Thursday, August 26, 2010

Creative Block


So my question for all of you out there is...How do you get out of a funk? When you are having a creative dry spell or feeling uninspired or unmotivated, what is it that gets you going again? Do you have tips? I can find all sorts of advice and techniques for writers block or for 2D artists, but I don't feel they apply to potters. I'd love to hear what you do.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

thoughts on handmade


At a recent OPA meeting we were all trading ideas and thoughts and Finance Committee member, Cynthia Clother, shared a thought by her son, Chris.


"I feel rich in life when I eat out of something homemade."


I can't think of a better way to state it. Everytime I open my cupboard and reach for a bowl, mug or teabowl, I cherish all of the handmade pottery that fills my cupboard and my life.


I hope you'll share your riches, too.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

A Rookie's Meanderings

There is so much to learn in the world of ceramics. Not just in the methods and techniques of creating ceramic work, but also in relationships, networking, collaboration, sales, business etiquette, and the list could go on forever. Being a relatively new and young ceramicist myself, I am learning so many new things every year, in all of the said realms. What I would like to focus here however, is the art of the craft fair.

Entering this world can bring about many new learning experiences, whether they are learned the hard way, or whether they are shared by kind individuals you come across along the way. There are so many things to learn about! What kind of canopy should one get? What color should the top be? How should the booth be set up? Where did they get those nice display shelves? Is there an easier way to transport all this work? How should I price my items? I could fill volumes with the questions I have asked myself about the world of art fairs, and the answers I have found.

I have learned many things by trial and error--for example, recycled plastic shopping bags may not be the most elegant way to present sold work to a customer (though of that I am still guilty, I must admit). This summer I learned something else though, something which inspired me to write this blog. I learned that there are so many nice people in the art fair world that are most willing to offer helpful advice and conversation. I have had many insights and learned many things about how to improve upon what I am doing--all from fellow artists generously sharing their experiences and information.

This also led me to the realization that many who attend these art fairs are not competitors or rivals of any sort; rather they are comrades, friends, and smiling faces who want you to do well, who want the world of art to continue thriving. Every art fair, gallery opening, and art function I attend I find myself learning something valuable. For that I would like to extend a big THANK YOU to all those friendly artists who make creating and selling artwork that much better.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Ai Weiwei - Dropping the Urn @ MoCC

If you're down in the Pearl - check out the latest exhibition. And if you still haven't seen the works on David Shaner, they are still on display. Two great exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Craft.


Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn

Ceramic Works, 5000 BCE – 2010 CE

July 15 – October 30, 2010

Curated by Richard Torchia and Gregg Moore

This exhibition of internationally acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei features his iconoclastic use of Neolithic vessels, blue-and-white Qing and Yuan dynasty replicas, and a work that consists of one ton of “sunflower seeds” crafted from porcelain. This artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States makes its West Coast debut at Museum of Contemporary Craft.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalog featuring four essays commissioned for the exhibition and appearing in both English and Chinese translation. Essays include contributions by Philip Tinari, Dario Gamboni, Stacey Pierson, and Glenn Adamson, as well as the first English translation of an interview with Ai originally published in his White Cover Book (1995). The exhibition catalog is produced in collaboration with Office for Discourse Engineering, a Beijing-based editorial studio, and will be distributed in the U.S. by RAM Publications.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Sara Swink @ Hanson Howard Gallery

OPA Member Sara Swink will be showing at the Hanson Howard Gallery in Ashland beginning with the Open Reception August 6, 2010 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. The show will run through August 31. If you are in the Ashland area, stop by the gallery.


Sara's figurative ceramic sculpture explores ideas about how the natural world intersects with one's psychological nature in a new body of work called "One's Own Nature".

Also being shown: Paintings by Kentree Speirs


Hanson Howard Gallery
82 North Main Street
Ashland, OR 97520-2782
(541) 488-2562