Whipped Bakeshop is the Best!

The lovely Zoe Lukas from Whipped Bake Shop brought us cupcakes last First Friday! Chocolate with peanut butter frosting, so yummy. Erin (my Clay Studio cohaught) and I thought they looked lovely on this Molly Hatch cakeplate 

We went to the opening of Whipped in Fishtown a few weeks ago. They did an amazing job of the place with massive amounts of subway tile and a super chandelier from Badhebadu. I wish them the best of luck with the bake shop. 

Pencil Heaven

"Designed by felissimo for social designer this complete set of 500 colored pencils consists
of 20 units, each pencil telling its own story with a unique name. you cannot buy the complete
set of pencils all at once, but you can receive them over the course of 20 months.
four different display methods let you keep your pencils at hand, while being displayed either
as an artwork, or kept aside as a special collection. the cases have been designed especially
for the 500 colored pencils and are available in a limited edition."

Up and Coming: Brian Jones

I met this guy at the Philadelphia Craft Show this year. We carry his work at The Clay Studio and I was really excited to see his new work at the craft show. Brian is using a buttery white glaze with bright blocks of color and I love it. I bought a plate at the craft show but have my eye on some bigger serving pieces at the studio. Check out the work and tell me what you think.

Lunch

Today was a computer day-website and blog mania, mixed with a bit of handle making (the last ceramic kitchen cabinet handles for my friends Tim and Sara). I did however manage to stop to make lunch and I though I would share.

 I made tomato thyme soup, grilled cheese and asparagus with salt and pepper. Tomato soup is amazingly easy to make.

one can tomatoes

half a can of veg stock (half as much in volume as the can of tomatoes)

pinch or two of thyme

salt and pepper

dash of tabasco

Put the tomatoes in the blender, puree and transfer to sauce pan. Add veg stock, thyme, salt and pepper and tabasco.  Simmer for a few minutes and serve with a dollop of cream in a nice Meredith Host mug.

Handmade Breakfast with the Family.

 

For Christmas I got  my family a new Cuisinart coffee maker that grinds the beans and all that jazz. They had an awful one that burned the coffee every time. I also thought they needed some dishes not made by Ikea or me. Mom got the Jen Allen mug, Jake got the Charlie Teft Rabbit, Dad got the woodsy Matt Hylek  I drank from the Maria Dondero that I bought during her TCS show a few months back. My family is really good at breaking dishes. I am hoping that they can figure out how to keep these beauties safe.

This Black Bear Lunch Platter made by Sue Tirrell was a gift for Thanksgiving.

The rectangle plates were made by me in between under grad and grad school.

Minor Malfunction

Resident artist Joanie Turbek just had her solo show at The Clay Studio and boy was it a hit. It was really exciting to see people interacting with the work. So often people are uncomfortable walking into these environments but Turbek's work really engaged the audience.

Turbek writes "“each piece is an attempt to fulfill a personal and specific human need. Efficiency is not necessarily valuable when dealing with personal issues; therefore metaphor and humor dictate form. In our society, the products we own are a clear portrayal of who we are and what is important to us. I see my work as a form of portraiture, both of myself and of the communities into which it is inserted”.

Turbek is curating an NCECA show called "The Souvenir Shop" I am excited to see it.

What is Tardigotchi

My friend Matt Kenyon just returned from a residency in new zealand with a very sweet but a little sad video. Watch it. You will smile.

"Tardigotchi is an artwork featuring two pets: a living organism and an alife avatar. These two disparate beings find themselves the unlikely denizens of a portable computing enclosure. The main body for this enclosure is a brass sphere, housing the alife avatar in an LED screen and the tardigrade within a prepared slide. A tardigrade is a common microorganism measuring half a millimeter in length. The alife avatar is a caricature of this tardigrade, its behaviour is partially autonomous, but it also reflects a considerable amount of expression directly from the tardigrade’s activities (like eating)."

Hiroe Hanazono

The cup I drink out of at work and the chihuahua named Drew that I looked after last week both came from Hiroe Hanazono. Pottery Making Illustrated just outed all her secrets in this fantastic article and Ceramics Arts Daily is giving us the sneak peek!

If Only Santa Had Known

Tim Lewis is a studio furniture maker right here in Philadelphia. His Studio is in Fishtown, right around the corner from my old warehouse studio. I am starting my Christmas list for next year right now....and these strap chairs are at the top of the list. I think I might have a finished living room by the next time Santa wiggles down the chimney.
Also these stools and table from the Plank Series would be a perfect addition to the living room.

