Tossing Ashes

cups and other ventures..

2012-05-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

phase 1 of the (current) amazing glaze happened today. Amazing because I feel like an explorer in a risky, tiring race around the world when I'm in glaze mode. Where can I go that I've never gone before? All that's to say the new glazes and pigments from Georgie's arrived and no, I'm not testing them first, just going right ahead with it. I am thrilled to be embarking on a surface treatment adventure... it's been a while. I can't wait to see what happens.

These pigments are like super concentrated stains, it seems. And I love stains. And crackle slip. I could stop right there but then of course, there's the drinking-from issue... alas, I digress. I am excited about my horsefly stencils too although there may be a limited audience for those. And cranium cups looking rad all crackle slipped up. Like I said. Risky.

Susan and I took a roadtrip out to Star, NC, down yonder, the other day. For clay and race around the world type adventure, and let's not forget, Fish Friday at Martha's Grill. Sometimes I forget I live in the SOUTH. Star, NC is in the South, y'all. It got me thinking on and feeling all sentimental about my ancestors, southerners all. Here's a little taste of the place.

house, garden, and a man named Pearl...

2012-05-22T08:38:00.001-04:00

house chores and lawn/garden manicures were the tall order of the weekend, although I did get the second round of test cups bisq'd and they are waiting patiently for some new glazes from Georgie's to arrive! The weather has been divine. I could live in a tent right now and never go inside.

Bob and I saw a very inspiring and amazing documentary on Pearl Fryar from Bishopville SC, outsider topiary artist like you've never seen before. We can't wait to make a trek down there and wander around his Dr. Seuss-like garden o'wonders. Pearl spends every waking moment that he's not working, sleeping, or going to church maintaining his garden. Every plant was salvaged from a heap out back the local garden store. He transformed every rejected misfit plant into a magnificent living sculpture. Bob is inspired now to shape all our shrubberies! And my devotion and enthusiasm for making art is renewed.

ain't braggin', but...

2012-05-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

I do like how this handle sits on the hip of this cup, with the sassy sway back thing goin' on. Perhaps many a cup maker has already done this...

The gardenia bush is exploding. Maybe with the iPad4 there'll be a scratch and sniff app.

Baby nasturtiums are popping their noddy heads up everywhere, thanks to Rosa for reminding me, as I forget even though I love them. So pretty. So spicy in a salad!

OK, maybe I am bragging. A little.

tall tales...

2012-05-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

firstly, .. cups are funny.

The glazed one is from the test batch... testing a new low fire red clay that gets yummy rusty at cone 6 - check! ...testing a new cup form - needs work! I drank some tea out of it today and discovered a long list of issues... too heavy, too narrow, too tall, really just awkward. Not bad as an object. But other than holding liquids, it fails miserably as a cup. So, I've made some adjustments here and there and have my fingers crossed for a better yield next time.

secondly,.. things weren't always this harmonious and happy with my mother, but I love and miss her terribly.

finally,.. the tallest tale of all (our grass).

boyz in the wood...

2012-05-06T23:10:00.000-04:00

the boys walked through the fire and emerged transformed in good ways and in ways lacking, like the shamans they are. I have been practicing beginners mind with this piece from the start... going with my gut sculpting and glazing, letting go of the need to control everything, to plan then execute. I had no idea what to expect when I opened the kiln so it was with a curiosity that I approached the crazy surface where some pretty cool things happened. At first glance I felt it was all too busy and I plotted out some cures for correcting a dull snake and enhancing tattoos gone missing in that multicolored skin. Now, however, I have decided to let them be as they are, a testament to the process and the moment and the decisions made.

and then there's this...

2012-04-30T08:34:00.000-04:00

It's been a glaze-full weekend. Testing new glazes and clays, and finally bringing my shaman boys to completion. Here they are yucking it up prior to going in the fire. Boys will be boys.

I won't be blogging too much about my next adventure, transforming this phone shelter into something well, more divine. I watched a TED talk last week about how people who talk about their goals don't often reach them, as compared to those who kept their mouth shut. So, mum's the word on this one til it's done.

poppies and pitcher plants....

2012-04-28T11:17:00.001-04:00

Shannon and I went off on another painting adventure yesterday, this time to the botanical gardens in Chapel Hill. I'm sure it's been at least 20 years since I was there, so new eyes were on everything. First off, I discovered the wonderful, varied world of pitcher plants. What can I say? So amazing in color and form. And bloom! Paint them, we did.

ain't it something??

art imitates life, kinda.

unsurpassed plant life magnificence!

In the second segment of the day, off in search of shade, we bumped into one lonely dope poppy brilliant red and papery-fine. We drew it in sun, then painted it from memory in shade. Here's a little moving-picture-show of Shannon doing just that.

my effort..

the extent of it...

