While I was working in the studio tonight, I was also watching Kristen Kieffer’s
new DVD about surface decoration. It’s a very informative DVD with twelve chapters
on twelve different techniques. Chapter One was of course my favorite… all about stamps!!!
All in all, here techniques are very informative and encouraging for all skill levels. I really
liked how her presentation style was very calming & professional. She demonstrates each
of the twelve different techniques – making them each look relatively simple and accessible
for everyone. From stamping to slip trailing, from sgraffito to mishima, from banding to
her own slip technique she refers to as “Dairy Queen.” Something for everybody!
Of course the key is making it “your own” instead of just trying to reproduce her work!

Next up?… I need to make some new stamps! Her method of stamp-making is different
from mine. And I’m looking forward to creating a few new ones with her technique to see
how it goes. Her personal pottery “design aesthetic” seems to be much like my own…
precise, repetitive, patterned, textured. Sound familiar?

So here’s the deal… if you like her style, or if you’re just looking to learn some new surface
decoration techniques – this is the DVD for you!!! Check it out and order your own copy.
Go to www.FilmBaby.com and get your own Kristen Kieffer DVD today!

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!

Snow-covered cars… a brief warm-up… a “roll” of snow sliding down a windshield.
Beautiful. Unexpected. And sadly, not going to last very long with today’s temps!

Notice the icicles “sprouting” out along the top of the bike rack at a crazy wind-blown angle!!!

Another scenic stop along the lake… to see a wacky “forest” of colored trees!
Orange on the bottom, yellow on the top! A wonderful winter installation against the snow.
There’s about a hundred of these great trees creating this colorful “forest” along
Lake Shore Drive, just south of Lincoln Park Zoo at the south end of the lagoon!

I saw this in an e-mail and I had to share…
Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan.
The designs have been cleverly planted. Farmers creating the huge displays
use no ink or dye. Instead, different color rice plants have been precisely and
strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields. As summer progresses
and the plants shot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.

Rice paddy art was started in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew
from meetings of the village committees. The different varieties of rice plants grow
alongside each other to create the masterpieces.

After a lengthy “hiatus” from the studio while remodeling my bathroom…
the mug cylinders I had thrown before renovation began had “a little bit of a wait”
for handles & slip. Going in just to spray them now & again… trying to keep them
feasible… keeping them moist so I could finish them off. For about three weeks!!!

The bathroom project is finally finished… and tonight I finished the mugs!
Now they just need a couple days to dry… then into a bisque kiln…

While working at home for the day remodeling my bathroom (rather be at the studio)
I just noticed how great the afternoon sun looked streaming in my dining room window…
and even better, the dramatic shadows it created.

And all it took was some dramatic lighting, some oil lamps sitting on the radiator
with some dried curly willow “sprouting” up from behind… and passing at just
the right time with my camera!