Last night was the big opening...The Artists Hand Gallery opened on the main drag through Indiana, PA. Unfortunately I was not able to attend, but I was there in spirit. Its been long coming but its been worth the wait. I was in there setting my work up last week, as I am one of two featured artists in this newly renovated, sharp space. The Artists Hand has been a labor of love(and maybe blood, sweat and tears too) for founder Brian Jones and managing director Sandy Trimble and now they should be able to really step back and smile proudly.
The Artists Hand Gallery will function as a community art center for Indiana, offering workshops in their ample studio space, featured gallery shows, fine art/fine craft from local artists, and a pretty damn fine coffee shop too. That's right....COFFEE too! When I stepped in through their big glass doors and checked out the slick, stained concrete floors, exposed brick, clean bright colors, I had to say,"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore". It is everything you might want and more in a local gallery and art center.
"Adrift"
I shot some pics while I was setting up my 7 small works and while the crew there was hustling to get things ready for Friday night. I will be returning this coming week to Indiana and will shoot some more pics of everything all finished up...so that I can once again post about them! I am featured with another artist, Joy Fairbanks who is showing large scale photographs of people viewing famous art works. This is a pretty interesting concept...you first recognize the art in the photo and then your eyes and brain explore the rest. The combination of her large photos on the wall and my small pieces on pedestals really work well together in that space. I am happy to have been asked by Sandy Trimble to exhibit my more sculptural oriented work.
"Direction"
The pieces are a mix of really new, re-imagined works and ideas that I have been exploring for some time now. I have been in a difficult transitional period since moving from Indiana. I now live almost 2 hours away from Indiana and that means away from Nancy Smeltzer's Little Mahoning Creek Pottery where I made and fired all my work. Between all the travel and other j-o-b, I have only been able to eek out a very small bit of work. I have had to rely on the kiln kindness of my friend Dan Kuhn and trying to align my crazy schedule with Nancy's firing times. I am thankful to both for allowing me to continue to make work. So when I was asked to do this show, I knew I had a few pieces ready to rock but also knew that I had to approach the "making" in a different way.
"The Ride"
As a clay guy, artist, potter, whatever, I tend to make multiples of everything...not just utilitarian works but also odd closed forms. I believe this to be a habit born from the tradition of throwing sets or groups of mugs, cups, or other functional items. This leaves me with extras, bits and pieces that have no home, no purpose except that they were created and for one reason or another pushed aside and set on the back burner. I focused my attention on these "art parts" and on the recent treasures I acquired through junk shops and thrift store adventures. I treated them all equally as found objects...some that I created and fired multiple times and others formed for commercial purposes...but the playing field was leveled and I looked hard for relationships among the group. All the pieces I am showing have a found object component that comprises the whole. The glazed surfaces are paired up with nontraditional mediums like flocking and "tool dip" and a few pieces sit on various faux turf or in a couple cases, a plastic tray and a funky old stand. This relationship creates a "ground" or in my mind a "-scape"...a place where that small piece actually inhabits and through that habitation there becomes a mini-representation of our natural world...a strange little landscape if you will.
"Autumnal Landscape with Goose"
That's what I am calling this little show... "-scapes". The pieces felt a little risky and I had no feedback on most but just put them out there anyways...risk and my own feelings about the works came first. The kitsch elements, like the addition of the seated toy railroad people on the tips of these flowery closed forms, brought a sense of basic human emotion to these otherwise very abstract little forms. However close I am traveling to the land of cheese and raw sentiment, I don't care. I simply like the addition of the little seated folks and am amazed at what power and basic viewer connection a single 1/4 inch piece of mass produced plastic can produce. (This is where I side step a major discourse in Duchampian Modernism...lets save that for another time.) Another work, "Poppy Field", makes an appearance in its yet 3rd composition...this piece has been in 4 very good exhibitions and in 3 of those has appeared in different configurations... 1) "Poppy Field" on its original heavily flocked table top, 2) "Poppy Field as Window Box" on a long floating shelf on the wall with turf, 3) and now "Poppy Field as Hors D'oeuvres" a paired down grouping on an 80's inspired sleek black and red plastic serving tray. Going back to what I was talking about earlier, I made a lot of these forms with the poppy images and now I can configure them in multiple settings.
"Poppy Field as Hors D'oeuvres"
I will post more from The Artists Hand Gallery next week...there is still plenty more to show off, like the hand crafted coffee bar and workshop space of this wonderful new art venue. Enjoy the pics(click to enlarge), feel free to chime in here with comments(much appreciated)and stay cool.
