Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Good to the last bowl...

The Empty Bowls event was a big success and so well attended...I was happy to be able to make a meager donation to the cause. In between student teacher observations Tuesday, I was able to eek out 30 minutes to come and plop down ten bucks and eat some yummy gumbo. The place was packed and every potter and artist who lives in the region was there either eating or lending a hand. In the image above, the artist Kamal Youssef finished off the last of his soup from one of my bowls!



Betty Hedman got this ball rolling and did a great job getting all involved...this is Betty eating soup from one of Nancy Smeltzer's bowls...serving up the chicken noodle is Don Hedman, retired IUP ceramics professor and master potter.







Local potter Gary Stam relaxes after hot soup on this cold, cold PA day... the bowl with the greenish stripes is my treasure from the event...one by Betty Hedman. The next image is of Cindy Rogers dishing out some of her husbands fantastic gumbo...in the background is Nancy who also volunteered her time to serve up the soup.













A wonderful cause with all the money going to the Indiana County Food Bank and hopefully an event that will happen on an annual basis here in the greater metropolitan area of Indiana, PA. This 3 hour event raised over 2,200 dollars.
...and that's the news ...now its time to get in the studio...later.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Not so empty, empty bowls...

This past week, Nancy and I did our first cone 6 salt firing...new glazes for the firing...new clay bodies, and not necessarily the best clay body for the salt firing...needless to say it was an experimental firing . We took a chance and glazed up a bunch of pots and Nancy fired the gas kiln through the frigid night.
We had a good reason to experiment like we did...like I blogged about in my last post, there is an Empty Bowls event that will be taking place this Tuesday the 24th. This fact forced us into the studio to throw..and throw we did...bowls,bowls,bowls and of course some mugs to fill the spaces.


With new processes and the new elements in the mix, I'm never automatically sure if it is working...this takes time. I have been photographing and handling the new pieces so much that I think I can say that I am pretty happy with the results...The surfaces are rich and complex...click on the smaller images to see them up close and more personal. The mugs will be getting new decal images and the bowls...well, for ten bucks, some generous soul will be eating soup from them and then hopefully enjoying more yummies in them for some time to come.

Empty Bowls will be held at The Common Place Coffee House and Roastery...Tuesday 24th...begins at 11:00 am. All the money goes to the Indiana County Food bank.












Enjoy the images...come for the soup!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

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.