homefry sketchbook

Sunday, January 26, 2014

My Secret Raku Past

During the late 90's through the early 2000's I was a Raku addict. I admit to getting hooked on ceramics way, way back in the late 80's when I was exposed to the gateway drug...Raku. The drama of the firing process, the flames, smoke and the immediacy of it all really clicked for me and I ran with it. I set up a studio in the down town area of the Central Florida town where I was living sometime around 1997 and did nothing but make work strictly intended for the Raku firing. From there I peddled my charred and glossy goodness to the many out door festivals around Florida and even up to my now adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. on several occasions.

These days I very rarely make anything that I think I will be putting in a Raku kiln. I enjoy teaching the process and students enjoy just what hooked me in as well...fire and smoke and the promise of your work finished in under an hour. I held monthly firing workshops back in FLA., fired every Friday when I was in Chautauqua, NY. and even flew my fiber kiln over on a 16 seater plane to Andros Island in the Bahamas to do workshops on a military base...twice! But personally, I went cold turkey in 2004 and although I have fallen off the wagon here and there since, I have never had a serious relapse.

It was fun to revisit a few pieces as I was in need of a high res. image for an upcoming ceramic class catalog. All my Raku work was made pre-digital camera era, so I had to shoot a couple pieces I had around the house still. These images are of pieces I made sometime between 1998 and 2001...I think...still look pretty darn good. The mixed media piece was most likely made in 2001.

Bamboo Bowl

Lidded Full Moon Vessel

Paragon Five

Glad I got this all off my chest...your a good listener.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Logo Land/North Pole

Greetings and salutations from the frozen north.

They are saying that ol' evil "polar vortex" is coming to get us again this week...yeah, great. In my now 10 years of living here in Western PA this is the coldest winter I have experienced and as a Florida boy, this is some of the coldest weather I have EVER experienced. I think I have had my fill.

Dear Mr. P. Vortex,

Once was plenty, a couple times just makes you look bad. Please just stop.

Sincerely,

Lots of us in the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area

While this frigid winter weather coupled along with my slow recovery from hernia surgery has hampered my making of much work, I have been concentrating on ways to "make" that don't require a lot of physical exertion. So I thought I would post a bunch of shots of some of the branding ventures I have been doing over the holidays.

Recently I have been firing restaurant grade stoneware and porcelain with my laser transfer decals. I have fired a handful of different types with some variation between the pieces. I have to say, the cleanest and best decal firing on restaurant wares came from a feldspar porcelain cup and saucer from Ikea. That being said, some of the worst results came from other Ikea stuff.

My local coffee shop haunt, Beaver Falls Coffee&Tea Co. is always up for cool stuff and I recently completed a set of 6 cup and saucers for "in house use" and then a grouping of demitasse and tea cups for the employees as gifts from the owners. I even branched out some and got a similar gig from another great little coffee shop not far from me called Wunderbar. With BFCAT I was allowed to sorta go wild, the only specifications were that it had to have the business name clearly visible while Wunderbar already had an existing logo they wanted to use as well as specific style imagery on the reverse side. Both turned out pretty darn cool if I do say so myself.

Wunderbar commercial stoneware mugs worked nicely too!

Along with the commercial logo mugs I also handmade a couple for a friend and a larger group for an author in the New England area(sorry no pics) that preferred the hand thrown look. So have a gander at my graphic nature for now until I can crank out a bunch of new work. Oh yeah, its coming, just like that damn polar vortex.

handmade branding!

lovely Ikea Porcelain...favorite to re-fire!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Goodbye/Hello

As we punt 2013 as far down field as we can, lets not reminisce about the passing year's "best of" whatevers. Instead, lets look forward to a positive and productive new year from 2014.

I'm healing well from a recent surgery and looking forward to getting back into the studio and making lots of new work. I am also eager to jump into my new position as Ceramics Studio Coordinator at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Since I have been stranded at home recuperating, I've been planning plotting and scheming about putting together workshops that cover an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to surface design...think I'm right about there. I am even planning to make more sculptural objects in the very near future...you know, so I can be asked "but what do I do with it"...I have missed that.

I would rather make plans... not resolutions.

Thank you for reading, following, looking and lurking.
I hope you continue to do so.

Hello 2014.
Here I come.

Happy New Year.

(PS. interested in new music for the studio...recommendations for some good tunes ...see the comment section and feel free to post your own!)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Giving.

First of all let me say thanks to those out there who have been supporting the cause...you know, buying my stuff for Christmas gifts! BUT not just my stuff...handmade stuff...handmade art and fine craft to be specific. You see I'm a supporter of the "war on the corporate, commercial and big box stores for Christmas"...bet you haven't heard of that war on whatever for Christmas. It seems everybody has some cranky gripe about what is and is not done anymore for this holy, holy consumer holiday...so why not just jump on the bandwagon with my own!! If you can't beat'em join 'em and drive them crazy and make them throw you out...that's my belief.

Just to let you know, there is still time to shop online and get it shipped before Christmas. I will keep shipping until this coming Friday 12/20.

I will also be manning the counter at Boutique 208 this Saturday!...So get off your damn devices and come on out in person and shop in real life...for real handmade stuff...art and fine craft from local Pittsburgh folks,like me...Kirsten Lowe Rebel, Pittsburgh Pottery and many more!!! The Boutique is located smack downtown on 6th street...across from Heinz Hall...right near the restaurant 6 Penn...heck, come out and make a day of it!!!

I also want to make you aware of another wonderful cause...its a kickstarter project that my friends Dan Kuhn and Aasta Deth have ventured into. These guys are opening a large, pottery teaching studio complete with gallery component and all in the hip and happening area of Lawrenceville here in Pittsburgh. The name of it is called Ton Pottery. This is a really great space with "tons" of potential but they need our help getting it off the ground...please click on the link and check it out and GIVE then share it with a friend. Lets help build more small businesses like this one in our communities.

still some ornaments in ye'ol' Etsy shop!

Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Gangsters, Freaks, Pimps,Thugs and a little Arsenic for Xmas.

Just in time for the holidays..."fresh from the kiln" mugs and more. Like many of you out there I have been in a tizzy rushing around trying to finish pieces, and getting things ready for Christmas. The holidays are crazy enough just the way they are but I have to add in to the mix a little surgery to take care of a hernia issue...uuurrghh. Its an in and out procedure but its the recovery time that's really going to do me in.

That's another reason for my rushing around...I have been counting the days before I have to hit the hospital and trying to squeeze in another glaze firing or decal firing or just getting other pieces ready for when I am ready.

I do have some good news for an end of a crappy year to share...I got a new job. I am the new Ceramics Studio Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts...and I am thrilled! The PCA here in the steel city is a very well known and wonderful place and I will be taking up the reins for the ceramics department. Here's the link so you can check all they have to offer for yourself...WOOHOO!!!

I am going to keep on sharing more good news...I was included in this article from Pittsburgh Magazine...Pittsburgh Foodie Gift Guide : 15 ways you can keep it local this year....check this link . It is a great article and I am beyond happy to have been included in this stellar list of businesses and indie artists/crafters.

Ok, one more...I am with a new gallery/boutique smack square in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh...its called Boutique 208...the link will take you to their Facebook page. They are an artist run space in an awesome location and so far its going really well! If you are in the Pittsburgh area you should stop over and check it out...my stuff, Kirsten Lowe Rebel's work, Pittsburgh Pottery's stuff and so much more!

But that's enough of me blowing my own horn here...check out the images of new work that I am loading up the Etsy store with!