Shufflin'

Hello everyone!

It's been a hot second since I last posted. (Right?) And I wanted to share with you what's going on with (Mud)Bucket. As you may well have noticed, I am finding little excess time here and there to post on this little blog. I am not, however, ready to put this (Mud)Bucket to rest. But I have reached yet another fork in the proverbial road.

If you need a regular fix of visual, ceramic stimulation á la (Mud)Bucket, you can follow my pinnings on the Mud Bucket Ceramics board on Pinterest. I can also recommend following Mike McDowell Contemporary Ceramics board and Linda Fahey's Ceramics board.

As for this blog... I'm going to start focusing on original content of higher quality, such as artist interviews and studio tours. I can't say posts will be very often, but they'll be worth reading more than once. 

I hope that you all stay tuned and enjoy the show.

- Jesse Lu -

From the Desk of...

Jesse Lu at home

You have to check out this blog, from the desk of... It photo documents the work-spaces of creative professionals accompanied by great interviews. I don't know if I'm just a weird work-space voyeur or what, but there is something so alluring about seeing where the magic happens for other artists and designers.

Above is a shot of my own work-space (you can see my studio space in these posts) and below are some of my favorites from this fantastic blog... 

Aaron Meshon

Timothy Hull

Lisa Congdon

Olimpia Zagnoli

Sarah Hughes

I dare you all to snap  photos of your work-spaces and share them on your blog.s If you do, link back to this post so we can all see. ;)

(images via From The Desk Of... blog)

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Mud(Bucket)!

Well, here we are at the two year mark... 

In February of 2009 I began this blog as an experimental, self-education tool. I thought I would use it as a motivational platform of sorts to keep me working hard and learning more than what they could teach me in school. Then I made a big decision, my current school would no longer be a place for me to study ceramics. I would focus solely on textiles in the classroom and my ceramic pursuits would be designated to a personal studio space. A big step up, I thought, until I realized how much work it takes to be your own teacher- FULL TIME!

Here I am now, still struggling to find the balance between school, my own studio practice, and blogging. There are a lot of really big things in store for me this year: graduation, marriage, and a big move to a brand new state. In addition I am planning on busting my butt to get as much work as possible out of the studio before I move as I have a couple shows coming up and I want to get the best body of work out of myself as possible with my remaining time at Red Brick Studio.  

So what does this all mean... Well, you know they call them the terrible twos. I think it's going to be one of those years. Exciting but always up in the air. I am going to try my hardest to maintain regular posting, but I don't think it will be as often as it has been in the past. That said- I am going to push really hard to produce much better content. I want to have more conversations with all of you, share more of my studio experience, learn more about the history of this medium, and invite more guests over for artist profiles and studio tours. 

Lastly but most definitely not leastly, I want to say thank you to all of you who read this blog and participate in the conversation. I couldn't have imagined to have been so lucky as to network such a great community through this blog. When I look at where all of you come from- Brazil, Latvia, Australia, South Korea, India, Mexico, France, and South Africa- I get chills. Thank you so much for all your commenting and encouragement. And for those of you who have yet to comment, don't be shy. Let me know where you're reading from, who inspires you, what you love about this medium. You're input is the most encouraging part of this journey, and it makes me soooo happy!

So, with all that said-

Happy 2nd Birthday (Mud)Bucket! 

This is going to be a busy year. :)

Just Got Home

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday.

I just got back from my 4 week road trip to Montana, Texas, and New Mexico. It was a long ride but very fun and filled with adventure.

I just wanted to let folks know that regular posting will resume in about another week or so. I've got a really full plate for the next several days, especially with school starting, so I'm going to give myself a little blog vacay.

A secret, however, is that when I do go on holiday from blogging I never stop thinking or reading about ceramics. Sometimes I have a minute or two to share an interesting link or photo on (Mud)Bucket's facebook page. So if you'd still like to see what (Mud)Bucket is thinking about off the blog, look to the right hand column and click the "Like" button on the Facebook badge.

Ok, y'all. Be back soon!

xo

J Lu

And I'm back... kinda, sorta

Okay, so I know I haven't been around... And I know excuses are relatively meaningless, but I have been really, really busy.

For one, I'm busting my ass in my beginning painting class. The photos below are some 'work in progress' shots for my final. They still have a far way to go, but I'm working hard. They are due Tuesday afternoon. Yikes!

Also, I've got an installation/sculpture that I'm building in my contemporary fiber forms class. Don't know how that is really gonna get done, especially with the poli-sci paper I have to write this week.But I suppose I'll manage somehow.