That's what your getting today folks...a drive by lookie-loo...a sneak peek...a little looksie...a peep at what will be ...wait for it...wait for it...drum roll please...the new studio!!! But man is it ever slow coming...we are waiting...and waiting some more for everything to be in place so we can inhabit this newly renovated space. I keep telling myself,"be patient" because I know it will be worth the wait. The owner of this building is doing a lot for us on the inside by getting it ready to be a clay studio...honestly, up and beyond what I would expect. And of course, everything moves a little slower in the summer.
ex-hotel bar turned studio...
But lets talk about the outside of this space for now. The studio space is conveniently located on the main street that runs through our little town of Beaver Falls, PA. It is part of a great old brick building that at one time was a thriving hotel on the lower end of town. The actual space that we will be in is located behind the two minty green facades. It is a double store front that is connected on the interior. The one side opens directly on to the sidewalk and the other side has an inset covered entrance. My father-in-law, who has lived here since the late 20's, told me that that particular space used to be the bar for the hotel and has seen its share of troubles. Well, not anymore folks...currentlythe building is part of a supportive services group that assists people with varying challenges to become mostly independent and eventually live on their own in the community of their choosing. As part of our deal there, we will also provide a "class" of sorts once a month for those residents that would like to participate.
Like I said in the last post, we plan to offer classes for both children and adults, "rent" out studio space to those who already have a little experience, offer a clean retail gallery space, and also make our own work from this space. I am anxious to get it going... in the meantime I have plenty to keep me busy but I still feel like the little man in my terrarium...waiting ever so patiently and peering in through the glass.
...the importance of stepping away, ocean air, and finding inspiration while having fun. Whew, I know that's a long title but it is perfect for this post. I recently returned from my native land...Florida. All my family still lives down there and whats better is that they now all live within about 20 minutes of each other. So annually the wife and I along with our daughter and wiener dog, Maximus, pack up all our stuff and head down to visit. Like I have said before...ITS GREAT HAVING FAMILY AT THE BEACH! This year we drove the 18 hour trip from PA down to South Walton County where my parents, brother and sister all live. Taking a lot of the back roads, we picked up fresh peaches and conch(or lady) peas and saw really cool home made yard art(see here) along with a handful of sweet bottle trees.
My family lives out on the panhandle between Panama City Beach and Destin...a pristine stretch of land devoid of rows of high rise condos instead opting for more high end housing communities mostly located across the street from the beach on 30A. These are places that have been extremely well planned and designed and offer some of the highest priced zip codes in the nation, places like Seaside, Watercolor, Rosemary Beach and Alys. Now don't get me wrong, my family do not live in these communities but like most locals live around them on the more affordable outskirts. That's what makes this area great...you have these high end planned "towns" that mingle with the saltier local crowds...so you get nice amenities AND a thriving cultural underbelly that is more often than not supported by the rather affluent tourists.
The area is full of local artists, great musicians, and new and interesting places to go and see both...usually while you are eating fresh seafood and drinking plenty of cold beverages. And that is just what I did with help from my trusty guide and brother, Marc. Music was high on our agenda and my brother seemed to know most of the local bands in town. We saw a couple great bands on different nights...both local and both starting to gain much bigger attention. The Owsley Brothers rocked the house with their own blend of grimy swamp rock mixed with a heavy duty pinch of Sabbath. In contrast The Blue Ribbon Healers(pictured first) plucked and harmonized a bluesy, folky New Orleans rag sound that was absolutely perfect for hanging out a block off the ocean and soaking in the night air and salty breeze. Both bands pictured below, thanks to my wife and her smart phone...and Instagram.
On another adventure just having spent the morning baking on the beach...then eating tender, flaky, fresh Grouper fingers at The Red Bar, we continued our trek to Hurricane Oyster Bar for happy hour...one dollar beers...five dollar a dozen ice cold oysters on the half shell...honestly, you can't beat this place. Just before heading into Hurricane's we stopped in to check out a new studio/gallery space set up by local artist Andy Saczynski. His work is mixed media on board mostly...and I do mean MIXED. This guy seems to toss everything into his work and then unify it all through the use of paint. I see this style down there often but he really pulled it off and took it to another level. His work has a New Orleans/ Gulf Coast/Folk/Outsider/funky feel and his space where he showed and worked was pretty damn nice. Pictured below.
Marc and I spoke with Andy for a while and he was laid back and talked about the risk involved with opening his own public gallery space. He told us that..."Even in this economy, with the encouragement, I felt the time was right in my artistic career to just take a leap of faith and step out and do it."...this was inspirational for me to hear gentle readers because I am working on something very similar right now. In the last couple months or so I have been looking for a new studio space here in Beaver Falls, PA. I met a woman here who was interested in doing the same and has a real passion for the revitalization of this old steel town. We have recently found a wonderful space that looks like it will be perfect. It is an interesting situation that I will get into more later ...it is really a super space. It is a double storefront connected on the inside, brand new renovation in an old brick building on the main street. We will use it as a studio to do our own work from but also rent out studio space to others, have classes for kids and adults, and offer a clean retail gallery space as well. Scary, yes... but doable...YES! We are still in the planning stages and it doesn't look like we will get into the space until August sometime but my goal is to be cranking out work from there for the Fall. Like I said, more to come on this subject down the line.
