Steven Hill's Journey Workshops

Update from Newfoundout Potter

2010-05-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

Hello everybody,
It's been pretty quiet here so I thought I would give an update on what I have been up to. Took some time off after our Journey's End celebration in Oct and spent a lot of time just looking at pottery and sketching. Worked on some pieces with slips and shellac resist. I'm still trying to find a semimatt, semi-transparent glaze that works well with slips. Right now I just use a clear celadon - but it's too shiny and would like something a bit more opaque. Those that I have found do not give a warm brown colour on the red rust side but more of a black brown with iron slips.

Have continued with my appliqued pieces - one inspired by a vase that I saw by a British potter of Rapunzel - it was done with slips and underglaze pencils but I thought the hair cascading down one side of the vase had potential for my pots. Of course I had to put fish on the pot as well. Unfortunately I have not been able to find that pot again, just to see how much I was influenced. My Rapunzel turned out rather medieval looking and very formal - not at all like the very free form vase that I remembered. I did get cracking on the inside of the rim where I had thickened it. I thought that I had the problem licked by using paper clay and adding it as a soft coil on the inside - the the ends of the soft coil then has no definite join which was where the cracking would occur. This time the cracks were on the underside of the coil and the pot wall.

Did another one based on the sisters theme. For a change I like the way the glazing turned out. To get the two toned effect around the tree I first spray on the blue and rub it off on the tree and leaves. Then I spray a light coat of Stony Yellow on the the tree, so the blue background is just lightened a bit but basically remains blue. Called it "Sisters - In Their Sunday Best". As a child I always remember dressing up on Sunday - with dresses that were always a size too big as they had to last.

I have been reoxidizing from cone eight to 10 as Steven suggested and it seems to have reduced the blistering in the fake ash and to brighten the colours.

I am planning to fire my wood kiln in June - can't believe it's been two years since my first and only firing! So will be making pots for that this month. Hope to get better results this time as I will have some soft wood and not just ironwood that builds up huge amounts of coals that are slow to burn up. I will also be adding an inside layer of hard brick here and there to the walls to see if I can hold in the heat longer as last time the sections cooled very rapidly and needed constant side stoking.

Would love to hear what everybody else is up to.

Eva

Opening and Why?

2010-01-05T12:23:00.000-06:00

http://sailormay.blogspot.com/2009/12/opening-and-why.html

Firing night 2

2009-12-13T17:21:00.000-06:00

http://sailormay.blogspot.com/2009/12/firing-night-2.html

firing night

2009-12-12T13:39:00.000-06:00

http://sailormay.blogspot.com/2009/12/firing-night.html

Loading day

2009-12-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

http://sailormay.blogspot.com/2009/12/loading-day.html

Journey's End Oct 24 - 25 A Celebration - Part II

2009-12-08T09:19:00.002-06:00

Part of my journey contract was also that I would write a weekly blog about my journey. I really didn't quite keep up the weekly bit, but I really did amaze myself that I did manage to write over 55 blogs - this is the 56th in 18 months or so.

In fact writing the blog has been really valuable for me - it helps me to focus on my work. By reading back from time to time I can see various stages in my progress. Another thing that it has done for me is to get me to take photographs of my pots - a really valuable record. As I look back over the old postings I can see various stages of my work - some good and some bad, but at least I can review them and learn from them.

So back to the Journey celebration weekend - unfortunately I did not take very many pictures - was too busy having fun!

Saturday morning we were treated to a short workshop on photographing pots. I must say this was the best talk on this subject that I have ever heard. Steven explained his setup to us, explaining where he got his equipment and how he used it. Not being a professional photographer himself, there was thankfully not a single mention of f-stops, etc - all the stuff that I can never understand no matter how hard I try.
He also took some pictures of our pots with his setup and in the evening we saw them on the computer - what a difference a great photograph can do to make a pot look great! I came home eager to get a something similar. Steven should really offer photography workshops as well - they would be well worth it.

