New Things: Welcome to the Family

I just brought this mug home to meet the family. It was made by Maria Dondero and holds a latte and a half. Maria had a show of new work at TCS last year and was an absolute delight to work with.  I will enjoy using this mug.

Travel: Skipping Town

While we have two new shows opening this Friday at The Clay Studio, I will be in Kansas City at Red Star Studios. Ceramic Arts Daily wishes they were gonna be there too.

I will be there for Daniels show but also will be hanging out with pals Meredith Host, Rain Harris and Paul Donnelly. Stay tuned for sneak peaks of their studios and latest work as well as pictures from Daniels opening and general Kansas City tourist shots. 

Discovery: Makoto Kagoshima

I just discovered Japanese artist Makoto Kagoshima thanks to a plate a day and I am kinda in love. I think I connect with the floral imagery as it is sort of make-believe like the flowers and berries I draw. 

The images are from an exhibition at biotape in Japan. Thanks to Jollygoo for the instal images.

Work: Flora At Schaller Gallery

Check out the work in this show. Schaller Gallery is a relatively new online ceramics gallery that has already had shows of many really good artists, some of whom I have been trying to get at TCS for a while. Let me know who you like best in this exhibition.

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...)

Small Projects Studio: Drawing Diner

Here is the first peek of work for a show I am organizing to be exhibited at Art in the Age during April 2010. The show coincides with NCECA being here in Philadelphia so all you ceramic fans can come and see it!!

  

Valerie Lueth  

"Adornment in Treasure: Bejeweled Sleeves"  

Annette Monnier

Knife in Back

I am working with an amazing group of artists to transfer their images to ceramic dinner ware be it vintage stuff from thrift stores, collected from grandma, purchased from Ikea or stolen from the local diner. We are gonna use iron oxide decals, gocco printing, luster, china paint and any other after glaze process we can think of.  Below is the list of participating artists. I will try to give you sneak peaks as we make the work. The second part of the story is about small projects studio, but this is to be continued at a later date.....

Tim Lewis               Valerie Lueth                   Paul Roden

Evan Greenfield         Erika Somogyi              Yvonne Lung

      Jamie Boyle        Andrew Jeffery Wright      Meg Shevenock
     Adrian Dalton                Ryan Kelly               Annette Monnier
   Nathan Prouty

 

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."

A Good Look - Lighting

                           Tom Rosseau                Tim Lewis Studio

                                  TR 6                           Hilla Lantern

                            Future Retrieval             Jamie Hayon

                               Dada Light                     Metalarte

                               Areawear                        Badheebahdu

                            Orbit Chandelier               Tiffany Lamp

                           Hidden Art Shop             Artimede

                                                                    Soffione

                       Hidden Art Shop                     Modernica

               Cloud Lamp Chandelier      Criss Cross Nelson Lamps

                     

Winter Stew

We stayed inside and Rob made lentil stew with fenugreek and cinnamon bark

This was a jumble of a stew, involving garlic, carrots, onion, lentils, peppers and.....well i don't know

 

 The whole thing was cooked on top of the wood stove, all the peelings were put in a separate pot with water to make stock.

 

Kathy made really delicious bread, pretty darn good for her first time baking bread.

A Good Look - Vases

A quick look at some amazing vases - Craft, Design, Handmade, Industrially Produced.....All Good

          Marc Digeros                                  Deborah Schwartzkopf 

              Vase 2006                                           Flower Vase

          Johnathan Adler                            Andy Brayman

         Medium Aorta Vase                           White Vase

 

                Jamie Hayon                          Marcel Wanders   

      Grid Vases for Gaia and Gino                                                      

 

 

         Ayumi Horie                                   Diana Fayt

      Flower Brick 2005                              Pin Vases

      Victoria Christen                  Allison McGowen

              Vase                                      Tall Vase

Winter Warmer

Super Snow Day.  The city is pretty much shut down and I don't have to go to work! No Clay Studio for me today and certainly no NCECA planning (sorry). You all know that I am working at The Clay studio as the NCECA Coordinator right. It is my very real excuse for not  having posted  regularly in the last few months. It is also the reason my house is getting fixed very very slowly. I am knee deep in 100 exhibitions but my own life is very much on hold.

Winter View of 27th Street 

Very snowy back yard, hard to imagine ever using the grill again.....oh spring time

Hazel and Buster.....best friends for ever

Thankfully my good friends Rob Sutherland and Kathy Hurchla live right across the street and invited me over for a warm and snuggly snow day. They have a wonderful wood stove and the dogs are very happy. Rob and Kathy have renovated three buildings on my block and are working on two more. They have been so generous with me since I bought my house (soon to be home), cooking me dinner, letting me stay for a few weeks before my house was inhabitable and being amazing resources for everything related to house fixing.

Matt Metz Teapot, Rob Sutherland mug and Corn Casserole by the lovely Kathy Hurchla

So we are staying warm.......learning how to use our new IPhones, so lame I know but Rob and I both got them this week. Watching awful, awful movies on tbs such as Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in Music and Lyrics (barffff.) and now the not really so awful Twister. Rob is making soup.....more on that later today.