Summer creativity and community service

See you at the Empty Bowls Booth at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival

It's summer time and I'm done with teaching till August. It's time to change my direction for a few months. I plan to do many things this summer but on the top of my list are three things to do with creativity and community; increasing my clay studio time and darkroom time (yes - I mean as in film photography darkroom), donating to and working at the Empty Bowls Booth at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, which benefits the Oregon Food Bank; and lastly to take a digital sabbath (as it's referred to by a friend).

It's kind of funny to think of a digital sabbath as I am sitting here blogging, when my intention is to not use this very thing. I think that most of us get so involved in our relationship with the internet that we forget to take a break from it and have life without it for an evening, a day, or even a week. The internet helps in many ways, but for so many it also has become a time consumer. Time that used to be used in other ways, like taking a walk... alone, without the phone or emails, or time to just sit, and day dream, or in my case- work in the studio uninterrupted, is spent on the computer or other technologies. I had my first digital sabbath last week, four days of no technology. It was hard to come back.

As for community and the Empty Bowls, read on: Oregon Potters Association coordinates an annual fund-raiser at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival to benefit Oregon Food Bank. OPA collects hundreds of pottery donations of all types, sizes and shapes throughout the year.OPA members then sell the donated pottery—often at bargain prices—at the Empty Bowls booth, near the main gate, at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

I am looking forward to helping raise money for the Oregon Food Bank, greet the many people that come back year after year to buy our bowls and to have a great time with my fellow potters - all while listening to some of the best blues in the country. I'll be at the Empty Bowls Booth on Saturday eve! Hope to greet some of you!

This years event is July 1st – 4th at Portland’s Waterfront Park.

http://www.oregonpotters.org/emptybowls.htm

I have come to the studio and the darkroom issue. With the weather being just the way I like it, it's going to be hard to be disciplined to stay indoors. I have so many ideas and sketches from the past two months of not working in clay and about 10 rolls of film to develop. I start tomorrow - my summer job - wedging clay, forming armature, rolling slabs, and sketching. I look forward to the feel, the smell, and the sound of the work.

As for working in the darkroom, I think that will have to wait for one of our famous summer rainy days.

Fundraising Event Tonight to benefit Japan @ MoCC

It's Juneuary in Portland, again.

So we're heating it up with a party!Come celebrate your craftivism! Join us next Friday, June 10 for an Etsy Global Craft Party! We've teamed up with Quilts for Quake Survivors and Mercy Corps' Japan Relief Fund to help out some folks in need, while we craft up some fun.

During the day, visit the Museum of Contemporary Craft during regular business hours, 11 am - 6 pm. Stop by the "Lab" to lend your hand to the Quilts for Quake Survivors quilting bee, courtesy of Susan Beal (author of Modern Log Cabin Quilting), and Modern Domestic. We'll also have a host of craft activities scheduled throughout the day.Then at 6:00 pm, the museum doors close and we transform the space into our crafty party land. We've lined up a DJ, food, beer, wine and a bunch of give-aways to keep the party rolling. It's a sliding scale "ticket" ($5-$25) so give what you can. All proceeds go directly to Mercy Corps' Japan Relief Fund.

We hope to see you there!

Nice event coming up

A word from NCECA

Dear NCECA Members -

It's the night before our May Board meeting and I thought I'd share some thoughts with you as the team is about to go forward with budgeting, and programming for Seattle, etc. (These are my favorite meetings because we get to talk directly about ceramic art and work to craft the best program we can from the submissions we have received from our members.)

I haven't written you since before the Florida conference. Like all conferences there were strengths and struggles. What I heard about the exhibitions was generally very good although I also heard they were spread out too far. (Each city has its own unique challenges.) I heard good things about programming, but it was a bit of a walk between the hotels and the convention center. We will break down our survey results regarding the conference during the May meeting.

