'm sure they're all going to love having a ceramics apron. They are vanilla/sandalwood colored so they won't stick out as much when they're covered in clay. The towels are really nice, 16x28" golf towels, grommeted and with hooks.

Anywho, I apologize for the lack of updates. I have been rather busy as of late, specifically with my job. We had so many orders this past week, the busiest I've ever seen us. But finally, we're caught up and I can start enjoying what I do again.

I'll post an update this week on the towels / aprons and hopefully get pictures up. I plan on going into production mode this week, I am aiming for 200 items in the first month. 100 mugs, hopefully. Making handles is one of my largest problems, so I'm wanting to finally knock that out. Wish me luck!

Simon Leach - Small Bud Vase

Simon Leach is a potter with a long history in ceramics, born in England but residing in Spain. His grandfather and father were both ceramic artists with well established reputations as well. The Leach Treadle wheel was first created by his lineage and is a wheel I would absolutely love to own. It is quite impressive watching him work, the way he goes about doing his videos keeps you entertained and also intrigued. He has a few little nuances that a lot of people have on the wheel and it's funny to watch them come out. He also throws in a little casual conversation in the videos, adding some humor.

"My grandfather Bernard, [...] he gave me the advice "look for beauty but also usefulness in a pot". Words I still carry with me today." -Simon Leach

Simon Leach Ceramics



P.S. - Update on me: The incense thing I'm making... the plaster is finally dry enough (damn tropical storm) but I am ready to get started. I figure I'll try and get one going on Thursday, maybe work some other things up. I have plans for a gift for my ceramic class this coming fall, a towel and apron set.

I hope you enjoy this blog and the videos, if you do, let me know!

Adam Buick's Moon Jars

From his website,

Adam Buick

"Adam Buick was born in Newport in 1978 and has spent most of his life in St.Davids, Pembrokeshire. Following his degree in Archaeology & Anthropology, Adam turned to ceramics, First studying at West Wales School of the Arts and subsequently being selected for the The Crafts Council of Ireland Pottery Design and Skills Course. In 2006 Adam returned from Ireland to set up his own studio in St.Davids. Over the past year Adam has built his own large wood kiln and had a number of successful Exhibitions in Wales."

The Potter’s Encyclopedia of Color, Form, and Decoration by Neal French

A few weeks ago when I made the decision to follow my own passions instead of what I thought I was suppose to follow, I also made the decision to start grabbing as many publications as I can dealing with Ceramics and Pottery. The book I went out and bought that day was, The Potter’s Encyclopedia of Color, Form, and Decoration by Neal French.

This book is a great reference on the form of traditional pottery, what goes into glaze recipes and what affects them. This book is easily laid out allowing for a smooth read and ease of locating specific entries. Within, the author lays out cross sections of traditional forms in ceramics showing you thickness and shape. As well, the book illustrates what goes into making certain lids and handles and what their functions are. The book also has a comprehensive glaze section where in it describes a handful of base glazes, including one raku then goes on to describe which additives affect which glaze under what conditions. The last section of the book is reserved for decoration. Instead of laying out different ideas, it shows you pictures of pre existing works and what form of decoration was used.

There is a lot of information to grab from this book and it is great for the artist looking to experiment. A lot of trial and error had to go into making this book, and a lot will come from reading it also. Last off, price. The book is rationally priced, but as you know, you can always find a better price online than at your local Barnes and Nobles or BAM.

All in all, I give the book an 8.0 in a scale out of 10.0.

What Am I Doing?

I already have more resources chosen for posts in here, but I don't want to make the blog purely about posting videos and reviews, etc. I want to actually talk about what is going on in my mind and what I am trying to accomplish.

I have a small project started using plaster. I have made this form that is close to what I want in an incense burner, and I made a plaster mold of it. The first one was kind of hap hazard and thrown together once my plaster bandages didn't work, which made me result to powder plaster. I used a plastic wrap to separate the mold and the clay, but it left the mold textured and impure. I just finished trying for a second time, this time without the plastic wrap. The form should be nice and smooth, but the plastic wrap I plan on incorporating again. A few layers of it on top of itself produces a very nice groove texture which is intriguing to me. I hope to be able to make a few of these in different clays, raku will be first.

