I am proud to be an exhibiting artist in the Clackamas County Art Alliance Public Art Exhibit.  My work and the work of a wood turner are being displayed in the Development Services Building 3D showcase.

I'm very excited to be part of this program this year and I hope people will take a moment from their busy schedules to take a look and learn more about local artists.

BRAND FIRE Show at MHCC Visual Arts Gallery

From now till September 2nd my one woman show is up at the Mt. Hood Community College Visual Arts Gallery. The Reception night is August 4th from 5:30pm-9pm.

I'm really excited to be showing this body of work and hope you have a chance to check it out. There is so much to see by looking closely at the surfaces. The postcard is a nod to that idea of moving in and looking at all the atmospheric firing creates of the surface of my work. There are ash drips, crystal formations, ash peppering, blushing and traces of the flames.

Mt. Hood Community College Gresham Campus is located at:

26000 SE Stark St
Gresham, Oregon 97030
(503)491-6422

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.

Well, here we are deep into January 2011 and I haven't posted a darn thing. It's firing season for the woodfire potter so being on the computer is not where I want or can afford to be. I have at least 4 firings to be getting ready for between now and April and that doesn't just mean making pots, but thinking about the different firings and what clays do better in what kiln and what forms will get the best effect from each kiln. So I'm revisiting my pieces and seeing what worked in the past and what I can improve on. Lots to think about.

The first firing coming up is in the newly rebuilt catenary arch at MHCC. I'm putting in test tiles with various shino glazes to see what looks good. My Chicken Pot Pie kiln at home gives similar results and I will be firing it a few weeks later so this should give me a good idea of how to proceed. I better get back to the studio. So much to do, so little time. Joy to all!