There was some talk of the attendance being down for the 2011 conference. This was certainly the case. Although I had thought that Florida would be a conference destination that would draw many attendees due to its East Coast location and sunny climes at the end of what has been for many a long, hard winter. These predictions did not pan out and our registration numbers were down significantly. While this made the feel of the conference a bit more intimate to my mind, a lot of people missed seeing many of their friends who have regularly attended the conference.

There are other ramifications of having low conference registration numbers, not the least of which is budgetary. This is your organization and I want to reassure you that we are healthy regarding our fiscal status. We estimated pretty wrong on our conference revenue numbers. Although the cost of participating in NCECA's conference is a great value compared with those produced by other similar organizations, the cost of travel, lodging and food make the decision to attend the conference a difficult one in challenging times. This Board is acutely aware that the earned revenues derived from this annual event represent our major income for the year. When our numbers are down the organization can suffer, but this year we also managed to control spending in a few areas and we have also done very well with our investments. The Board and staff's fiscal discipline combined with the good fortune of the market have effectively enabled us to end the year with a balanced the budget. We ultimately strive to respond to membership interests and provide the best programming possible as this would enable us to achieve our budgetary goals through high levels of conference attendance. The reason is that this guiding principal best meets our educational mission to have our clay people experiencing our clay programming.) [We'll project more conservatively for next year.]

Finally, I am happy to report that we will be budgeting in direct response to our new Strategic Plan. Often budgeting simply echoes how money has been spent in the past, and certainly our traditions and historic patterns will continue to influence our budget, but with a Strategic Plan in hand we can really choose to put our money where our values are.

Enjoying my work on NCECA's behalf,
Keith J. Williams

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

Meet an OPA Member: Frank Gosar

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

1. Was a children's musician with two albums out.

2. Hosts the KLCC Saturday Cafe radio show for the past 20 years.

3. Editorial cartoonist and rubber stamp designer.

Remember to Play!

I remember one of my first conversations with Nils Lou. I knew he had a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the ceramic world, and I wanted to elicit some invaluable advice. I was trying to explain to him what I wanted to do with my ceramic work. I wanted to do something fresh and new; I wanted to do things that hadn’t been done. This can be a difficult thing to achieve in an art form that has been around for so many thousands of years. At that point, I was unable to properly explain what I wanted to do with my work, and Nils thought that perhaps fame, or making a name for myself was what I wanted.

Time went on as I continued talking with Nils at whatever chance I had; and I caught wind of a new book that Nils had recently written entitled “The Art of Play”. I bought it as quick as I could, and within a few days had completed the book. As I read I fell more and more into the book, realizing that this was in fact (though perhaps an unintentional) the answer I was seeking to the question that I could not even properly formulate.

I’ll cut straight to the point. I had come to a place in ceramics where I could no longer ignore the line between work and play. I could make plenty of mugs, plates, or whatever, but it started to feel like work. I would think to myself, “I don’t want to make mugs right now”, and then that is exactly what I would do. I wanted to create my own work from a place within myself, and be concerned more with the act of creation than the end product.

“The Art of Play” speaks directly to this issue. Nils explains the importance of creative play, as well as how so many of us may have forgotten to do so. By focusing on the creative activity of play, we no longer become blocked by an end product we have already envisioned in our mind. We free ourselves from normal constraints we might carry into our creative lives. Nils is conveying a message that many of us may benefit from, myself certainly included.

This is of course, a meager attempt to summarize an inspirational concept Nils conveys. If you wish to get to the meat of “The Art of Play”, I suggest giving it a read. I also understand that as creative artists we cannot simply do away with making products that will be well accepted by the public, or by making series of mugs and so on. I suggest rather (and am still searching for), a balance between the two. A balance between creating a genuinely unique piece of art that is playful and functional. I suggest that we see the importance of taking some time to play while forgetting the rules and ideas of salesmanship, that we take a risk and start to make something that we have no idea of how it will turn out.