I also having been sketching some ideas for vase forms. I have an idea of alluding to slab forms by manipulating wheel thrown vessels. I have a rather elegant vase drawn up, but will it ever see the light of day? Only time knows.

Jerry Sawitz Wheel Throwing Demo

Jerry Sawitz (JerrySawitz.com) is a ceramic artist and educator. He has been teaching high school for nearly 30 years and demonstrates in this video how to throw a large vase with a small neck. The throwing was very fluid and he has great form. This video is very much worth the near 9 minutes it takes to watch it.

"Shapes are endless and it is a source of wonder for me when I consider how limitless this whole idea of creating is." - Jerry Sawitz.

My life... as an artist.

'Ello!

This is my second blog to be created in a two month span. The first blog I have deals with my profession, what I get paid for. This blog will be about my passion, and what I hope to one day be my profession.

Ceramics. Pottery. Ceramic Arts. I want to be an Artist. I want to be recognized, I want to be awed at. I want to be remembered.

I was first introduced to ceramics at the age of 14 when I was first brought to a local ceramic studio titled the Art Studio, Inc. I have since spent 10 years in and out of the place, hanging out with friends, doing community service, band performances, art openings, etc. The one thing I never picked up though, was ceramics.

I started attending college right after graduating and knew I had to be an artist. My parents didn't quite understand it but were enthralled that I was going into computer art since I spent so much time on the computer. The department has a poor poor program dealing with graphic design and I changed over to sculpture a few years later. That was a bad choice. I took my first Ceramics class in the spring of 2007 from an amazing professor. 30 years of experience teaching ceramics to middle school students, and 5 years of college teaching at that point. He has a great method of teaching and looks at everyone with a smile and isn't afraid to share a laugh here and there with everyone.

Since I first took that class, I became obsessed with ceramics. By the time the first semester was over with, I was ready for the next to begin. To me, my passion comes when I am on the wheel. I have a strong love for symmetry which is partially why I love classical art as well as renaissance art. Getting on the wheel and learning how to produce symmetrical pottery was great to me. I could make bowls! I loved it. The moment I realized I had something going was when I spent one night and pumped out 12 bowls in a row. It was my first time to do a small production run and it felt great. Sadly this was at the end of the semester and I didn't get to do that again until after the summer was over.

My second semester I learned a lot more. I got more confident on my ability to make bowls and began to go into production mode. At this time, I was planning on opening a booth at a renaissance festival that was in production. I produced close to 100 items of substantial size plus about 200 pendants/charms. But alas, the festival fell through due to corrupt land owners and disorganization. The semester ended and voila, we have winter break. Thankfully the winter break was only a few weeks, as in I couldn't wait to get back to ceramics.

This time though, there was a glitch in my plan. Undergraduate thesis. Remember earlier how I said I switched from Graphic Design to Studio Sculpture? Have I mentioned jack shit about sculpture yet? No? That's because I didn't have the passion, I didn't have the drive nor want. Now, the kicker- I was to do a THESIS in Sculpture. What? Yea, exactly. I took on a new medium that semester, fiberglass. I got a concept rolling and quickly learned that I hated it and that I was going no where fast. I ended up getting an incomplete in the semester due to the generosity of my faculty committee and was told to finish this coming fall, the next semester.

Well, I've decided since then that it is definitely not what I want to do. I have since dropped thesis and am in the process of switching majors to Studio Ceramics. My school only offers up to Ceramics III, which I am retaking the comming semester. That makes the tally 3 ceramics, 2 sculpture. So it makes sense that I move to a degree in something I feel passionate about.

I would love to become a production pottery but more-so I would love to become a ceramic artist. There are drastic differences between the two in alot of peoples eyes. To me, the passion comes from creating something from dirt. Creating something from something so old and so forgotten and over looked. Ceramics have been a constant factor in humanity for thousands of years and has held such a prominent place in human society that it has become rather overlooked as an artform.

I have great aspirations. I have great ideas, concepts, plans. I want to make something of myself, and I want to change a few lives in the process.

As I keep going, I will post resources that help me, videos, links, etc. I will also post updates on projects I have going and look forward to possibly having people read this.

As a great man once said, but not nearly in the same context (not to do him a disjustice...) but..

I have a dream.