In the afternoon the gallery was open and since Rob, Lindsay and Sarah lived in the area or had relatives living close by, there was a great turnout!

I really liked the lighted shelves that Steven had in his gallery - they really did a great job displaying the pots - as seen in this photo of my two fishing lady/boat pots.

Over a pizza supper we celebrated our accomplishments. Two art teachers/potters stayed for supper and it was very interesting to talk with them as they were involved with the Potters for Peace project - making water filters in Third World countries - something that has always interested me.

Sunday came way to fast - and it was time to say goodbye after a fabulous breakfast! Thank you Steven for a great journey! And thank you all, including Kim and Richard for making this such a great weekend! I hope that we can continue to follow each others' work and see how we develop.

This will be the last post under the Steven Hill Journey Workshop July 2008-09. However I am not giving up my blogging. I think I will continue this blog under a new name - Centered - Reflections on Form and Design or something like that - as I think writing down my thoughts about my pots will be a big help to me, even more so now that I do not have a monthly critique deadline.

However Steven offered us a chance to continue with the journey - either with another journey ending in a gathering in Oct 2010 or with just monthly consultations. Although I would love to go back next Oct, the airfare from Canada makes it rather expensive for me, so I will save that airfare for sometime in the future for another of Steven's workshops like the pouring vessels and cups one.

However I am opting for the monthly consults which I hope to start after Xmas. I think that Steven will be able to help me define new goals for myself and those monthly critiques will keep me focused on those goals.

My Journey's End - A Celebration

2009-12-06T20:19:00.005-06:00

Well I finally got around to finishing my blog posting as per my contract so here is a cut and paste from my blog about the journey's end this October.

Journey Oct 19 - 23 Journeys End - A Celebration! Part I

Well I got all the pots packed - the 4 plates were stacked and packed into a cloth bag for carry-on. It should fit under the seat, though I hope not to have too much walking as the pots are really heavy. I dread the Chicago airport - coming from Ottawa I am not used to these huge airports with miles of terminals.

After a delay due to bad weather at the Chicago end my plane arrived 2 hours late. Fortunately my fellow journey women, Ann and Marion had not given up on me and I was able to share the rental car with them to Center Street Clay.

It was a great to be back - some changes though with Kenyon replaced by the new resident Richard who has hair just like my son and in fact in profile looks just like him. It was amazing!

Steven got us all to work, unpacking our pots and getting them into the studio. Looking at his agenda sheet we saw we were in for a busy weekend! It was great to see Lindsay and Sarah again and to see all the progress that everyone had made in a year. Ann and Rob had been in the Oct 08 workshop so this was the first time that I had a chance to meet them and see their work.

After a great chili supper with corn salsa we talked about our pots. We had to number and price our pots and with a list take them up to the gallery. I priced my big wall plate higher than the appliqued vases even though in terms of work, vases take way more time. But plates sell at a higher price - as they are considered wall art and so people will pay more for them.

Friday morning we all got together in the studio to talk about our individual journeys while Kim set up the gallery with our pots. It was interesting to hear what everybody else had gotten out of their year long experience. I think we all felt that this had been a very worthwhile experience and it had definitely changed our work for the better. Steven remarked to me that he had looked at the pictures of my pots when I had applied and what a difference a year had made!

In the afternoon we gathered in the gallery for critiques. Here is my corner of the gallery with some of my pots. I think that I reached part of my journey goals and that was to develop a more unified look, concentrating of form and design. However the other part to develop an appropriate palette for the forms - I think I still have a long ways to go.

I still need to improve my spraying - I need more control when changing colours and perhaps as Steven said an airbrush would help. It always seemed to me that there was something not quite right with my fish plates and Steven felt that the fish looked like dead fish on sand - so I will try a blue version of the stony yellow on the fish area. The stony blue should be a more subdued blue than the blue ash.

