Speaking of wood-fire...

It's been far too long since I've posted on my blog. I think about it all the time, but always come up with something else to do...aaahhh gardening. I'm finally getting around to writing down what I learned this year at Ceramic Showcase. I had a great show and to be honest I'm already looking forward to next years show. It's always so great to see all these amazing talented artists come together and work, laugh, and catch up. This year since I was not in charge of the show I thought I would give a concerted effort to spend more time in my booth and talk to potential customers. This is very difficult for me. I could probably sell something of yours far better then selling my own work, which essentially is selling myself. People who know me think it odd that I have such a hard time with this, but I really lean far on the Introvert side of the Myers-Briggs personality test.

As to what I learned. It's not as hard to spend time in my booth and talk with a few people as I thought. I would try to gauge the person's interest and ask if they had any questions or complement them personally. That usually broke the ice. On one particular occasion my world was changed. A lady and her daughter stepped into my booth and picked up one of my more expensive mugs. She looked at it a bit and set it down. I pointed out that I had some more reasonably priced mugs on another shelf if she was interested. She looked at me and asked "why is that one so much more?" This was my chance to speak about the wood-fire process that I am so excited about, but I didn't want to bore the pants off of her, it's all about balance. I wanted her to see that although the others were very nice, this one was special. It had all the features of wood-fire I love. So I gave a run down of the basics...I don't really use or rely on glazes to finish my work, the ash from the fire flies through the kiln, lands on the red hot pots, melts, drips, creates crystals...sometimes, flashing, wadding, grinding...etc. She soaked it in and grabbed the mug, "I'll take it, but I don't know if I'll remember all of that". Her daughter looked and smiled "I got it mom".

I was on cloud nine. I loved that mug and was so pleased with how it came out and it found a home that will look a little deeper and closer at it then the average mug. That is why I do wood-fire and pottery. I want to make functional art that adds to peoples lives and makes them look at the small things. Now maybe I'm just babbling, but I can hardly express the joy I felt the moment she took that mug and understood that it was one of a kind, unique, maybe like her daughter...special out of all the others.

Back to the grind

This week we are experiencing very nice weather and I'm grateful. I have lots of new pots that need attention. After unloading the kiln a wood-fire potter then needs to check every piece and grind off wads or ash that still remain. I'm on day three of this process, but things are looking good and I have the end in sight. Next step is to price them and pack them.

The first picture is of the tools I've been using. A Dremel, very important wood-fire potter tool, and my silicon carbide tip is almost completely used up. I wear a mask while working since I'm creating lots of nasty dust and of course the lovely sanding pads make a nice final finish.

The second shot is of a few pieces just plucked from the kiln. I've been doing goblets, funky shallow bowls, soap dishes and stripes. I'm digging the stripes.

Just Days Away

I'm counting down the days till the 29th Annual Ceramic Showcase. This is such an exciting event for the members of the Oregon Potters Association. We work on putting this show together all year round. We meet monthly to discuss the details of all aspects of this show. We run this show entirely with volunteers. From the set up to the tear down each participant in the show has a job to do. We have a central sales area so you can shop the entire show and check out all at once instead of making multiple purchases from individual artists. We will also have UPS on site for shipping directly from our show.

There is a nice map that is put together so you don't miss anything. We have demonstrations, music scheduled for Friday and Saturday evening, Clay Play areas so you can try it out for yourself and beautiful galleries set up to showcase our finest work. It's a labor of love and I hope you will join us.

Butter Dish prototype

When you look at pottery at art festivals or galleries try to consider how many pieces didn't make it or didn't work before getting pieces good enough to put out in the world. This butter dish is one of about a dozen and it's the only one that has made it to the point of actually working. I've worked out many of the bugs, but I will probably still have to make another half dozen before I get them to the point that I can pump them out and put them out in the world and hope that someone will love it and want to put butter under it's lid. So really this butter dish should be priced at about $500, but it will probably be $40. Now $40 sounds like a lot for a butter dish, but if you go beyond just the materials and consider the hours spent an artist is getting about .10 an hour. So why do we do it? Well for me it's because I can't help myself. It's an addiction and more then anything I want someone to see what I make and feel the need to have it in there lives.