Oh yes, also, this Tuesday I'll be firing my first glaze firing at Red Brick. (Well, it's really my second if you count the test kiln I fired last week, which ran for 72 hours before shutting off unbeknownst to me because the speed dial is cranky, also unbeknownst to me.) I don't have much to fill it with, but I want to take some pictures to send in for a scholarship opportunity, the deadline of which is on Wednesday.

Also, I had a great Thanksgiving with my family, my fiancé and I bought a car last Sunday, I finally got a basic little website up, I got a great haircut, and yes, it is my birthday today... for which I have nothing planned other than my last day at my day job, finishing my paintings, and ordering some killer take-out.

Oh yes, and we leave on the 19th for a three week road trip to Montana, then Texas, then New Mexico, and back. I'm already looking forward to coming home. :)



I leave you with this great little video to warm your winter hearts.

Go Giants!

Okay... I know that ceramics has nil to nothing to do with baseball. But I'm just so damn excited that my team is playing the World Series here at home in San Francisco. I thought I'd curate a little Giant's themed virtual art show for the occasion.

First pitch 4:57pm PST.

Aaawww yeaaaaaah.

Let's Go Giants!

Clark+Del Vecchio Auction

By the way, Clark+Del Vecchio are having an online auction of modern and contemporary ceramic works. It's very interesting to see how much these pieces are valued at and who's included. Go on- take a look.

Paper Maché...

... Clay.

What?

Here.

What do you think of this?

Consolidation

Dear, dear, lovely, interesting, talented readers,

I have made a rather momentous decision regarding (Mud)Bucket that I find only fair to enact with a few spoonfuls of explanation.

I am consolidating my accounts. Sounds dangerous, I know.

Technically, this means that (Mud)Bucket will now feature not only all the wonderful ceramic tidbits that you have all come to love and depend on, but, in addition, will be accompanied by musings from my first and more personal blog, Everyday Object. 

Don't fear.

These tidbits need not overwhelm you. There will be an option available for all of you hardcore ceramics-only enthusiasts to subscribe to (or peruse) only ceramics related posts. I understand that for some ceramists, too much of the outside world can delineate your focus.

Some might be wondering what these other sprinkles of Jesse Lu are likely to consist of? Well, in my other life, I am an art student currently focusing on textile arts, so I guess a bit of textile related frivolity.  In my other life, I also am inspired by things not only ceramic- beautiful pictures, super cool artists, mind-trip videos, handcrafted edibles, jig-worthy tunes, crafty projects, etc.You can expect the random dash of these as well.

I know, I know. It is nice to have a blog that truly features 90% ceramic content and is updated almost, totally regularly. I will continue to post as much ceramic content as I would if I were maintaining these blogs separately. The thing is, I am a full-time studio-art student, part-time studio artist, part-time coffee slinger, full-time friend and part-time lover as well (I ain't gonna lie, life's not perfect); so, managing two full-time blogs is slightly out of the question for this reality.

(Mud)Bucket will remain heartily rooted in the ceramics arts... now it will simply be branching out and blossoming in reflection of my own experience.

I hope you stick around to see what happens, and please, as always, I invite you to let me know what you think.

A blogger sincerely yours, 

Jesse Lu

P.S. I gave myself these awful bruises yesterday rolling out huge slabs of clay by hand. Any tricks for doing this without maiming myself again?

I Love Pinterest

(Mud)Bucket readers, please meet Pinterest. This is an amazing tool I learned about via SFgirlbybay. Basically it's a virtual bulletin board that collects images while you surf the web. It's a great tool for making shopping lists, collecting inspiration and ideas, creating moodboards, whatever.  I'm using it for a couple reasons, one of which is to catalog all the artists I share on (Mud)Bucket, plus some, so that you and I can quickly visualize and find all the artists that can be found on (Mud)Bucket. Now it's not in any order, other than a slight chronological order according to the date each artist was posted on the blog, but I'm hoping you'll be able to find artists you like by seeing an example of their work.  Go and visit, let me know what you think... and let me know if you'd like to be invited to try it out (I've got a couple invites left). I'll be adding a direct link on the sidebar soon so that you can access this pinboard easily through the blog.

BRB...

Hi all my fabulous readers...

Just wanted to let you know I'm taking a break from blogging just through Wednesday.

I've got a hellacious midterm coming up... Survey of Asian Art History. I will be studying every waking minute until Wenesday morning and resting the rest of Wednesday.

I'll be back in action on Thursday.

If you need something fun to read, even if you don't... Please go visit my friend Linda's blog- We Swim with Fishes. She blogs daily with some fantastic ceramic inspiration.

Wish me luck!

~@~ Jesse Lu ~@~

(image of Joe Page's work via his website)

Help Haiti

I know you've probably heard this a billion times already... but sometimes it's the billionth time that gets you to actually do something.

