One

I'm really bad with remembering dates. Thank goodness my honey remembers when our birthdays and anniversary are. But maybe this explains why I totally missed (Mud)Bucket's first birthday.

I know, I'm a horrible mom- I mean blogger. Hopefully, I'll be better at remembering babies' birthdays.

The point is... that I have been posting on this humble little blog for right passed a full year. WOO HOO! I've tried really hard to maintain a close-to-daily blog- which is a lot of work considering I'm in school full-time, work part-time, and have my own studio that I also attend. I'm not slowing down or anything (okay aside from this week- sorry, by the way, for the lack of posts, we had house guests), but I am considering some fun new activities to create more of an interactive blog for you all.

Speaking of you all, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your readership and the dialog you bring to the table. Watching the counter tick away, reading all the 'this is awesome' comments, comparing the love(it) votes to the (meh) votes, the kind emails, the growing group of followers and subscribers- this all brings so much happiness and encouragement into my life. So thank you, sincerely. I am so grateful to have an audience with which I can share all the ceramic work that inspires me. 

Because this blog is ultimately for all of you, I thought it would be really neat to bring more of you into the spotlight.  So I have a few ideas I would like to share with you, please let me know in the comments which of these ideas you like. If you would like to participate in some of these  new posts, please send me an email (just click the contact button to the right).

Recipes... I dunno why, but I always love a recipe thrown into a good blog once or twice a month.  And seeing as ceramists are always such fabulous cooks, I thought it might be fun to post a fun recipe once in a while. But I would need your help... 

Interviews or artist profiles... I know there are some folks out there that already do this on their blog, and I think it's great! I would like to do some (Mud)Bucket style profiles- aka succinct, inspiring, and novel. I'm thinking of 20ish questions: some single word answers, some photo answers, some sentence or two answers, and maybe a couple in depth answers, but ultimately up to the artist in profile.

Studio tours... Just a spot for folks to share their creative spaces and what they create there. Kind of voyeuristic, but cummon, who doesn't love a sneak peek.

City guides... Sounds kinda weird but I've always wanted to find this somewhere. You know, say you live in Albuquerque, NM... You can share your favorite spots for clay in Albuquerque, so someone visiting or moving might have a better idea of what to check out- galleries, shops, studios, suppliers, events, etc.

Product reviews... I think we could all benefit from this one.

Show and tell... Sharing your collections. Anything ceramic... pottery, sculpture, thing-a-ma-bobs, figurines...

Giveaways...? I haven't really worked this one out in my head yet. I just think it's so cool when other bloggers do this. :)

If you like these ideas or have others, please say so.

If you really like one and would like to participate in one of these columns, send me an email and tell me which column you are interested in in the subject line.

Finally, thanks again for your loyal readership over this last year. I hope the next is even better!

Cheers!

(photo of Jason Huff's work via his website)

Daniel Ricardo Teran

 

  

  

 

Yum. I don't have time to say much, and I think that pretty much sums up my feelings for this work. Yum.

(images via artist's blog)

Chinese Snuff Bottles

I thought these were antique perfume bottles for the longest time, until...

... a couple Fridays ago when I went to an Asian Art Fair at Fort Mason with a good friend from school. We are both madly in love with these miniature works of art and upon inquiring as to the price range for such exquisite perfume bottles we were immediately informed that in fact these were not perfume bottles.

So what are these fabulous little treasures that I always admire on my trips to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum? 

Any guesses?

Any?

Snuff bottles of course!

From around the 16th to 19th centuries in China, these gorgeous trinkets were used to carry a very valuable substance- powdered tobacco, or snuff. 

Smoking tobacco was illegal during these years, yet powdered tobacco was accepted as a common  treatment for minor illnesses like colds and headaches, and so continued to be permitted. 

People often carried these bottles, which varied in ornament according to status, and shared the contents in social situations as as friendly gestures.

Because of their usage, these objects often have a tactile beauty that matches its visual counterpart. I hope one day to experience this myself.

The other day as my friend and I admired these whimsical objects at the art fair, the idea pounced upon us that we could make our own snuff bottles in a medium with which we are more familiar- clay!

Traditionally, snuff bottles were made of glass, bone, and jade as well as porcelain and stoneware clay, so the concept isn't too far-fetched.

I've already begun working on a few models... I'll show pictures of the works in progress when I have a few more under my belt. :)

(top image via The Crow Collection of Asian Art)

Tom Lauerman

 I love these cloud shapes by Tom Lauerman. I think they would be stunning presented all together somehow.  I'm not really sure of the technique that the artist uses, but he mentions liquid clay that he experimented with at Kohler Arts on his website. Interesting.

(P.S. The silver one is stainless steel.)

(images via Telegraph Collective's Flickr)

Lorna Meaden

Lorna Meaden is a prolific modern potter.  Her work is as sculptural as it is functional which reminds us of the significance of common objects.  An idea I hold close to heart is that we can make our lives more beautiful by choosing to fill our everyday with works of art.  Drinking from a beautiful vessel, curling up underneath a handmade afghan, or slipping into a pair of fine crafted shoes might in these times give us pause to consider the small moments in our lives for which we can be grateful.  This is not to comment on affordability or luxury, but just to say that art in the everyday has a potentially great purpose.  I think this is part of Meaden's statement with her work.  She composes her pieces so thoughtfully, and this transfers to the appreciator.  I must assume that one is compelled to think about the beauty and grace of her work when pouring from one of the artist's teapots or sipping from one of her punch cups.  Even a swig of whiskey would take on new heights, I think, if enjoyed from one of her incredible flasks.

Have any of you seen her work in person? Please comment if you have been so lucky...

(from top down images via Ferrin Gallery, Art Axis, Red Lodge Clay Center, The Clay Studio, and again Art Axis)

William DePauw

I know this post is a little late today (or rather this evening) but aren't these sculptures nonetheless beautiful?

(images via accessCeramics)

Studio Time: Beads Beads Beads

I love it when colors splash around together like this. It reminds me of a pool party. :)

I just wanted to share some photos of the beaded creations that have been happening in my studio as I get ready to open my Etsy shop.

There's nothing there yet but a banner and a bio, but hopefully soon that will be very different.

Stay tuned. ;)

On Etsy: Ashley Kim

artist's website

artist's Etsy shop

It's like Christa Assad and Marc Digeros had some pottery babies! They are so pretty aren't they?

(images via artist's website)

International Style

To make buying textbooks more fun this semester I allowed myself a few indulgences.

I've been eying all four of these books at my favorite local book shop, Green Apple. But I couldn't afford them all new, and, unfortunately, Green Apple didn't have any used copies.

So I piled a few used copies into my virtual shopping cart and was happy to receive them sporadically throughout the week.

The pages in these books are so chocked full of color and culture it makes me feel so good to look at them.

And one day I hope to take my very own pictures when I get to travel to such wonderful places.

Off Subject: Rex Ray

 

  

  

  

  

  

Totally in love with this artist. Ray paints sheets of paper, cuts them up into vaious shapes, collages them into intricate patterns on canvas, which he paints beforehand,  and then smooths a pristine coat of resin or lacquer over the top. They are incredible in person.

(images via artist's website and also my own)