Local Art Shows

Many OPA members hit the Art Show circuit in the Summer and this year is no exception.

This weekend you will find quite a few of our members showing and selling their work at the Lake Oswego Fine Art & Craft Faire.  The Faire opens Friday, June 22nd and will run through Sunday.

OPA members participating are:

Debra Nelson

• Laura Cooke
• Gil Harrison
• Linda Heisserman
• Carol Lebreton
• Kristy Lombard
• Debra Nelson
• Steve Provence
• Rabun Thompson

This is a great show with great art, live music, food & drink.

I've heard that there is a chance of rain this weekend but don't let that stop you!  We'll start our rain dance now to keep the drops away.

Good luck to all of our fellow members - we hope you have a great show!

Nine Days and Counting

The Year is 2009 and Victoria Shaw is the President of the OPA and Beverly Curtis and Brenda Scott are the Chairs for Ceramic Showcase.

In 2009 the International adventure continued with OPA members traveling and exhibiting in Hokkaido, Japan.  Many members took side trips throughout Japan.  One side trip found Jim Johnstone and his wife in a tiny village that literally was closed but thanks to the kindness of strangers, found a room for the evening and a small pottery where Jim was surrounded by the works of Shoji Hamada.  Jim recounted this story at an OPA General meeting, and to hear the tone in his voice and the sparkle in his eye, you knew that he had experienced a life changing moment.  And when he unwrapped his little treasure, his delight was as evident then as it must have been in that tiny village pottery.

And the Best of Show 2009 was Penelope Dews.  I asked Penelope about the evolution of her work and this is what she wrote:

Best of Show 2009
Penelope Dews

"The idea for this piece evolved over a number of years.  I would make changes to the bird and the energy of the piece, but, the feeling I was searching for kept eluding me.  What ultimately made this idea come alive were two things, we adopted a cockatiel and having a live bird in the home changed my way of looking at birds, and I had seen an image on a calendar of a small bird singing its heart out.


The piece was made using a modified coil method.  Short fat coils, flattened into short slabs about 2 - 3 inches tall, and attached to a slab base.  The bird was added last and is hollow, using clay "flying buttresses" to hold it up until it was stiff enough to stand alone.  Then the supports were cut away.  The piece was anagama wood fired on a top shelf about a third of the way back in the kiln.  Placed with its back to the firebox, so not too much ash would fall on the birds face, and potentially obstruct it's features. The added bonus was the shape the flame made up the back of the piece during the firing."


The 30th Ceramic Showcase opens on May 4, 2012 at 10am and runs through Sunday, May 6.  This year's Ceramic Showcase will celebrate our 30th Anniversary with a weekend full of art, music and camaraderie.  We hope you will join us as we welcome back many of the artists that participated in the 1st Ceramic Showcase.  Live music will happen Friday and Saturday evenings featuring Lynch Mob, Mo Mac and Mood Area 52.  There will also be live music throughout the weekend performed acoustically by local area high school students and musicians.  Our Demonstration Stage will be busy all weekend, Adult and Children's Clay areas if you feel the urge to get your hands dirty, local beer,wine and spirits featured at our no-host bar and last but certainly not least the ceramic work of more than 200 local ceramic  artists.  Find that beautiful cup to enjoy morning coffee, a bowl to grace your table, sculpture to enhance your home and come meet and talk to the artists that have created this amazing work.

We hope to see you in just 9 short days.

(Can you hear the kilns of the Northwest just fire up?)

West Coast Teapots 2012

Want to see what some OPA members have been up to this winter?  Take some time in March to visit the Columbia Art Gallery in Hood River, Oregon.  James Diem, OPA member and board member for the Columbia Center for the Arts, has curated a showcase of teapots and teabowls, to be held March 2 - April 1.  West Coast Teapots 2012 features over 20 potters, 40 teapots, and 160 teabowls from some of the most renowned ceramists in the country, including many members of the OPA.

Check out a preview of the show here .  

The gallery will host an opening reception, Friday March 2, 6-8 p.m. with beer and wine available.  In addition to the art, the Columbia Art Gallery will be serving tea from Steven Smith Teamaker during the month of March. Steve Smith is the co-founder of both Stash and Tazo Tea and is now producing high quality hand-crafted teas under his own label.