Meeting other artists and musicians, visiting with my family, and generally removing myself from the murky tub of water that I usually bath in has been hugely beneficial. It allowed for me to step back and reflect and think in a more forward direction. I highly recommend a change of scenery to everybody once in a while. Now I feel more able to focus on whats in front of me like: a two person show at a local art center that is opening in Indiana, PA, making more pots for the wood kiln at Little Mahoning Creek Pottery for firing in the month of July, teaching a graduate level class, "Visual Concepts" during the last summer session for IUP and then heading up to teach a week of ceramics at Chautauqua Institution in New York... AND then really putting my energy into the opening of the new studio space! So stay tuned...change is in the air and there is so much coming up!
Wow, I am just about half way into June and this is my first post of the month...what a slacker...or it could be that there is a lot of activity going on away from the laptop. I will admit to a bit of both in this case. I do have a lot going on right now...and I may have some big news to announce in a couple weeks as well...hate to leave you hanging but I just need to know a bit more before I shout it out. And speaking of summertime, I am about to make my annual trek down to the sugary beaches of FLA to see my family, soak up the sun(along with plenty of handmade Bloodymarys), and eat my fill of fresh, fresh seafood!
Before I go and get all sunburned however I had some more regional travel to do...I have just returned from a few days of sweaty attic cleaning back at my other house in Indiana, Pa...that along with a nice visit with Nancy at Little Mahoning Creek Pottery where I shot a whole boatload of images for everybody involved with the Indiana County Potters Tour. During the summer while everybody is busy making and firing, we also have to think about the advertisement for the upcoming tour in October. Next thing you know, Fall will be knocking on the door.
Tall hooter vase from Nacy Smeltzer
It was my pleasure to shoot the images that will be included in the brochure advertising the tour. For those of you who might be newer to the ol' homefry blog click this link to check out the post from last year's tour. It was good to see people's faces that I had not seen in a while and also good to commune a bit over beer and Nancy's homemade pizza while I shot images. Its too easy to get so consumed in my own little going-ons that I forget about the fact that there is a thriving community of very talented potters all tucked away in the foothills of Indiana County...and I have proof. So I thought I would share a little of whats coming this Fall...I know its a long time from now and we are all trying to savor every drop of summertime, but hey...what the heck...its something to look forward to. The group, where I am always the guest potter at Nancy's studio, will not only be having the always well attended tour this Fall but will also be showing work at the Clay Place in Pittsburgh and very possibly with the Artist Hand Gallery(more about this place later!) that is opening in Indiana, PA too. I am very pleased to be part of this small but strong community...enjoy the pics(click to see bigger) and I will talk at ya' when I am back from the beach!
With the big holiday weekend over and some time(not much, but some) to keep throwing, I am busy working and working to have enough of a load for the wood kiln in a couple weeks. I will be firing with Nancy Smeltzer at Little Mahoning Creek Pottery...my old stomping grounds. These days this requires an extended effort on my part as I must travel almost two hours...and come early and stay late. Currently I have no electric kiln so I need to get my pieces bisqued prior to the firing...glazed and wadded so that I am ready to help load. AND of course I want to put my time into the firing as well. This means 2 - 3 days of being away from home and family...but just think of the pots that I will get out of the firing!
I have been mostly making mugs to start and as I have been to a couple picnics and a large family reunion lately, my mind drifted back to...BEER. Beer is a great thing. I enjoy craft beers...micro brews...brown, brown ales. So while I was making mugs, I thought I would make some bigger mugs, tankards if you will...tankards complete with that thumb rest thing...seen in the pictures here...what the hell is the name of it?! I have always shied away from that thumb thing, thinking that it seems dated or so passe...it just didn't seem to fit into the style of rustic-contemporary-Japanese -American Pop culture thing that I was doing with my wood fired work. BUT, never say never I guess. Here are a couple of shots of the tankards(above and below) and their "thumb thingys".
mmmmm, beer mug.
As I throw new pieces to be fired I am also working on a couple slabs that I wood fired...here is the one I recently fired the laser decals on. I still want to add another layer by firing some commercial decals on the surface along with a little gold luster. I will be mounting this 13x13 inch slab in a nice wooden frame to finish it off. The frame will be something new to me...I guess we will see. I love creating the images...the clean crisp graphics always look great in contrast to the more abstract backgrounds of glaze and random stuff from the firings. I think I could be content just creating images...screw the throwing and firing...that's a lot of work...and pretty dirty work at that. I need a somebody that doesn't want to finish their work, a somebody who only wants to throw and fire...heck, I would even do the glazing. Any takers out there? ...as always click on the pics to see bigger....