2012-04-21T19:23:00.000-04:00

meaning my creative endeavors of the past week have mostly consisted of painting with plants. If you must know, annuals are my weakness. And I really don't like blank spots, and I never resist a tray of snapdragons. I still need some nasturtiums... otherwise, the flower garden is officially full up. I can relax now and let the weeds take over!

Shannon and I did go out to Duke Gardens to paint yesterday which is always a fun time, although I mostly feel my attempts at watercolor are lacking. Still finding my way with it. I've got some glazing going on in the studio, mostly tests with new clays and slips... when I'm not digging holes. Or fishing bugs out of my beer.

Gardens are so chaotically beautiful.

I'm usually more satisfied with a painting when I take a simpler view.

Yep!

2012-04-16T20:12:00.000-04:00

I'm going to art residency heaven! Two weeks at Vermont Studio Center in August to focus, experiment, enjoy, and crank out some work! The time is limited for clay, yes. But, I think limitations can often be good things.

the Tracey effect...

2012-04-14T09:20:00.000-04:00

hey y'all, check this out. Thanks to all of you for clicking and commenting! Y'all come back now, hear?

tall boys...

2012-04-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

It's cup making time again... rather it's thinking and planning about cup making time, which if I space it out right, will mean a coupl'a cups a weekend from here to September. Spaced out nice and slow. So's I can try new things and enjoy myself with it. I've had some requests for bigger vessels... tough for a pinch-forming gal like myself because I just go with the flow one ball of clay at a time. Usually they come out rather smallish, which is refreshing in that they're not-so-big-your-coffee-gets-cold-before-you-finish-it kinda way. However, dudes and tea drinkers seem to prefer their cups bigger.

After a good bit of cruising cup forms and sketching around about it, I came up with a half-breed pinch/slab form that can and hopefully will, bring out the best in each. And!, hold the required liquid ounces! Here are some tests I am excited about. Stay tuned!

eight going on nine...

2012-04-07T14:03:00.000-04:00

times I've played this song today..

Six going on seven years old in (matching) Easter outfits.

Happy spring weekend, friends! Enjoy.

tattoo you!...

2012-04-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

A barista at our local coffee shop where I sell my cups and who has offered up many of my business cards to customers over the past couple of years, decided he wanted to own the image in the most permanent and intimate way. The first Broken Tusk tattoo is born! This may in fact be the best compliment I have ever received. Thanks Jason!

got inspiration?

2012-04-03T19:21:00.000-04:00

I'm preparing to embark on a new batch of cups and plumping up the Ganesha store (by request) with some tiles, and at the same time wanting the experience and the work to be new, fresh, exciting. Different in form and execution. Challenging. I am a little stumped right now, so I've been spending time gathering imagery, looking at cup forms, and sketching to jump-start some ideas. Whenever I feel like my muse has left town, this song by Grace Jones comes to mind. It helps me lighten up. Enjoy.

crazy-blissful....

2012-04-01T14:32:00.000-04:00

and lazy. A true April fool.

aiming for the UP!..

2012-03-29T14:43:00.001-04:00

After 15 years of working behind a desk all day, and longer still hunched over clay and paints, I began to notice that I was becoming an alarmingly bent human being. My posture needed some serious correcting and luckily my intuition led me to the Alexander Technique, well it really led me to longtime friend and practitioner Suzanne Faulkner. I am still learning what A.T. is exactly... it's a combination course in sitting and standing, an awareness of bodily movement and usage and finally, an aiming for the energetic up!... without pushing down. Challenging to articulate, yes. And yes, IT WORKS. I can officially un-resign myself to becoming a profoundly crooked old person.

Suzanne has the distinction of being the very first collector of my work. Her house, yoga studio, kitchen cupboards, and office contain a virtual Laura Farrow retrospective spanning more than a decade. A couple years ago she commissioned me to paint this house tattoo outside her yoga studio...

Suzanne is the only Alexander Technique practitioner this side of the NC mountains and I can't say enough how lucky I feel to have been led in her direction.

If you're curious, here's a simple explanation of the technique....

hard labor...

2012-03-23T15:18:00.000-04:00

I've never given birth myself, but I hear that some labors are easier and quicker than others. I feel like I've been in contractions a long time with this piece, but finally he is born.

He'll get some crackle slip and a multi cone 5 glazes treatment down the road. First the baby needs to dry.

Whew. Now, on to the next thing.

happy St. Pats....

2012-03-17T08:19:00.000-04:00

wishing you a field of four-leaf clovers under a clear blue sky...

in over my heads....

