Just when you thought every artistic medium had been explored, images like these
come along. Artist Baptiste Debombourg created this portrait with staples. I’ve always
loved how a “few” of something can be cool, but a “LOT” of something is amazing!!!
Less is more?… not in MY book.

And what if the staples weren’t used as they were intended?!
Have you ever noticed how sculptural a line of staples looks? Peter Root has.
Here’s his creation called “low-rise.” Built on a glass table-top, it’s especially amazing
when photographed from the side with a great depth-of-field exposure!

Well, here it is, finally… ceramic artist Kristen Kieffer has created her very first
instructional DVD showcasing her incredible surface decoration techniques.
I’ve been a fan of her intricate work for a long time, and just purchased my DVD
this morning. I can’t wait to get it…

To purchase your own copy, go to FilmBaby.com and search for Kristen Kieffer.
Or just click here!

I was very excited to get an e-mail the other day from Kristen Kieffer.
Not only did she announce that she will soon be publishing her first instructional DVD…
which I will need to add to my collection as soon as it’s published. But it also
said that she’ll be coming to the Chicago area for a two-day workshop in September!

It’s already on my calendar. I can’t wait to see her working and showing off her technique.
She’s the queen of elegant stamping, beautiful slip trailing and other surface decorations!
Still a summer away, but something great to look forward to – September 22-23, 2010.

As I was writing the past couple posts, I was reminiscing about some of the potters
I’ve met over the years. In particular, the workshops I’ve attended that were taught
by “famous” potters. Being kind of new to the clay scene, I was impressed that the people
teaching were also the one’s showing their work in the gallery at Lillstreet Art Center.
Let alone, the potters you see in the pages of Ceramics Monthly. Clay rock stars!

Each workshop takes on a different tone – based on each artist and their perspective.
The very first one I went to was also left the biggest impression – Julia Galloway.
I had seen many of her pieces in the gallery, very detailed, elaborate and intricate.
Beautiful formed porcelain, altered, attached, carved, inscribed, drawn, glazed, etc.
I thought it a bit little too-”foofy” for my personal taste, but amazing & inspiring nonetheless.
So I signed up for the workshop… a little apprehensive because I thought it would
all be WAY over my head. I was still just a beginner.

But as soon as she introduced herself and started her shpiel… I was mesmerized!!!
I’m always intrigued & inspired by people who are truly eloquent, passionate about life
and can express their personality through the words the choose. Julia is one of those!
The workshop was incredible – a little beyond my skill level, but I could have just sat there
and listened to her talk. I had my first pottery crush.

So a few years later, when I found out that she would be coming back to Lillstreet for
another workshop, I was right there, the first one volunteering to be her workshop assistant.
So not only did I get to hang out with her, listen to her musings, assist during her workshop,
but I also got to help her set-up her gallery exhibit – and go out to dinner! But I digress…

The coolest part of her gallery exhibit was her new “installation” of tumblers.
A not-so-simple grid of 112 tumblers. Each placed on the right shelf. Each in its place.
Here’s the cool part… when they were all in place, and you stepped back to look…
it created one large glazed image on all of the tumblers. And oh, but wait there’s more…
if you turned all of the tumblers around 180-degrees, the same image would appear
but this time in a simple line drawing, not colorfully glazed! Crazy, I know…

As I have been cleaning, organizing & labeling my collection… I’ve been reminiscing
about the potters I’ve met. Some of the “Clay Rock Stars”… Julia Galloway being the first.
One of the favorites. And I got a couple of her beautiful tumblers as a souvenir…

So, like I mentioned in the last post, my Mom & I labeled my pottery collection.
Yep, we placed the name of each artist on the bottom to identify them.
Surprisingly, not every artist signs their work with an “identifiable” marking?!
I knew most, remembered a few, had to do some online searching for others…
but still can’t identify this one?! Any ideas of who this artist is?

Seems pretty easy… seems like the signature is pretty easy to read…
but I can’t find any confirmation anywhere. A friend of mine bought it for me.
Good use of sgraffito for the carved design. Nice grid… nice textures… kinda like my tiles!

As many of you know, I have been collecting mugs for several years now.
All handmade, one-of-a-kind ceramic masterpieces!!! Never been used…
Yes, sad, I know… but it makes for a fun collection. And for the word “mug”…
I use a loose interpretation that includes, cups & saucers, teabowls, tumblers, etc.
I’m not a mug snob… any one can play!

During my recent bathroom remodeling project, my mom and I took some time
to clean & organize the kitchen… which includes the mug collection shelves.
So we went through, dusted the shelves, washed the mugs… and labeled them all too!

Mugs made by my “talented friends.” Mugs by former teachers & studio mates.
Mugs from workshops I’ve attended. Some I’ve just purchased because I loved ‘em!

From top to bottom, left to right…
Amy Higgason, Julia Galloway (2), Jeff Oestreich, Kathleen Guss & Stephen Robison,
Steve Lee, Kristen Kieffer, Christa Asaad (2), Suze Lindsay, Allison McGowan, Matt Metz,
Allegheny Meadows (2), Autumn Cipala, Julie Johnson, Shannon Blakey, Ellen Shankin,
Michael Corney, Margaret Bohls, Aaron Nelson, Simon Levin, Matt Metz, Jeff Oestreich,
Ellen Shankin, Katie Biderbost, Xiaosheng Bi, Steven Hill, Sam Clarkson, Cynthia Siegel,
Steve Lee, Cheryl & Ron Husby, Ernest Miller and Malcolm Davis.

