Molly Hatch: Mimesis

So my life has been crazy!!! still working on the house, NCECA came and went with barely a hitch, and I am now the Gallery Coordinator at The Clay Studio! This means the house will take longer than expected, but also that you will get first look at all the amazing shows and beautiful work in the shop. I am jumping head first into revamping the Studios online shop so stay tuned to this page.

This months show is an absolute gem, Mollys work is just lovely and other people think so too.....

 Design*Sponge did a nice spread on the show, Yippie to them!

So anyhow, check out all the work and let me know what you think. Next will be all the amazing new Grads in the MBK Graduate Student Show. Plus I promise to update you all on the house and everything else (new studio in the works...)

Artist Watch - Anne Gibbs

Welsh artist Anne Gibbs came to The Clay Studio for three months to work as our guest artist in residence. Anne was an absolute delight, charming everyone with her beautiful Welsh accent. My Mother was in Wales this past month visiting my Grandmother and met up with Anne for a cup of tea. It was great to hear that she might be visiting in March for NCECA  festivities.

  

Household Implements (study 3)                  Tinctus series: Red ribbon

 I was reminded again of how much I loved Annes work while unpacking one of her pieces at The Studio this week. I needed to measure the work and get a vitrine made for our April show of  current and past resident and guest artists.

          

              Tinctus series: Comb and buttons              Household Implements (study 1)

I was able to watch Anne make her work from start to finish while she was in Philadelphia last year.  She collected forms to build on to, changing both the form and its references. In some cases she remakes the form. Placing new form next to old, remade next to original.

 Dwelling (Ravel)                      Tinctus series: Crucible

The objects Anne makes are domestic in nature, spoon and nails as well as her own invented forms that reference womens work such as sewing and kitchen duties.

 

    Made Do and Mend              Tinctus Series: Comb and Buttons

                                                                                     

The finished pieces are newly made but feel old, imbued with history and a past life. Collections that tell a story of time, place and moment.

An excerpt from Anne Gibbs artist statement

"The traditions of the domestic and ‘the home’ remain a major source of inspiration in my work. I was brought up in an ex-mining community in the South Wales Valleys where life was often driven by hard labour and there was little time for celebration. Therefore I am drawn to objects, which remind me of special occasions, for instance the bone china tea set which suggests pleasure and refinement. I contrast the beautiful bone china object (cup) against the ritual of domestic chores, cleaning and bleaching, suggesting that the act of refinement is often followed by a gritty reality."

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.

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.

Non Fiction Design Collective

This month Ohio based collective Non Fiction presented a stunning show of new work at The Clay Studio in Old City.



The group recently visited the porcelain factories of Meissen in Dresden, Germany where they used historical molds and Meissen's super white china to create new and strange versions of historical figurines. Once back in the States they combined other processes such as CNC milling and screen printing to make domestic objects that are hard to place in time. Collective members Steven Thurston, Guy Mike Davis, Clay Studio Visitor Ed, member Katie Parker chat it up in the gallery.
The fourth member of the group, Rebecca Harvey was holding down the fort back on Ohio.
Ohio made brick and letter press stampings combined with kitschy china trees and a flickering light culminate in Forest Light Nonfiction states "We are interested in merging the worlds of ceramics & printmaking and the remaking and reuse of industrial cast-offs. Operating in a hybrid world between handwork and mechanization we combine outdated processes like thermofax and letterpress with CNC milling and rapid prototyping. Labor intensive processes mix with strange detritus, abandoned wallpaper and clearance mousetraps combine with hand carved block prints and fussy porcelain. Our limited production is a mixture of intent and accident - a constant tug between addition and subtraction. We make objects to affect the world. "

Finally the one I had to have as my own White Rabbit. Image Courtesy of TCS

Just Desserts

The Clay Studio is opening two new shows on Friday September 4th. One is Fellowship artist Colleen Toledanos exhibition subFoundation
The other is Just Desserts. A grouping of dessert settings by eight artists. I sent them round two of the Love-Lies-Bleeding series.

I will be in Minneapolis the week of the opening but all you Philadelphia blog readers should head to The Clay Studio anyway. It will be a good showing as back to school month is always crazy in Old City.

Oooh and Jenn Allen will be showing in the Bonovitz Space. Her work is always super.

last but not least.

check out Guy Mike Davis at The Clay Studio.
Fantasic!!!

Success with Surfaces

So I taught a workshop at The Clay Studio this past Saturday titled Significant Surfaces It was all about pattern and layering decoration on ceramics to create surfaces with depth. I brought some greenware dishes and tumblers to clean up and demo on. I gave each student two pieces to work with and they made many tiles and even some wall pockets and tumblers.
We tried cutting paper stencils and layering them between colored slip. You paint the surface of the pieces with a colored slip, wet and then stick a few stencils on the slip (which should be leather hard-ish, not wet), then you paint another color of slip and layer a few more stencils. Do this a few times and then peel of all the stencils. The tricky part is finding all the paper under the slip. Some one was getting creative with the mint leaves from her lunch time ice tea.
Other things we did included sprig molding, slip and under glaze inlay, copper and cobalt carbonate photo-copy transfer taught to me by Katie Parker of New Work, slip and under glaze trailing and we made Print Gocco Screens and talked about thermo-fax screens
Here's the class. All smiles as so much fun learning was happening. It was such a treat to teach in the air conditioned and newly renovated studios on the third floor of The Clay Studio.
We made a mess and I was so very tired by the time it was all over. The class was very helpful and cleaned up super well. All in all a great experience. I think next time a two part work shop would be great so I can show glazing as well as wet clay work. But there is time enough for that yet.

yo yo...workshop time

There is still a week left to sign up for my workshop at The Clay Studio

Significant Surfaces: Creating meaning through pattern and layers.

Learn how to transfer images on to your work using easily accessible materials. Naomi will demonstrate the different ways to layer surfaces using both found images and patterns you create yourself. Students will make their own screens in class to use throughout the workshop and then take home.
A $25 material fee will provide students with basic screen printing materials which are yours to keep.
All Skill Levels

June 28, 2008
Saturday, 10am - 4pm

Member Price: $125.00
Non-Member Price: $135.00
Fees: $25.00
Course: S-WS3

register online

Small Favors III

Small Favors III opened last night at The Clay Studio, It was the third time I had participated in the show but this was the first time I was in town to see the show. It really looks great. A long line of plexi cubes wraps around the gallery, each filled with a unique small work. My house mate Hope Rovelto made a porcelain desk and chair that is very cool.

In The Niche

I just had a small show at The Clay Studio, Philadelphia. The opening of the show was the first time I had been there in a while and I have to say the newly expanded space looks fantastic. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
Check out the work here