2012-03-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

Dissecting, hollowing, reattaching... all at a snail's pace. Poor double-headed dude, all in pieces.

But still laughing.
There's a lesson here somewhere.

Second spring for our little tulip magnolia tree. She's reaching my nose now and blooming so sweet.

trumping the albatross....

2012-03-12T19:45:00.000-04:00

meaning I'm determined to unravel the umbilical cord connecting me to all things internet. I can't completely unplug, however I would like to feel more in control of what is beginning to smack of an unhealthy addiction. Jeez, having an iPad doesn't help either... much as I love the thing. Just feeling a little bored and a lot distracted by it, I confess. It took me 4 solid months of nonstop virtual binging to get here. And well, I knew I would eventually.

So today I strolled out to the gardens sans my iPad, determined to have a mindful experience of nature minus the need to constantly document and share it with the virtual universe. I sat on a low branch of magnolia in a blooming grove of trees and blinked into the warm sun, inhaled fragrant air, and listened to the spring-industrious birds. I was fully engaged in the moment shared only between me and that tree.

I want more moments like that in all areas of my life. It was a good start on the road less downloaded.

Since I do feel rather blog-naked without an illustration, here's the blooming grove from last week...

ebb'n and a'flow'n...

2012-03-08T17:23:00.001-05:00

We experienced so many variations of surf and sky last weekend at the beach. Fog, rain, wind, sun. What beautiful drama it was. Such a moody girl the ocean, and a challenge to paint her. I usually leap in with the watercolors right away and end up making a muddy, frustrating mess that I try to correct on the back end with white paint. I am rarely happy with that result. Drawing first, for me anyway, is key to protecting that pristine white of the paper. This time I tried using some fabric/raised acrylic paint tubes to block in the shapes first. It was great for keeping the line simple, and I had a better time painting with some forethought into where I wanted the painting to go. Simple. and Saturated. Moody.

back to the grackle..

2012-03-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

headed to the Topsail beach house today with art girlfriends Shannon, Mona, Tracey and Wes, and Bonnie for the weekend! It's predicted to be 80 degrees today, and there's seafood to eat, beer to drink, and paintings to create! See you on the flip side! xo

meeting demands...

2012-02-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

First he cried, "don't cover me up!" Then later he insisted, "let me hold something!" This piece has been making demands from the beginning. He wants arms, then he doesn't... two hands, then one... face forward, then twisted. I am just the maker after all. I have limited powers.

Thankfully, I constructed him solid, so I have been able to more or less easily comply.

Next up - days and days of hollowing.

ears and horns will get added later..

jumpin' on in..

2012-02-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

then figuring out how to swim later.

That is, fortunately and unfortunately, how I roll. Sometimes I just gotta GET STARTED, ready or not. Current, aspiring-to-be-a-wall-sculpture is no exception. I was gonna build it horizontally (makes sense), but got impatient waiting for (better half) to help me with some construction that needed to be done first. So, after a while, I'm like, eh, I'll worry about that later, let's start with it standing upright....

Well, with clay, anything is really possible and there's no wrong way of doing things, only better, more effective, less painful ways. Let's just say, I see now why the masters of hanging sculpture work on the floor (below) or off the wall itself. There's an important relationship there, visually and physically that has to be considered throughout the entire process. I realized this last week when imagining my two headed's hanging on the wall, looking like they'd been sawed off at the waist... too creepy even for me.

Arthur Gonzalez working on a wall sculpture on the floor.

So now that the thing is half made and rather late in the game, I go figuring out solutions to this dilemma of the wall - the learning how to swim when already in the water part. I turn to my favorite artist hero, Arthur Gonzalez' work for some ideas. Tell me he's not amazing! OK, now I get it. The piece needs to EMERGE from the wall like out of water. I do think I would have been more consciously aware of that had I started off with a flat surface... well, next time.

Arthur Gonzalez from the Messengers and Travelers Series

today I worship the sun...

2012-02-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

..and listen to the houseplants, who need my attention.

However, yesterday was plein air painting day part 4 with Shannon. We drove out to Jordan Lake seeking access, which wasn't as obvious or easy as planned, seein' as how the park entrances are closed til March even to painters of the landscape. But, when there's a will, there's a way, and so we did finally find a place to park and walk in. We had less painting time than usual due to lingering over lattes on the front end of the day, and feeding goats and browsing bookstores on the back end. Perfectly enjoyable though even if I wasn't really rocking the watercolors. I did wade into the lake with my wellies on and discovered they weren't water tight after all.. and we did notice a tick or two seeking a warm host (I remind you that it is still February...).

If you can, imagine this video with Yes' song Mood for a Day in the background. My original, better choice of music, but YouTube said um, NO.