Meet an OPA Member: Jen Tonneson

Three things about Jen that have nothing to do with clay.

1. I have two wonderful boys, 22 and 18, who are at the center of my universe.

2.They share that space with my husband, Stan, and my 16 year old Airedale,
Jake (my best friend and constant companion)

3.I love pancakes!

MoCC - New Exhibition - David Shaner

NEW EXHIBITION - Land Art: David Shaner

March 10 - August 7

Museum of Contemporary Craft

724 NW Davis St.

Free for Museum members; $3 general public

What is the relationship between craft and the Land Art Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s? While Robert Smithson's monumental Spiral Jetty (1970) is an example of a heroic and gestural conceptual work in a remote location, David Shaner's work from the early 1960s through the 1990s reveals a concurrent, domestically scaled yet quietly sensual relationship between art and the landscape of the American West.

Through works drawn from the artist's estate and the Museum's collection, along with photographs and personal notes taken by the artist, the exhibition reveals how broader cultural interests in conceptual art and the land, ecology and materiality are explored through an artist known as a "potter's potter."

deadline upcoming for Sandy Mountain Festival

Just a reminder that the deadline to apply to the Sandy Mountain Festival is this Sunday, 2/28. The Festival is scheduled for July 10 - 11, 2010. The 38th Annual Festival will be held in Meinig Memorial Park. For more details visit their website - http://www.sandymountainfestival.org or call the Festival at 503.668.5900.

MoCC-Circle of Guilds event

The OPA is a member of the Circle of Guilds and this is shaping up to be a great event. If you are free on Friday evening, put this event on your calendar.

I Heart Art: Portland
Connecting Portland’s Vibrant Community of Makers
Hosted by Etsy.com, Portland Etsy Team, Pacific Northwest College of Art and Museum of Contemporary Craft

Friday, February 26, 6:30 pm
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Main Campus Building, Swigert Commons
1241 NW Johnson Street
Free and open to the public

Etsy, PNCA and the Portland Etsy Team host an “I Heart Art" meet and greet at PNCA on Friday, February 26. This public event brings together the PNCA student body, the Portland Etsy Team, members of the Guild Council Program from the Museum of Contemporary Craft, and the thriving local arts and crafts community of Portland.

The event is a great opportunity for Portland-based makers to network and learn more about this burgeoning partnership and future opportunities for professional development. Featuring light food and drink, music, button making, Gocco printing and more.

Getting Around Portland, OR

If you have spent any time in Portland these days you already know that construction is going on all over the place. Lots of new routes and they change daily. There is help though. Before you plan your trip take a look at these sites and get the up to date information to make the trek easier.

http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/constupdates.php
http://www.portlandonline.com/keepportlandmoving/

Happy travels.

Today and Birthdays

It's Sunday evening and I haven't spent as much time in the studio today as I had planned. The calls of the sun, the dirt, the garden, all kept me outside. As the evening came on all I wanted to do was read. I started thinking about sculpture - abstract, expressionist, realistic, all kinds.
Here's a Happy belated birthday to sculptor - Barbara Hepwood. b. Jan 1903, d. 1975. Who said, "The sculptor must search with passionate intensity for the underlying principle of the organisation of mass and tension - the meaning of gesture and the surface of rhythm."

For February let us say Happy Birthday to Constantin Brancusi, b Feb. 1876, d. 1957, who found his inspiration from many artists both in 2D and 3D. One of his favorites, is also one of mine, August Rodin...... which makes me think of driving out to the Maryhill Museum next weekend.
In thinking about how wonderful this weekend has been I close with words from Rodin, "Nature is always beautiful. We need only to understand what she shows us".

Links out of the kiln

The links have finally gone through their first firing. Whew! Many were loaded in the kiln as blank canvases that will now get glazed, some had underglaze that will be left but the most important thing is that they all survived. I can't wait to get some potters and children over to help with the next phase so they can be ready to go on display at Ceramic Showcase at the end of April! More updates to follow...

Meet an OPA Member: Deb Moen

Three things about Deb that have nothing to do with clay.

1. Was an avid bowler plus I taught. Carried a 190 average, life high game - 289, life high 3 game series - 680. Secretary/Treasurer about 25 years and some years included 4 leagues a week.

2. Played the Licorice Stick (Clarinet) in school from 5th-10th grade until I found bigger and better subjects of interest.

3. As long as I can remember, I have always collected wheat pennies. They don't seem to be circulating much any more. Own a couple Indian Heads and one dates back to mid 1800's.

It's all about the process

OPA Member, Ginger Steele writes: I've started a process blog so that potters who have taken my workshops, and other interested clay junkies can have a second look at how I make my stuff. Dimensions and tool information are incuded. I am pretty exacting in my work, so there are many details for those who wish to incorporated some of these techniques into their own process. If you'd like to take a look at the blog, it is at http://www.gingersteele.blogspot.com/. Feedback is greatly appreciated!

DIY @ MOCC

COMMUNITY SHOWCASE Etsy: Do It Yourself Now through March 6 - The Lab at Museum of Contemporary Craft Free with Museum admission View locally-made work that represents how the Portland DIY community is tapping into Etsy.com's innovative way of connecting people to the handmade, as well as empowering their customers to become makers themselves.