So my goals for this year include the ultimate butter dish and learning how to use etsy so I can sell stuff.

Namaste

High Time for TEA

This years lobby display at the 28th Annual Ceramic Showcase is "High time for Tea" sponsored by Smith Tea. I'm very excited about the tea theme and Smith Teas involvement. It should be an exceptional display with all the grace, joy, community, health, and whimsy that tea is all about. Oh, and let's not forget great taste.

Don't miss the show and tell all your friends and family to join you. All ages are welcome and will have a good time. April 30-May 2 at the Oregon Convention Center.

28th Annual Ceramic Showcase

Mark your calendars. Don't miss it. It's big and beautiful. Lots of things to see and do. Bring your friends and family...all ages.

Oh, and I'm at booth I-11

Sisser's donuts

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since October. Where does the time go? I've been working hard on the planning of OPA's Ceramic Showcase which opens April 30, 2010. Mark your calenders because it's a show you don't want to miss. I also work at MHCC in the ceramic department and that keeps me busy. I'm working on gathering a nice group of students to fire our little anagama in February. It's always fun to get a few new students excited about the process. I'm firing the Chicken Pot Pie the 21st. So much to do to get ready and the weather is an icky 20°. I hope this cold snap...snaps and we can get back to realistic temperatures. I don't live in Wisconsin for a good reason.

Speaking of Wisconsin...my good friend and clay mentor, Treatzi Dall, sent me a beautiful story written by her youngest girl and she said it was OK to share it with others. It's a nice story so I'm going to share it here. I know her kids and they are a fantastic family and have all turned out well. They love each other so much. It's a beautiful thing.

I went to the grocery store today and my thoughts wandered to my sister as the most often do. To begin, I am married to a wonderful man who has serves his life to the greatest of his abilities as a soldier in the United States Army. I have an amazing husband who supports me unconditionally precisely as who I am and I am so thankful for that. We reside in Germany currently and as much as I really do love it here, the one thing that pulls at my heart the most is being away from my sister, or as I call her, "Sisser". I have never been one to have many friends, nor is it a strength of mine to really grasp onto a group of people. There is just something about a sister, My Sisser that no one will ever fill.
As mentioned earlier, I went to the grocery store today to grab just a few staple items; eggs, water, bread, etc. and found myself feeling so lonely for My Sisser. What sparked the thought of her was simply a donut. I was eying all of the tasty treats in front of me and after choosing one to drop off for Troy, my husband, I was next deciding which one I would like most for myself. As I stood staring at all of the lovely bakery, my head began to swell with the rich smell of sweet treats. It was then that I could feel myself shrinking back to being just a four-year-old standing next to my big, seven-year-old, sister in one of Rhinelander, Wisconsin's oldest traditions of Bernie's Bakery.
The few days that Mom and Dad would take us to the bakery, I remember being flooded with excitement. Upon arriving created a feeling of being overwhelmed with all of the sugary options layed out in near-perfect displays for us to admire. With our family lined up, I can fully remember looking at My Sisser and thinking, "Wow, she's so pretty with her dark curly hair. I wish I had freckles like her too." However small the the thought might be now, a person can imagine what a compliment like that meant coming from such a young girl. (As some of you may recall, I had stick-straight hair when I was young and My Sisser always had nice dark wavy hair. To this day, I have just one single freckle on my nose.)
I recall that it was snowing and as cold as it likely was outside, the warmth of the bakery combined with the wonderful cookie scent gave a feeling of being hugged by a giant marshmallow. Mom was holding Aaron who was all bundled up in a yellow snowsuit. It was keeping him so snuggled that he could barely move. He, being just a baby, appeared to care-less about being at this wonderful place. I became baffled by this thought. Andrew was all excited and had his face pressed on the display window. (As most kids would behave in house full of all the unhealthy wonderful things that most six-year-olds imagine they should be able to live on.) Dad stood silently behind us until he, carefully, reached out and grasped Andrew's shoulder with his big daddy hand and pulled him back from the glass. My Sisser stood carefully examining all of the treats in front of us. I remember she looked as though she was contemplating World Peace. My Sisser has always been one to stay focused on being certain to choose and do the "right thing"....even when it came to choosing a donut.
Eventually, My Sisser stepped forward with much more maturity then I had ever seen in a seven-year-old. She looked at the clerk and stated, "I'll have the sugar-covered, strawberry, jelly-filled one, please.", all the while, carefully pointing her thin finger precisely at the one she desired. It was then that I, too, stepped up to the counter. The kind lady with fluffy brown hair looked at me and asked what I would like. I did not say a word. I looked up at her and then fixated my eyes on my chosen donut....the one right next to My Sisser's; the exact same choice she had made.
As young as I was, I may not have known exactly what the definition of "admiration" was, but I certainly understood it. I knew, even as a four-year-old, that I loved My Sisser more then one could imagine and, somehow, I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.....even if it meant it would take me a mere three years to get there. I realized, even then, that Sisser always made the correct choices. Funny thing is, to this day, I love the sugar-covered, strawberry, jelly-filled donut choice and, yet, that morning, what I really wanted was the sprinkled cake donut.
To those of you who don't know, "My Sisser", is the eldest Dall child, Abbey. Next comes Andrew, then myself and finally Aaron. Though we are all grown now, we hold a bond that cannot be explained. We lean on each other every fraction of the day whether we are in complete awareness of it or not. Those of you with siblings, I am sure know that power. Abbey is always available for me. She has seen me through some of my darkest moments and stood by me through my happiest. My throat becomes tight when I think of the beauty she brings into my life. Abbey is surely one of the most selfless people I know. She is an amazing mother, daughter, sister and friend. She keeps me focused and thankful for the wonderment I have in life. Family is the greatest gift given to us and I ask that everyone pass this simple story to others. It is my hope that yourself as well as the people in your lives are able to reach into their deepest memories and pull out what events and people they should be thankful for most. Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Blessings, Ashley