Almost two years ago my apartment building burnt down in a four alarm fire in San Francisco's Mission district. It was devastating, we all lost soooo much, some of us lost everything. The Red Cross was there to help us get back on our feet. I never thought I'd need them, and so never much thought about anyone else needing them either. But people do, I do, and you do.

Please take a minute to donate to Haiti's relief in whichever way you can. The easiest way is through your phone. If you text 'Haiti' to 90999, a $10 donation to the Red Cross will be added to your next month's bill. $10 is all, just skip a six pack of beer or that burger at lunch and you'll be helping so much.

If you'd like to know a few more organizations that need help you can visit my friend Alexis' blog where she has kindly rounded up a great list organizations you can help.

Thank you...

(photo of my building, looking at the kitchen window through my roomate's bedroom)

The Poppies!

I don't know if ya'll are aware of Poppytalk, one of my favorite 'handmade' websites or blogs, it's kinda both... It's a marketplace for indie handmade goods and the selection is often really wonderful as are their blog posts.

Well, they have started this year with an 'awards show' of sorts. And it counts on readers for the nominations. One of the categories is CERAMICS! Duh... so you should head over and nominate your favorite indie ceramist who has both an online shop and a blog, those are the requirements for nominations...

Yesss! A new year...

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's doing exactly what they wanted to do... I did.  Timely to bed on NYE and then spent all of New Year's day realxing and making pom-poms (I'll explain later) while my honey worked on a puzzle. Totally lazy and totally awesome.

Looking back on it, 2009 was quite the year of firsts for me. (Funny, as the year itself is a last.) It marked my first year in a four year school, my first year of daily blogging, my first very own apartment with the love of my life, and even my first studio. Whew... calm down now, 2009. ;) 

Anyway, I was inspired by notebookdoodles (a favorite non-ceramic blog of mine), via The Drifter and The Gypsy, to create a list of nine (ceramic-ish) things that I really liked in 2009, so here goes...

• my miniature Ginger Markley bunny...
  
• moving into Red Brick Studio next to my friend Sarah Zehr...
• starting this blog and all the lovely folks I've met since...
• summer class at CCSF Fort Mason...
• Ai Weiwei's haircut, and his pots, too...
• the incredible artwork of Martha Grover...
• falling in love with throwing again...
• making faces with Esther Shimazu...
• and Hue Yang's pots... which I am still lusting after because unfortunately I am still to broke to purchase one, but hopefully not for long ;)

So how about about you folks, what were some of the things you really liked in 2009?

Racism.

Kinda off subject but nonetheless, something I think is very important. Read my post here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Isn't this photo hilarious? It reminds me of the turkeys I grew up with.  Especially one named Handsome.  He was the pet of all turkeys.  You see, he came to our house when he was a baby with a mate, a little baby girl turkey.  They grew up quite fond of each other and were never seen apart until one day Handsome's girlfriend died. Turkeys don't have a naturally long life. After that he became very lonely.  He had nobody to cluck around the garden with or snuggle up to at night.  That's when he started following my mom around the yard.  Hey, he thought, she's a pretty bird.  Over a couple weeks he fell madly in love with my mother.  He never left her side when she would cluck about the yard pulling weeds and picking up dog piles.  Every time she went back inside he would stand patiently waiting at whichever of the back doors she disappeared into.  He was so loyal a bird.  At times he even snuck in behind her when the door was left open.  She would turn about in the bathroom to the shock of Handsome staring up at her quite like the bird in the photograph above. The trouble came with the rains.  You see, turkeys don't have much sense about them.  You've heard the tale that a turkey will drown in the rain by looking up with his beak open for the water, yes? Well, I've never known an actual bird this happened to but it was nonetheless disconcerting to watch Handsome waiting there as the December rains set in.  My mother began to worry he would catch cold and die.  Then she worried that he missed her.  Then she worried about the heartbreak that started this whole situation.  Eventually my mother began to leave the door to the mudroom open.  She would lay down old sheets over the Italian tile that spanned from the mudroom through the family room, to catch the droppings.  My mother is eccentric but she wasn't about to let her imported tiles see ruin for some lovesick bird.  Anyway, this is how it happened that the whole family would congregate in the family room on evenings and weekends watching Law and Order marathons with a giant meat bird clucking about our feet and occasionally mounting our legs.  Hey, can't blame a fella for trying right?  It happened this way for a couple years about, till one Thanksgiving while my mom was in Montana preparing for the big move, Handsome became ill.  My grandmother, the animal authority whenever my mom was away, was caring for all the animals one afternoon when  she noticed Handsome was tucked away in a coop not moving.  This was very unlikely for a bird whose greatest joy in life was his human companions. After an emotional discourse with my mother over the phone, my grandmother tucked Handsome in a blanket, no small feat, and drove him to the Humane Society where the veterinarian compassionately explained he would need to be put down.  Considering the absurdity of the situation and the time of year, the staff handled Handsome's case like the case of any other beloved pet.  A day or two later, the press called.  No joke.  The Marin county newspaper wrote a sappy Thanksgiving story that year about my mother's pet turkey, Handosme.  A pretty good way to honor the silly bird.  Anyway, that's what this photograph reminds me of.  And it's a good story, so I thought I'd share.