Hello and a happy Mudder's Day to all you wonderful mudders out there.
tumbler with birdscape abstraction
detail
I thought I would post some freshly fired eye candy for you all to check out. My wife is now napping off this morning's brunch and my daughter is outside playing and I have a few minutes to myself. Dan Kuhn just fired these pieces for me in his electric kiln. The mugs and tumblers were from the last firing I did with Nancy over at Little Mahoning Creek Pottery...and by the way, it looks like we will be firing again the beginning of June. All of these, like the ones I posted a couple weeks back, are now being sold out of the Self Serve Pottery Kiosk currently located here in Beaver Falls at the aptly named Beaver Falls Coffee &Tea company. Monday morning...as soon as they open, you should grab a friend and rush right over there and buy, buy, buy then sit and eat and drink...just sayin'...but for now enjoy the pics and let me know what ya think...click on the images to see them bigger
It was 1986 in Gainesville, Florida and I was working at a regional record store chain based out of Atlanta...Turtle's Records. Turtle's was big in Georgia during the 80's and early 90's and it branched out into North Florida during this time...I'm not so sure they are around anywhere these days. But it was back then in Gainesville that I heard the Beastie Boys for the first time. We had the promotional posters up everywhere for the heavily anticipated "Licensed To Ill" and when the record, and it was literally a "record", was released we played it as much as we could get away with playing it. The sound was still new to me, rap was not a favorite of mine, but this sound was becoming a lot more mainsteam with Run DMC also breaking out that same year with crossover hit cover of Aerosmith's Walk This Way featuring Steven Tyler. The Beastie Boys along with groups like Run DMC blazed a new path in sound by blending the very urban sound of rap with a punk and pop aesthetic... aggressive music that you could shake your ass to.
It was yesterday that Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys died from a three year battle with cancer. MCA dead at 47...wow. I grew up with these guys, we were very close in age. Major bummer. And, its not like these guys ever became irrelevant, I am still listening to "Hot Sauce Committee Part 2" which came out last Spring. Their music developed quickly in those first four albums and by 1994's "Ill Communication" they had cemented their sound by blending rap, funk and rock into a genre jumping, more broadly appealing groove. I have listened to their whole catalog and own most of it on various audio media but it was those first four records that played a big part on the soundtrack of my life during those years. Music is a great place-marker in the stream of time.
"Your knees start shakin' and your fingers pop, like a pinch to the neck from Mr. Spock"...Adam"MCA"Yauch
If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that music is a big component of my interests. Homefry Sketchbook is clay/art, garden, and music for the most part, although random topic posts help to season the mix. Each year end, I feature a music "best of" and on a regular basis feature Youtube videos of what I am currently listening to on the sidebar of this blog. So in honor of MCA, I'm keeping it music chat today and recommending some new tunes to check out for the soundtrack to your own life. The following are in no particular order.
Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls...She sounds like Janis Joplin and James Brown's love child and her band really rocks. They were featured on my "watcha listenin' to" for the last couple weeks with their stellar single "Hold On"...but just don't buy that, the whole record is a winner...you will be hearing about this band.
Justin Townes Earle, Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Know...Earle is flexing his great songwriting skills on this record. More mellow than his previous record but the songs are really strong and the addition of more horns gives a bit of a Van Morrison feel to his rustic country fried tunes.
Jack White, Blunderbuss...this has only been out a week or so now and I have been listening to it quite a bit. I actually bough the CD at my local independently owned record store in Indiana, PA and have enjoyed the ease and simplicity of just poppin' the disc in my car player...no wire...no scrolling through my Ipod...yes! Jack White pulls out all the stops with his tweaked out guitar blues mixed with traditional elements, interesting song structures both sparse and lush and plenty of piano banging too.
Galactic, Carnival Electros...If you do not know, Galactic is a New Orleans band that was and still is immersed in the rich music traditions of the area. Its just that they have grown...they are an amazingly successful blend of old and new...fantastic artists/musicians embracing change with energetic party music...New Orleans jazz meets contemporary urban funk.
Death Grips, The Money Store...MCA himself might have liked this pick. This is one of the most visceral records I have listened to in a while. Aggressive, dark rap...screamed in your face with a punk ferociousness...and major butt shakin' and sickly catchy grooves. Blast it from your car(if I was 20) or rock it on your headphones while running on the treadmill at the Y(since I'm an old fart).
"Because you can't , you won't and you don't stop"...Beastie Boys, Sure Shot.
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