I found that whenever I tried to use the blue ash the rivulets competed too much with the fish stamp and the design was lost. As well when the stamped design is done in a darker colour you also seem to lose it. An impression done in a lighter colour makes it stand out, especially when you have some contrasting color in the impression.

That evening we went to the national juried Clay3 (clay cubed) exhibition. Sarah, one of the journey participants had two of her elegant pieces in the show. All pieces were exhibited in 1 foot plexiglass cubes and made for a very effective display. No 70's iron speckled pots (my favorite!)in that show! My favorite was "Overlapped Bowl on Pedestal" - handbuilt and soda fired by Marcia Tami Paul. Some really great pieces and lots of new ideas. I liked the little cricket cages as something new. There was also a great talk by Mary Kay Botkins, who was the juror.

To be continued.

Killing Mary the Elephant

2009-12-04T19:50:00.004-06:00

I'm copying this from my own blog, trying to support the Journey groups.

Anyone know why/how did our first blog die, please let me know.

I hope this one will be different. Truly!

I made this pot after reading the horror story of why and how Mary got hanged, after she stepped on her keeper's head. Before that, she was a big star full of talents in a circus almost a century ago. The black humor was that the chain actually broke.

I fantasize Mary just wouldn't die, even they try to execute her in different ways.

The second chain didn't break, but the crane came down ... ... ...

No gun is big enough .. .. ..

Electrocution! Not enough voltage to tickle ... ... ...

She simple would not touch poisoned food ..... ..... .....

My fantasy ended with her slow death of sadness, missing all the attention from her audiences, losing the special love from her owner.

This is a very strange image which stuck in my mind for a long time.

My first Journey Post, Lynne Martin

2009-11-16T02:09:00.002-06:00

Hi...Lynne here. I guess no one wants to be the first to start...well, here goes. I've been home from My Journey workshop for about a month and I would have to say that getting started in a new direction is definitely difficult. It's not that I don't have new ideas, it's that old patterns of creating seem to flow from the fingers, so to speak.

I also think that in the beginning it's more mental, emotional and spiritual(for me anyway) than physical. In Steven's workshop, one of the things I was challenged to do is to "play" more in clay...allowing for playful discovery, and new directions. hmmm, Play....that's a hard one for me. I don't remember really playing "full out" as a kid...as strange as that may seem, there was always the "right way" to color or dress a doll, or jump on the trampoline, or swim..or whatever. I think that all my life I have been concerned with doing things the right way...getting it right., and the fear of failure and mistakes. I never really trusted my instincts or my "knower" as a friend calls it. Well, newsflash...I am learning to trust myself..and my instincts. I am hearing my own heart and following it...what will truly be interesting is how that translates into clay.

I'm a little slow getting my hands moving with tangible progress...but the mind and spirit are getting released and the sketchbook is filling up! (don't worry Steven, I am working, too)

'09 Journey Workshop begins, '08 Journey Workshop continues...

2009-10-10T09:10:00.004-05:00

We are about to conclude the first week of the '09 Journey Workshop and it has been an amazing week, rich with diversity amongst the 6 participants. They are each writing a "contract to themselves" for the upcoming year to be presented this afternoon. Tonight we will celebrate and tomorrow morning the participants will head off to studios in Alberta (Canada), Connecticut, Indiana, Florida, California, and Illinois to continue their journeys...

In less than 2 weeks the '08 Journey Workshop will re-conveine for their follow-up and show. If you can make it to Sandwich, Illinois, the gallery opening will be on Saturday, October 24, from 2-6pm. I look forward to seeing old friends sharing stories from the first year of their journey... a journey that will continue to unfold as long as they keep it alive...

Steven Hill's Journey Workshops

2009-10-09T11:47:00.002-05:00

This is where current and past participants in Steven Hill's Journey Workshops can post photographs of their work, create links to their personal websites and blogs and communicate with others about their continuing journeys...

centerstreetclay.com