Paintings, pots, and porcelain...

You know, that commercial that says..."life comes at you fast", I completely understand. Not only does life come at you fast but many times life comes at you all at once ...bum rushing you . That's where I am right now...bobbing and weaving and swinging back trying to deliver that crushing blow or just trying to land one on life's chin in order to buy me some time to catch my breath.

I recently opened a really wonderful exhibition in the gallery...Kipp Gallery, the gallery that I am the director of at IUP...Supernovaasteroidcometsun and Other Natural Wonders : Recent Paintings by Clayton Merrell. I was very pleased to host this show and felt great to have been the one who also brought the show into the gallery. I met Clayton this past summer at the Chautauqua Institution where I will be again this summer. I encountered his work in a contemporary landscape show. That is what he considers himself...a landscape painter...its just that his are based in the idea of fictionalized spaces...abstraction from memories of places and how the mind embellishes these places...human perception of the rounded world...maps and how they flatten space. This and other shows can be seen on the Kipp Gallery facebook page until we get our big boy website up and running. Just search out Kipp Gallery and be a fan!

Speaking of the gallery I am currently working on the following exhibition that will open March 10th...Lee Renninger...Contemporary installation based porcelain! I have seen her work in other galleries and also in magazines. Her work will be fantastic to have in the space. Check out her site...

As I am dealing with these two shows in the gallery I am preparing for another undergraduate show in April, teaching 69 students 3 times a week in a lecture class, supervising 6 student teachers in their placement schools in 5 different counties, trying to keep up with my Dad and Hubby duties, and actually sneaking in a little studio time...which leads me to another important event happening here in the greater metropolitan area of Indiana, Pa..."Empty Bowls".

Local potter Betty Hedman organized an Empty Bowls event that will take place at The Commonplace Coffee House and Roastery on Feb. 24th. For those of you that do not know, this is an event where local or groups of potters donate their ceramic bowls to be sold along with some yummy soup. The buyer will pay 10.00 and not only get something warm to eat but also a wonderful handmade bowl to keep. All the money raised from this event goes back to the Indiana County Food Bank, helping to feed those in need. I am donating a dozen bowls that I will be firing with Nancy Smeltzer in a cone 6 soda firing.

Its nice to finally get back in the studio and start throwing forms and thinking about my upcoming projects that have been cooking on the back burner of my brain...

I will be blogging about the Empty Bowls event in the next post ...complete with pictures of all involved and some of the fancy bowls too! Until then gentle reader...adios.