Now don’t get me wrong… this is by no means the entire collection!
For those of you who have been to my place, you know that there are lots of “things”
everywhere to see. Things here… things there… a collection here… a collection there..
I have hopes of some day soon installing a new shelving system in my living room
that would hold around a hundred mugs. Until then, some mugs have been “displaced”
and forced to “live” somewhere else… over doorframes, fireplace mantle shelves, etc.
And still… there’s always room for more!!!

Tonight I had dinner with “long-lost-potter” Emily Murphy!
Over the past year, she purchased a home in Minneapolis, made tons of renovations,
packed up “her Chicago life,” cleaned out her studio at Lillstreet, moved north…
and seemingly disappeared from the pottery world?!

No new pots… no new blog posts… gone missing…

Well… it’s good to know that she’s back in action… almost.
She’s all moved into her renovated home – and is now focusing on building her
studio space. Based on a lot of dreams & lessons learned from previous studio spaces!
If you’re interested, there’s a lot of great information & pictures of her progress
& decisions on her blog – which she has finally updated and gotten back in action!!!
Check out her progress at www.PotteryBlog.com.

So soon enough, she’ll be back in production and I can’t wait to see her new work.
She said that she’s still without a kiln, hoping to build a new soda kiln at some point.
But there’s a good chance she’ll be doing new work in her electric kiln in the meantime.

It was great to see Emily again… after far too long of an absence!
Both here in Chicago… as well as on her blog!

So as I was running out to grab some dinner tonight, I ran into my friend
& fellow studio mate Katie Biderbost. She mentioned that she reads my blog frequently -
and was surprised that I update it so frequently. I told her that there’s nothing that bugs
me more than a blog that hasn’t been updated for months… or years!!! And then I realized…
I’ve never featured Katie as one of My Talented Friends… so here goes…

I’ve known Katie for many years… practically my entire pottery career!!!
Katie has been involved at Lillstreet Art Center for many years, both as a teacher
and studio member. She has come & gone, but her focus has always remained strong.
Her grad-school-hiatus took her down to Indiana… but she luckily returned to Lillstreet.
Katie now works in Lake Forest, Illinois running a clay program up there. Yet she returns
to Lillstreet for some quiet studio time away from her workplace!

Katie’s work has evolved over the years, and she has several mugs in my “mug collection.”
During the Lillstreet Holiday Opening, I treated myself to a set of Katie’s plates…
I’ve been coveting them for awhile and finally decided that they had to be mine.
Her current body of work is painstakingly decorated with slip to create an intricate
“woven” pattern that almost looks as though it were knit. The glaze is a beautiful teal
blue that is accentuated in the soda kiln to create and incredible depth & range of color.

Not only did I get the plates… I also got another mug for “the collection”!!!
Merry Christmas to me!!!

Another wonderful show… always fun since I’m not an exhibitor!!!
It takes the pressure off… no pottery to shlep… no shelves to set up…
Instead I get to hang out and help my friend & metalsmith Sarah Chapman in her booth.
I get to chat with her customers. Sell people on her wonderful work. And enjoy the
excitement on people’s faces when they decide to buy their first piece of Chapman-wear!

The One-Of-A-Kind Show is a big deal… four days, long hours, hundreds of booths!
And luckily, thousands of shoppers! The show is held annually here in Chicago at the
Merchandise Mart. It fill the entire 8th floor with artists from all over the country.
Sarah Chapman being the best metalsmith there… at least she gets my vote!

So not only did I get to help out my friend Sarah, but I also got a chance to see some
other artist friends – and make a few new ones!

Rebecca Zemans – Another great metalsmith with a lot of great silver & stones!
She’s another Lillstreet studio artist – and she’s adorable. Always fun, always busy.
Every time I tried to stop by and chat… she was busy talking with customers!
Good for her, bad for me…  at least we’ll get to play back at the studios!

Melissa Banks – Rapt In Maille – Melissa is a rock star in the chain maille world.
I have quite a collection of her stainless steel work. She makes incredible designs
by weaving together assorted sizes & styles of simple, round jump rings.

Pflipsen Olivova Studios – We met this great couple last year… and purchased a few
of their incredible Christmas ornaments. I was excited to see that Steve & Katia
of River Falls, Wisconsin were back again. I had to add to my collection. He blows
the glass and she does the metal work. Together, they make wonderful work. And since
their ornaments are too nice to pack away after Christmas, my ever-expanding collection
has now taken up residence on the chandelier in my dining room! And a special thanks
to Sarah… for helping to “feed” my ornament addiction!!!

Kevin Lahvic – Kevin’s paintings are guaranteed to make you smile. He has a wonderful
sense of color blended with a fantastic sense of whimsy. And I LOVE whimsy!!!
Over the past two years, I have collected a few of his small “portraits” which make me
smile every morning as they’re staring back at me from the wall right next to my closet.

Marzena Gabrel – I didn’t meet Marzena “officially” until the end of the show. But once
I stopped in her booth to admire her fiber work, we quickly recognized each other from
“somewhere” on the art fair circuit. We couldn’t figure out where… but I could easily
figure out that she’s a wonderful person who makes beautiful layered & textured
fiber pieces. Great depth & color in her felted pieces.

Scot Schmidt – Scot makes sculptures in limestone resin… similar to tiles, but each one
is handcarved. My parents have seen his work at a number of art fairs, and this time finally
decided to purchase some of his work. They’ve been trying to fill a large wall space in their
living room – and Scot’s work will soon fill the bill. After my parents made their purchase on
Saturday, Scot and I had a chance to talk about them and their “shopping style” on Sunday.

So… guess what showed up in my mail today?!
My wonderful “bowleragate” pendants from “My Talented Friend” Amy Taylor…
she sent me two custom made pendants to choose from. The rust one? The blue one?
And remember the “coolness” factor.. they’re made out of vintage bowling bowls!!!

Too tough to choose… I think I need them both!!!