Shoko Teruyama sent amazing work for the annual holiday show "Gifted" at The Clay Studio. Of the 60 plus artists that sent us work, I have to admit her work is my favorite. This three owl plate might have to be an early birthday present for myself.

And I recently discovered this design studio called makelike. They have done amazing things with logos and store design but I have to say, their succulent wall paper is absolutely the best thing ever. It is five color screen printed with metallic gold lines. And they are succulents! my favorite! It is not cheap but it is certainly on the list. You just never know.

30 x 2

Only two pieces left!! Get them while you can.....no telling when the studio will be back together.

30 x 5 at AKAR

Akars holiday show 30 x 5 just opened today. I managed to get them 5 pieces but it was a stretch as my studio is still packed up in the basement of my new house. So get them while you can....

Ready For Paint

I have water and electric. I was so excited the first time I got to flip on a switch in the house. All the paper (both walls and ceilings folks) and all the paint of the trim has been stripped from the third floor.
So tonight after work - PAINT!!!!!!! I cannot wait.
Next is the bathroom and sanding the floors

Check out the full album of images on flickr

Circa Ceramics - So Good

I love the new tiles we just got in The Clay Studio Shop . Bold bright colors on porcelain tiles with screen printed images of retro things like type writers and cameras. Check them out

Why Not

So I thought I would follow up the disaster post with this destruction post. This happened last week. Every thing will be fine. don't worry.

How to Make a Crack House a Home - part 1

These are the pre clean up images. It took 63 construction size trash bags to get all this stuff out.
There were 2 dressers, 2 couches, 2 lazyboys, a tv, 30 pairs of sneakers and some of the most disgusting trash i have ever seen.

Stay tuned for the post clean up pics. I am taking them today

Also see the whole house pre clean up on my flickr

ok ok , i will admit it, there were several piles of poop in this house. old dried out and turned to dust poop, but poop none the less. it is all gone now though i swear.

Chit and Chat on the Artblog

Thanks so much to Annette Monnier for taking the time to chat with me about pots and Art and art and Pots. Check out the full article on The Artblog

Working Potters

View the entire article after the jump

Another plate a day

City Paper Trunk Show

Come and Visit. There will be beer, food, music and hand made things.

Calling all Philly Peeps

Tonight at Eastern State Penitentiary: Mary Jo Boles exhibition Purge Incomplete. MJ made most of the components for this exhibition at Kohler as well as visiting Philly a few times to go to the amazing Philadelphia Anthenaeum, an amazing library with a huge collection of books relating to early Philadelphia city planning. It is going to be smashing.

Eastern State Penn. Fairmount and 22nd St. 5.30 - 7.30pm See you there!!!

Galloway: Quiescent

My last shout out for Julia......
all the cups are now online

Julia Galloway: Quiescent

Currently The Clay Studio is hosting an exhibition by Julia Galloway, one of my favorite ceramic artists.

Galloways newest body of work titled Quiescent has been installed on 400+ shelves in the gallery. Each shelf holds a tumbler. Galloway has used the tumblers as canvas for her drawings. Each surface displays an image of a bird represented in James Audoubons: Birds of North America



There is also an audio component to this show. Some of the shelves contain sound modules and motion detectors. As you pass by, a bird begins to chirp or
warble. The space becomes activated and alive, as if filled with the real live birds represented by the imagery.






First Friday in Old City is a mess of people wandering in and out of the galleries. The room was wildly loud and the bird calls were almost drowned out even though all the sounds were being activated at once.











Galloway covered the walls of the gallery with a chalk drawing that reminds me of a garden fence. This image is echoed in the glaze patterning on her pitchers.







The most powerful moments seem to come when the gallery is empty save for one person slowly walking around the room, connecting with each sound as it begins and ends.

SMALL FAVORS IV

Also.....Small Favors opens tonight. check out all the work HERE

Sneak Peek - Julia Galloway: Quiescent

I have spent this week working at The Clay Studio taking down the massive Helen Drutt Celebration show and helping install the three new shows that open tonight.

All week long Julia Galloway and her team of dedicated helpers have been transforming The Clay Studio gallery into a garden paradise.
Julia's former student Josh Harmony helps chalk the walls while the freshly painted pedestals dry
Ayumi Horie helps Julia inspect a plate while studio assistant Steven inspects another. Steven drove out from Montana with Julia and all the work.

Grad Student Patrick Coughlin traveled in from Florida for the installation. The amount of people who traveled up to help certainly speaks to how very lovely Julia is.


The rest is up to your imagination but let me tell you this is one stunning show. Come out tonight for the opening or stay tuned for a post on the finished show.