Death of Half-Pint

Half-pint has been firing low and slow since June. Half-pint is the old hand-me-down Paragon kiln that I've kept together with spit and band-aids over the past 4 years and it's been taking a hard nose dive over the past few months. I was hoping that the solution might be simple... a handful of elements here and there, some new wires, an infinite switch... but after bringing in a pyrometer to get a really good look at what was going on during a firing, I've relinquished my hold on nostalgia and realized it's literally time to pull the plug.

Frankly, I simply can't afford to keep firing this as an electric kiln.

The last 9 hours of a long 24 hour firing was stalled around 2040 and actually dropped to 2018 in the last 3 hours.
That's really messed-up.

When I finally made the decided to turn it off, I realized I lost another infinite switch and had a run away kiln again.
I am not a happy camper, but at least I know where I stand and I finally have some sense of resolution...  

DOH!

Visions Highlights: Gail Bartik

"Waiting"

2010

20" x 20 " x 2.5 "

soda-fired porcelain in wood frame

Gail Bartik

Surface, surface, surface! 

Gail's pillow tiles are lush studies of line and inorganic chemistry. I've easily spent over half an hour exploring her surfaces on this work and will gladly spend another before this exhibition is over. Fantastic!

I love a good show...

Visions Highlights: t.s. Linzey

"Posicles & Bedpans"  

2009

10" x 6.5 " x 9 "

acrylic on clay

t.s. Linsey

Over the past 2 weeks now, I've been opening boxes and boxes of works that has been arriving. Joyously swamped is a very good descriptive term. Unpacking other artists works has proved to be the amazing experience I hoped it would be... every single package is just how I like too enjoy remembering Christmas when I a whole lot younger... it's all about the thrill of discovery...

But...

The very first piece to arrive wasn't in a box, it just magically showed up, hand delivered. I loved it as soon as I saw it and it has set the tone of the whole show for me. This year, this is a ceramic sculpture show... no doubt about it.

...

Here is a few other bonus works pulled from t.s. Linzey's website. I totally love this...

"Joyride"

3.5 ft X 5.5 ft X 1.5 ft

Acrylic paint on ceramic & metal rod 

"Ghosts"

 18" x 17"1/2 x 9"

Acrylic on ceramic

Thank you Linzey! Here's to hoping that we get to cross paths soon! 

Still Making the Doughnuts

For better or worse, I'm starting to feel like Huck Finn. I've been convincing a few good friends to help whole bunch to lend a hand pulling the Visions in Clay show together. For the past week and a half, it's been labor time! We've been putting in more than a few 6 hour days, fabricating 27 wall mount pedestals and 11 freestanding pegestals specifically for this exhibition. 3 coats of paint later we are nearly done with construction and I'm thinking next week will be a busy week bolting these to the walls and building islands of pedestals.

This is so totally worth it...

Schaller Gallery: Flora

Adam Field

This exhibition is a real treat... I love a show that has a few friends, a few favorites and a few new surprises.

Floa: flowers and plants and flowers

August 01, 2010 through August 31, 2010

Curated by: Kyla Strid Artists Include: Linda Arbuckle, Kyle Carpenter, Victoria Christen, Naomi Cleary, Adam Field, Ursula Hargens, Molly Hatch, Richard Hensley, Cathi Jefferson, Forrest Lesch Middleton, Brenda Quinn, Phil Rogers, Stacy Snyder, Kyla Strid, Daniel Ricardo Teran and Ann Tubbs

A quick sample...

Cathi Jefferson

Kyle Carpenter

Molly Hatch

Naomi Cleary

Forrest Leach Middleton

 These last two are new to me, but I love what they got going...

Stacy Snyder

Daniel Ricardo Teran

 A few weeks ago we were raising hands on whether surface or form played a leading role in current trends in ceramics... I've got to say that it seems once you have form dialed in, it's all about surface.
If you haven't clicked over to the exhibition yet, here's the link... Cheers!