18 Weeks and Counting

This week we are featuring Best in Show award winners from two years.  Earlier in the week we covered 1987 and we now move onto 1988.

Best in Show 1988 was awarded to Dave and Boni Deal.  Dave and Boni are an inspiration who have been collaborating not only in their art but in life.  Here's a bit more about Dave and Boni:

Best in Show 1988
Dave & Boni Deal

"What an honor, having our raku "Cord-wrap" pot voted "Best in Show" by fellow potters at Showcase '88!  Back then, pottery had been our family's livelihood for over a decade, and we were totally into raku, with Dave focusing on LARGE.  This "Cord-wrap" piece is 27 inches wide.

Most of our artwork was then, as now, natured-themed.  This was a natural outcome from meeting in a mountaineering club, and discovering a shared passion for the outdoors and for art.  We eventually settled at our rustic mountainside home where kids were raised amongst pots.  We strive to reflect the glory of our surroundings, God's creations, in our work.

The Deal kids

We are also motivated and inspired by those who purchase our work, our patrons, the angels who support us and keep us going.  We've been blessed by those who have acquired our work over our 30 years of exhibiting at Ceramic Showcase, many who come back and tell us how much they enjoy their pieces.  Thank you!

The work is still evolving, sometimes literally going 'round a circle past the beginning and 'round again, like recent "Batik Raku" pieces that hark back to Boni's fabric batiks of the 1970's.  Dave continually explores clay forms, Boni pursues the imagery, both work on the glazes, and Dave carefully choreographs the final raku firings.

More info about Dave and Boni and dramatic photos of their firings can be found on their website, Dave and Boni Deal.

The Stories Within - Sara Swink featured article

Sara Swink
Legacy, 2010
photo by Harold Oxley

I was in Powell's the other evening and was thumbing through the pages of the December/January issue of American Craft magazine and stumbled upon a great article on Sara Swink, written by Carolyn Hazel Drake, both are fellow OPA members and I have to tell you I was tickled pink to see Sara's work and read Carolyn's words.  What a beautiful collaboration.  To read the article, follow the link.

A Major Success for Clay in Education

Congratulations to everyone for another successful OPA Showcase!

We are thrilled to share with you that the Installation Gallery raised approximately $3,200 for Clay In Education due to YOUR generosity of ware and commitment to this project. We had less than 20 pieces remaining (which we donated to Empty Bowls) on Sunday from a total of 300 artist contributions. It was simply wonderful for us to have you checking in on our progress throughout the weekend and for donating more ware as we ran out.

Being the first display inside the main doors gave us an exquisite opportunity to act as “the welcome wagon” for all artists, wax poetic about your work, and direct customers to your booths. Often we looked up your work schedule to direct customers wishing to immediately find you, where to go. And most importantly, we spoke about Education in our communities and imparted OPA’s commitment to keeping the arts alive and well for future generations.

We feel tremendously blessed to have had our helpers Ana Quinn, Jason, Kirstin McNamera, Lon Jones, and Kevin Khari who were always in the spirit of fun - from set-up to greetings customers to tear-down. What an energetic, royal team to work with!

In our creative meetings we refer to ourselves as the “Three Of Cups” because we are always on the same page to the clarity point that we can easily complete each others sentences. Now that’s a committee! We truly hope other committees enjoy this kind of repartee and shared vision – it makes the tasks at hand so joyous and productive. And for us, lifetime friendships have resulted – the best blessing of all.

The Three Of Cups wish to thank you so kindly for partnering with us to take Clay In Education to new heights. They say “It Takes A Village” to nurture a vision. We say “It Takes OPA” !

Jen Tonneson – Chayo Wilson – Renee Shearer

In the Press

This month's Ceramics Monthly has a blurb about Ceramic Showcase 2011 and features the work of OPA member Scot Cameron-Bell.

If you are in Portland or will be traveling to the Portland area the weekend of April 29 - May 1 make sure you stop by the Oregon Convention Center and checkout Ceramic Showcase which is part of the Gathering of the Guilds.