Hope everyone reading in the states has a wonderful day today full of great food and good friends. Jonas and I are heading over to our friend SaraMitra's cozy home for dinner with friends, some bouts of Scrabble, and fun sing-a-long eighties movies. We're bringing a loaf of cottage herb bread, some spinach and goat cheese risotto, a lovely fall salad, and a gorgeous german cheesecake. I can't wait for the cheesecake. This is the first time I've baked one and I'm on pins and needles to see how it tastes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm calling it cozy for the day...

Well, I suppose the warm weather days are over for a while.  It's one of those lovely rainy days in San Francisco where the rain is more of a mist and falls lightly over everything.  The largest drops of water are falling from the ends of drain pipes and balcony rails.  My garden is sparkling in the delicate rain, savoring every tiny droplet. 

I can hear the sweet dripping that more often reminds me of springtime outside my window, but the gray and chill remind me it is November.  I was planning on going into school to help with the studio and work on a little bit of glazing, but this weather changed my mind.  All I want to do today is stay at home with me honey, writing boring humanities papers, drinking warm beverages, waxing a few pit fire pieces, and listening to some cozy music.

My rainy day recommendations?

Caramel Rum Rooibos tea from Lupicia with a splash of milk. A mix of Lavender Diamond, Lex Land, Basia Bulat, Horse Feathers, Beirut, and Emily Jane White playing on iTunes.  Thinking about Deleuze's Postscript on the Societies of Control and Watchmen, the comic and film. And candle's glowing around the house.

What are your rainy day favorites?

(image via Flickr member .dust.bunny.)

The purpose of blogging as an artist...

...is networking. Period. Okay, and also inspiring.

Studio Time: Studio Dreams Dilema- Ugh!

So it came to my attention or rather it became realized to my attention today that there is a new ceramic studio opening up that seems like a winning possibility for me. Some old classmates are moving into a space right above one of my favorite shops a block away from my honey's work. The studio members so far include 4 people whom I know for sure I would enjoy sharing a studio with. The monthly rent is an extremely reasonable amount that I'm 99.9% sure I could come up with. Being part of a studio would open so many doors for me as a young ceramic artist and may be in and of itself the first door into my career.

But...

This is a start up, and as with most start ups there will be additional costs to prepare the space (which is currently pretty blank) for use. Things like fixing the ventilation and installing more electrical outlets. Split between 20 people these costs should be very reasonable and manageable for most. But as a full time student and part time barista, it's not something I'm sure I can cover, as of yet there is no estimation for such start up costs. This brings me to another question- will I have time? On the bright side I will have 24 hour access to this studio as opposed to limited studio access as of yet. It is a short train ride from work and so would be accessible on those days (and of course others). But between work and school itself, I can't say how much usage I would actually be able to get from the space. (Read- I'm a commitaphobe.)

Ugh...

Dilema, dilema, dilema. This feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't know what to do. Say screw school and half ass it there so I can embark on my career path? I dunno, I really dislike the environment I am in at school and can't help but think putting more into my 'career' would be a better choice. Do I go for it and hope that it starts delivering sooner than later? I don't even know if I have the talent to warrent studio space for myself... or if I'm at the right skill level... AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHO TO TALK TO ABOUT IT!!!

Please help... on top of everything this is urgent. My classmates need a commitment by Friday. 3 days to figure it out. Does the timing mean it's not meant to be? Is this just temptation waving her finger  flamboyantly before my face? Can't someone make the decision for me!!!

Wowza Blog Bonanza!

I just hit the ceramic blog goldmine.... please forgive me if I sound a little 'off', I've had more than my fare share of IPA this evening.

Onward HO!

I have added a few new blogs to the Muddy Bloggers blogroll. They are all worth taking a good look at and are full of muddy goodness. dear ada's ceramics love section is of most importance.

Ceramic Object Lesson


Katie's New Work


Future Retrieval


Nonfiction


Rough and Perfect


dear ada

P.S. I love a good IPA! Anyone got any favorites or recommendations?