If it strikes your fancy, give it a try. It might be neat to see what happens, or even to share it with others.

Ceramic Showcase highlighted by Alaska Airlines

Ceramic Showcase has been highlighted in the current issue of Alaska Airlines in-flight magazine featuring the work of OPA Member Colleene Little. Talk about friendly skies!

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.

Ceramic Artists Respond to the Crisis in Japan

I recently received this post from NCECA and thought that I'd share what the ceramic community is doing in response to the needs of the people in Japan.

The astoundingly destructive events that occurred along the Northwest coast and inland communities in Japan to which we awoke on the morning of March 11, 2011 fill us with grief. The images coming to us via television and internet are so vivid, devastating and heart-wrenching. Our hearts go out to the survivors even as they stoically deal with days on end of uncertainty and confusion. Many of us involved in NCECA and the broader realm of ceramic art hold a special affinity for Japanese culture. Of even greater and more intimate impact, many of us also have dear friends and/or family there. The scale of this event has and will continue to affect thousands of people, and survivors in Japan are likely to need our assistance in the months and perhaps years ahead.

NCECA has received a number of e-mails following the terrible events that have transpired as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. NCECA includes great numbers of engaged and responsive individuals that do remarkable work in their communities every day. It is not so surprising then to observe the speed, tenacity and creativity that have emerged in the hours and days following the disaster.

In response to inquiries and calls to action received from our membership NCECA reached out to CERF+ to see if they could provide any guidance on charitable action and giving. One resource which they hoped to share with NCECA's membership is the Network for Good's list of first responders. CERF+ has also put feelers out to the arts community in Japan about artists and cultural workers who could use our support further down the line and NCECA plans to keep membership informed about what they uncover.Through personal e-mails from friends in Japan and following the mainstream media and blogs, a great deal of confusion persists on how those of us far from the loss and damage can best provide assistance to the people most affected. At this time, many of the agencies and NGOs collecting donations are not yet authorized by the Japanese government to provide aid where it is needed. For this reason and at this moment, although some members have suggested they would like to see NCECA launch a new initiative at the upcoming conference, it has been determined that it would be too late to do it well and too soon to provide adequate clarity about how the money would be put to appropriate use.

NCECA does want to call its membership's attention to Handmade for Japan which is a project launched last week by Ayumi Horie. She, Ai Kanazawa Cheung, and Kathryn Pombriant Manzella have mobilized to solicit, promote, and auction handmade pieces of art generously donated by talented artists throughout North America and Japan to raise money through an online auction on March 24-27 for relief efforts to assist the victims of Japan's catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emissions. Previews of the auction items will are available in English and Japanese through Facebook pages and Twitter updates. All inquiries in either language should be sent to handmadeforjapan@gmail.comThe initiative received some wonderful coverage last week through a New York Times blog. Handmade for Japan states that 100% of all net proceeds collected via the auction will be donated to Global Giving's Earth and Tsunami Relief Fund. The auction will begin on eBay on Thursday, March 24th and end on Sunday, March 27th. Auction items will be listed under the "Handmade for Japan" seller ID, and NCECA encourages its members and followers to view and bid generously.NCECA will continue to update its organizational Facebook page with a links to ceramic-centric events like Handmade for Japan that have the goal of providing resources for Japanese disaster relief.

Additionally events developed by NCECA members can also be posted on the NCECA website so long as sales are geared towards charitable relief.

Additionally, following the event in Tampa, NCECA will donate a percentage of proceeds from the conference onsite merchandise sales to a relief effort.This crisis is not one that will soon be resolved. The people of Japan, including those working in ceramic arts and education are likely to be in need of kindness and support for the foreseeable future. Given the nature and scale of the concerns, NCECA's board will consider additional efforts following the conference in Tampa, possibly for the 2012 conference in Seattle. Thank you to all whom following this event, shared ideas and information about how NCECA can respond in the midst of this critical time.