Workshop

If you've been reading this blog for awhile you know that I am a bit of a workshop whore. I take many classes looking for some new snippet of information that might be lacking in my non-formal clay education. I have taken classes as far away as Italy and it has been an absolute gas learning from my clay heroes and getting to travel too.

However I have come up with a new solution for my quest for clay knowledge:
Offer a workshop by someone I want to learn from at Christa, rae and my beautiful, big, Berkeley studio, fourth & clay. That way I can learn and I don't even have to leave the studio...pretty cool huh?

Here's information on fourth & clay's first workshop. Andrew Martin is a world renowned teacher, author and wonderful potter. There is still plenty of room available so please come join us - I think it will be great fun:



Mold Making and Slip Casting with Andrew Martin
Andrew will discuss how his work evolved, demonstrate his unique method of developing forms using paper cut outs, cast numerous forms and show slides.
He'll also sign his book - Guide to Mold Making and Slip Casting

Feb,7.2009
9:30 - 5
fourth & clay
2390 4th St (@Channing Way)
Berkeley, CA
$60 or $50 with student id

Call Josie 510 848 2390 to register

Evolution

Some photos of work I made before the holidays. I'm playing with pattern and glaze, wanting the runny, shiny glazes to play off the dry, stationary under glazes. I am wanting the patterns to fill the form, run off and continue on into the atmosphere. I used to do this style of work when I first started potting. I used underglazes on leather hard clay and carved around the mostly botanical images. I stopped working this way when I started exploring the magic and madness of glazes and wanted more movement in my work. This came about after I took a workshop with Julia Galloway many years ago. She commented that she thought I was a very intelligent woman but my work didn't reflect this. What a difference that remark made. It made me think hard about what I was trying to do and where I wanted to go with my work. Rather than just wanting to crank out pretty work I began to dig deeper and wrestle with my influences, what was going on inside my head rather than what I could just achieve on the surface of my work. I am not sure I am always or ever successful in translating these thoughts but it keeps my mind spinning in ever changing directions. Anyway here is the old direction sneaking into my work. Hopefully a bit more evolved than it used to be.

2008 - Out the Window

The brilliant Ms Whitney Smith organized a pottery Smash-Up on New Year's Day. Whitney, Diana, rae, Sara, Sara, John and I threw our uglies out of Whitney's second story window on to the street. YEAH! Just check out the piles of beautiful shards. I feel lighter, brighter and ready to start making new pots. Hopefully I'll have less problem pieces to throw next year. What a satisfying way to begin the new year.



Here is a photo of how John and I spent the rest of New Year's Day...



Hapyy New Year!