Ceramic Showcase is over and Mom has arrived. A small group of us set up the show for Friday...Stephen Mickey and the Soulbuds at MHCC Visual Arts Gallery. It looks great. Lots of amazing work and I'm so honored to be in the same room with all this talent. I think I'm still a bit tired from the Showcase weekend. During Ceramic Showcase I sucked it up and got some professional shots of some of my work. Above is one of the pieces. It was from my last firing at Soulgama in Brush Prairie, WA. I got some nice ash drips and crystals. Hope you can make it to the show.

Just a week away

We are getting down to the wire and there are hundreds of potters in Oregon and Southwest WA that are scrambling around getting all their pots, garden art, sculptures ready for the largest ALL ceramic show in the US. Next Wednesday we will descend on the Oregon Convention Center and start setting up the show. It's organized chaos and Friday morning we open the doors to the public and hope they like what we do. Here's our add in the Willamette Week.

On that note...I'm going to take my dog Duke for a walk up our hill, breath deep and stretch. Then I'll come home and do what I've been doing for what seems like months...get ready for Ceramic Showcase.

Namaste,

Ceramic Showcase hitting the Roads

Well Look at That!!! Ceramic Showcase is hitting the roads to get the word out about the largest all ceramic show in the United States. Thank you Trimet. Which by the way is a great way to get to the show. The MAX stops right in front of the Oregon Convention Center.

Opened my Chicken Pot Pie kiln last night and once again got some nice results. We got come 12 down all over at 03:30 so we just went another hour and shut down at 16 hours. This was shorter then the other firings and we wanted to see the difference. I think it was just fine, not much a difference and got a whole bunch of salting effects, orange peel, and we didn't put any salt in the kiln. Strange, but they looked good so who cares.

Now, I'll head to Vancouver, WA and open the Soulgama kiln with the SoulBuds and see what pretty things we made there...so excited. Ted Ernst, Sandy Segna and Robin Hominiuk all fired last weekend at other kilns besides Soulgama too. We are all just bursting with ceramic energy.

Where does time go?

I wanted to get some more shots of the last firing results and maybe shots of what happened to the grate, but time keeps slipping away from me. We actually had some nice weather today so we spent it transplanting roses. Eric and I also celebrated our 4 year anniversary recently so we of course didn't get anything done then. We are planning our next firing in late Feb so I've been making pots, which is what I should be doing right? I'm also working on some changes to my Ceramic Showcase booth and taking pictures for a clay interpretive display at the show. This is a picture of one of my casseroles with beer bread in it...yum!