Craft Perspectives Lecture - Tonight @ MoCC

Elissa Auther -
Fiber Over Time: From the Sixties to Now

March 17, 6:30 pm
The Lab at Museum of Contemporary Craft
724 NW Davis St.

Free and open to the public. Doors close at 7 pm in consideration of the speaker.

Museum of Contemporary Craft and the MFA in Applied Craft and Design host Elissa Auther for a public lecture titled "Fiber Over Time: From the Sixties to Now" providing insight into Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which opens the same day.Drawing on her recently published String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art, Elissa Auther will discuss how Laurie Herrick's weavings fit in historically with the decades in which they were made. Auther is the founder of Feminism & Co.: Art, Sex, Politics, a program at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, that explores feminist social, political and artistic issues through creative forms of pedagogy. She is Associate Professor of Contemporary Art, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.Learn more about Elissa Auther and Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

OPA General Meeting this Friday

Don't forget the General meeting this Friday, 3/11 at the Multnomah Arts Center. Potluck dinner will start at 6pm and the meeting will begin at 6:30pm. Bring a dish to share and don't forget to bring your own plate, bowl & cup - help us cut down on waste!



It is time to pick your booth for Ceramic Showcase, meet up with fellow potters and have a great time. It is always one of the most attended meetings of the year, so come on out.



Bill Sanchez, the Empty Bowls chair, is organizing an OPA group photo and would like everyone to bring a piece to hold up and then if you'd like, donate to Empty Bowls. Bill, Renee and Jeanne will be accepting donations. Donations are also being accepted for the "Queen of Cups" installation that will benefit our Clay in Education fund.

Ceramic Showcase takes place at the Oregon Convention Center April 29th, 30th and May 1st, 2011.

100 Plates at Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem

Mary Lou Zeek Gallery

Click on the link above to check out the submissions by OPA members - so many great plates for such a great cause!

the grand finale - the pots emerge

It was an amazing two weeks at Georgie's - 300+ pots made for the OPA's Empty Bowls event in July at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

This collaborative project would not have gotten off the ground if it weren't for OPA Member Renee Shearer's passion and devotion to Empty Bowls. And a single bowl would not have been thrown if it weren't for Georgie's Ceramic Supply. Georgie's provided the work space, the clay, the glazes and the firings to get this project complete.

Thank you so much Renee and Georgie's - from all of your fellow OPA members

And now what you've all been waiting for - the bowls!!!!

More images to follow. Bill Sanchez recorded several videos as well as additional photos and I'll get those posted shortly.

I am looking forward to unpacking all of these bowls at the Blues Festival and I think several will make an appearance at Ceramic Showcase 2011.

Stay tuned

The glaze continues to run on Empty Bowls

Natalie Warrens joined the crew to lend a hand in the glazing.

as did Michelle Gallagher

the Day 7 crew busily glazing the last of the 300+ pots that were made for Empty Bowls.

Lon checks out Natalie's technique -

Good thing Denise isn't thirsty - Latte was one of everyone's favorite glazes by Georgie's

with this team - you know the pots are going to be gorgeous! Have you ever seen such a stylish bunch of potters?

Empty Bowls volunteers

Mami Yamada shows how to glaze with flair!


Lyn Schultz volunteered two days and helped out with all of the glazing.


Kris Paul has been playing in the dirt and the glaze and Mami approves!


Mitch and Janet team glaze.


and they have fun doing it too!


Deb Shapiro was Team Leader for the day and shows first time glazer Diane a few tricks.


a fearless leader she was

and at the end of the day, we were all still for of smiles. A great day spent with Lon, Deb, Meaghann, Mami, Pam, Kris & Renee!

Dawn, Lon and Meaghann get to glazing.

Christine Hurayt showed off some beautiful brushwork!

OPA Members will be hard at work on Wednesday and Thursday, so if you've got a few hours to spend, come on down to Georgies and lend a hand. Glazing and loading the kilns will continue until the last bowl is done!

the bowls, they just keep comin'!

We are onto week 2 at Georgies. Over the weekend all of the bowls were loaded into 7 kilns and fired and Monday began the unloading process and the beginning of glazing. Needless to say, Georgies has been amazing!

