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!!!

Welcome to October.
Welcome to Chicago Artist Month.

October is a special month every year that celebrates the local artists in Chicago
who make cool stuff around town. There will be lots of studios, galleries & stores
celebrating throughout the month with shows, openings & artist receptions.

To kick-off the month, this weekend is the annual Ravenswood Art Walk.
It’s a great chance to stroll up & down Ravenswood to see all of the galleries and
studios that will be open to the public. Lillstreet Art Center is a great place to
park and start your tour. My studio is on the second floor in 205 West.
You can stop in and see “where the magic happens.” I will be there all day
Saturday from 10:00am-6:00pm to greet the people strolling by… and trying
to get some clay work done at the same time?! Then start your tour using the maps that
will be available at Lillstreet. If you stop by every place on the list, it could take all day!

Lillstreet Art Center – studio 205 west.
4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago… on the northeast corner at Montrose!
Seriously, just a few steps east of the Montrose stop on the Brown Line El.
Stop by for a tour, participate in some free workshops, have a piece of pie
at the First Slice Café or just hang out in my studio!

And to kick-off the month of art…
here’s a quick picture of a great new bricolage mural that was completed this summer
on Foster Street at the Lake Shore Drive underpass. Gotta love it…

So just let me just vent for a second…
while many art fairs work long & hard to invite quality artists to their events.
There are jury processes in place to choose who will participate each year.
The understanding is that everything displayed at the art fair was to have been
made by the artist. And for the most part I believe that to be true.

However… I do believe that there are some people who are riding on the fringe
of that rule. Some that are selling wholesale items under the guise of their own.
Photographers who buy stock photography instead of shooting their own.
Artists who do “some” of the work, but not all. Artists who are selling artwork
that just doesn’t “seem” right?!

Like the artist that was next to me this weekend… no, not Molly. The other side.
She was an Asian artist with embroidered “paintings” with thousands of perfect stitches.
Photo realism done with embroidery threads. So impressive, and somewhat
unbelievable, that she not only won “Best of Fiber” – but also “Best of Show.”

Now don’t get me wrong, the artwork was incredibly beautiful. But a little “too”
beautiful for the price. What I believe to be “too elaborate” and “too detailed”
for the quantity of pieces and the price points. Now keep in mind, I’m not sure.
But you know when you have “a feeling” that it’s too good to be true?… that there’s
no way she can be making all of this?… the fact that the work is too precise to be
handmade – although it’s all claimed to be? Prices a little off the mark… silk wine bags
with supposedly hand-embroidered patches sewn on to them… being sold at
five for $20. That’s only $4 each!!! Not possible. Not even to mention the perfectly
sized & sealed plastic bag that each wine bag came in?! Curious…

And then the rumors begin… other artists who claim to see this same “booth of artwork”
at other fairs with a different “artist.” That the work is being imported from China.
The the images are being created by computer. That any image can be scanned in
and the embroidery kicked-out by the computer. That the “artist” is just a sales rep.

So here’s my word of warning… be careful when shopping at art fairs.
Please be sure that the artist is indeed the artist. Don’t just assume it’s all on the up & up.
If you think it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Ask questions. Double-check. Listen.
Make sure that the artist can explain their process. Hear their story. Feel their passion.

Support individual artists for their talents.
And not some mass-merchant who is infiltrating the art fair scene!