When we need a little break, there is always someone ready with a joke, story or in Bill's case, a few tangerines and an impromptu lesson on juggling.

Our OPA President, Margaret Synan-Russell and Showcase Chair, Brenda Scott adding their inspiration to the collaborative pieces.

Denise Krueger embellishing bowls made by OPA members.

The rag-tag crew at the end of the day. Worn out but still smiling!

It was a great week - more posts to follow.

Today News Channel KGW came for a visit as well as the newspaper. I can't wait to hear how that went.

another great Empty Bowls day

Day 2 & Day 3 and the bowls are stacking up. Pat Brame went big and then shared a few great tips with all of us and in the spirit of collaboration, the tips and ideas flowed all day. We all loved playing with Renee's handmade chatter tool and we all starting embellishing two beautiful pieces that Alan threw the other day. I think that at the end of today there were 300+ pieces in various stages of completion and thanks to the crew at Georgie's they will be fired and waiting for everyone on Monday to start glazing!

Each piece is being signed with a phrase, a word, a thought of kindness and compassion. Come help us pass along this beautiful message.

If you've got a few hours, your help would be greatly appreciated. Don't forget, this is all about giving back to our beautiful community of Portland, to each other and to the OPA. Renee and the gang will be there tomorrow from 9am - 4pm and then back again starting on Monday. It is only a few hours - come be part of this great project.

And again, none of this would have been possible without the generous support of Georgie's. In the true spirit of the season, they have been inspirational and so giving. Let's pass that on.

Volunteers

Just a few shots of our stylish volunteers during our workshift at the Oregon Food Bank.

Twenty-two members, family & friends gathered to help bag beans for an evening of fun.

Thanks to all that showed up! and thank you Renee for sharing your pictures.

10,000+ pounds! Way to go team.

Ken Pincus & Friends Celebrate 70th Anniversary of Saga Goryu Hokubei Shisho

Dentou

"Tradtions"

If you are out and about this weekend, stop by the Buddhist Daihonzan Henjyoji Temple in SE Portland for a beautiful exhibition and demonstration of ikebana with Ken Pincus, Motoko Hori and Anne Iverson. There will also be an ikebana demonstration by Kakihana Sensei representing Daikakuji Headquarters on Saturday, 11/6/2010 at 1pm.

Exhibition Details:

Saturday & Sunday, 11/6 & 11/7/2010

Noon - 4pm

2634 SE 21st Ave

Portland

Suggested donation $5.00

Portland Open Studios

Have you ever been curious about what other artists studios look like? How they have set-up their spaces and what little tricks they've come up with to make working more efficient or easier? Well, this is the first of two weekends here in Portland where artists open up their studios to the public and there are many OPA members involved this year. Tour the studios of Babette Harvey, Jeanne Henry, Amy Maule, Sara Swink, Pam Grow, Careen Stoll and Kris Paul along with artists representing all mediums. Purchase a tour guide by following this link to the Portland Open Studios website for a list of retailers.

Portland Open Studios Dates:

October 9 & 10, 2010 - 10am - 5pm

October 16 & 17, 2010 - 10am - 5pm

Hope to see you on the tour!

Linkin' Up with the OPA

If you are in Portland tomorrow, Monday, Labor Day, stop by the OPA tent at Art in the Pearl. We'll be across from the Museum of Contemporary Craft for the day introducing kids to clay.

Tomorrow marks the third year in a row for the Links project and with 600+ links and counting, it will be an amazing day. Twelve OPA members will be volunteering throughout the day to introduce the kids to what they do in their studios each and every day. I have been so fortunate to have working alongside me for each of the past three years, Dawn Panttaja. On his second year in the booth, Mark Chapman. And joining us for the first time, OPA President, Margaret Synan-Russell, Showcase Chair Brenda Scott and fellow OPA Board Members, Denise Krueger and Tamara Bryan as well as fellow members, Melissa Ray, Chayo Wilson, Barbara Hertel and Rosemary Tobiga.

It is going to be a great day in the Park Blocks and I hope you stop by and say hi.