Exciting New Pottery - Also, I'm Teaching Again!

Things started out this week with a bang! Actually it was a loud, unexpected SMASH.

Stupid Monday. This used to be a nice, large pitcher.

I usually have more success with my work! I guess accidents like this keep me humble.

This post is filled entirely with commissions, so I'm including some pricing in case you want to commission something of your own! Also, I've put a couple more pieces on Etsy, so check out what's new.

Onto the photos:

 Chips-n-salsa platter, $52

Separate pieces fit easily in the dishwasher.

Happy bear! For an upcoming baby boy (the nursery colors are green and brown):

Lots of room inside. $60

This large vase is much more interesting in person. I should have captured the glaze colors better. I made it for a specific table, and I hope the client likes it!! (Fingers crossed.)

10.5" wide, 7.5" tall

 Children's name stands, $25 each:

Hi, Vlad!

I made a custom planter for Hub in Breckenridge. It's a "full-service technology boutique." That just means it's hip enough to rock a custom logo planter.

I really like the size and shape, and have two more in progress (they're going to two different people). They're about 7" wide, 6" tall, $38 each.

I just finished building a custom double-yarn basket. There's a lot going on here and it's very cheerful! I had such fun coming up with the design with my client: the birds keep yarn from escaping out of the J shape, and the purpose of the third J (closest to the camera) is so that a large skein will lay across the basket and nose right up to the J. Also, on the far end where the bowl folds over, you can just make out two holes for knitting needles. I have spacers in each of the J's and I'm crossing my fingers they don't WARP during the firings.

$72

On Tuesday, I threw a teapot body and lid for the Apothecary in Frisco. I ran out of shelf space so they were perched precariously..... and suddenly....

Flattened on impact!!

All I could think was, "at least it wasn't a finished teapot." Grrr.

This is a teapot I have NOT smashed. How 'bout a round of applause for my restraint? The concept is water + serenity + peacefulness, with Asian influence. Can you see the wavy line across the body of the teapot, just under the handle? At this stage I'm considering using my blue glaze from that line up to the rim, and on the lid, omitting both handles. I'm trying to gently capture the idea of water lapping. (Any input from my client??)

Teapots range from $60-$500+, depending on complexity/customization/scale.

I hope these pieces are dry enough to be added to a bisque tomorrow. The farthest-most tumbler is placed exactly where I had the tall pitcher that I accidentally knocked over. In retrospect, it was a really terrible idea to have it there...

The cute floral mugs are going to Magical Scraps.

The irony is, I like to tell my students that my only rule in the studio is to BE CAREFUL. Sigh. Speaking of teaching, I will be teaching a ceramics class this fall in the Arts District in Breckenridge, Wednesdays 6-8 pm. It will be mostly wheel throwing, but I will also happily cater to students who prefer hand building. Anyone interested in a private class sometime? That can be easily coordinated through the Arts District for $35/hr plus clay for a group of 1-3 students (normally we'll meet for 2 hours each session). If that's not your cup of tea, sign up for my Wednesday class!

There's plenty more I'm working on but details on greenware and bisqueware don't often photograph clearly. Stay tuned for more finished work! If you need anything, please email any time: art [at] wild-iris.com. Please write "Pottery" in the subject line so your correspondence doesn't accidentally get lost in my spam folder.

New Studio Layout

A few weeks ago, my friend Rachel stopped by with her boyfriend, and I asked them to help me move the piano in my studio. (Don't ask why I have a piano in my studio.) One of the casters is broken, so it's really helpful to have two or three people navigate it safely. Now I have a new space for my wedging table, under the glazes.

Rachel and Peter thought I was crazy not to center the table under the window, but I love this corner space! Clay boxes are up against the wall in two stacks (one for each clay body), misc items are shoved under the table (I promise I will deal with that stuff someday), and I face the window to wedge or perch at the end on my comfy studio chair.

Here's the piano in its new spot. (You can see in the mirror that this is right across from the glaze wall; the window is just out of the picture, to the left.) I finally hung up some colorful items I've been collecting: the scarf is by my friend Jenn and I bought it when I displayed her work in my gallery; the calendar is from my dad and displays larger-than-life photos of fruit with lovely Chinese paintings of birds and leaves in the background; the poster is from the Hyde Park Jazz Festival September 27, 2008, which is the date of our wedding and why I insisted on snagging the poster on our way through Chicago four years ago. I'm really showing off my procrastination skills with that one!

I took down the beautiful photo of the Maroon Bells I bought from Jesse so that I could paint a chalkboard on the wall instead. The chalkboard is really fun and useful for organizing different commissions and ideas for my different retail spaces, and I actually prefer Jesse's photo displayed on the piano. It's a more intimate setting for such a special piece.

Speaking of procrastination, I've finally started a 12-piece dinner set that's long overdue (some of the tumblers & bowls are drying on top of the piano and shown below). My client recently picked the exact glaze she wanted and I'm overjoyed by the results of the glaze tests. I think everything will turn out beautifully.

The covered piece with flowers on top is a wedding gift for my cousin Amy. Her one-year anniversary was in July, so I'm a bit late already, but it wasn't until May that we discussed what exactly she wanted, so I don't feel too far behind. The to-go mugs are for the Backcountry Herbal Apothecary in Frisco. Usually I stamp my mugs with their logo, but this time I'm playing with the leaf theme. Eventually I think I'll do a set of tea cups, each stamped with one of these images. Plus whatever other project ideas pop in my head, as per usual. It's a great logo to work from:

This is also a piece I should have made ages ago. I went off cell phone pics and a general description, but I'd never used a round butter dish before. Now that I've made one, I think it's a great idea! I want one for my own kitchen counter.

Finally, I'm working on two new pieces I absolutely adore. But I can't show pics yet because one is a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. He requested a specific piece I thought was too floral for his personality and decided to design something more gender-neutral. I feel so confident about the design that I'm making two in order to have one to sell. I hope they turn out as well as I imagine they will! But you have no idea what I'm talking about so let's just leave it for now. More to come, mid October. That's when I'll re-open my Etsy shop as well (my final procrastination theme for this post) with beautiful new pieces to sell!

Helpful people and forward momentum

I've been working on tumblers and plates for Magical Scraps, a fabulous Boutique & Studio on Main Street in Breckenridge. These pieces are a joy to make, since they involve stamps and lively colors. Unfortunately, I haven't stepped foot in my studio today. I'm working on administrative details instead: my logo and website.

James at Summit Creations turned my Sharpie logo drawing into the real thing when I opened Wild Iris Studio & Gallery (I'm proud to be listed as a client at summitcreations.com). Now we need to alter it to Wild Iris Productions LLC and make new business cards. I love imagining designs and playing with fonts and colors! My best friend Eric experiments with ideas and layouts on Photoshop. I don't know what I'd do without his encouragement, or without James for the professional end product.

I'm working with my longtime friend Nate Zander at Mountain Porcupine Design for my website. We finished a design for the gallery, but were only halfway through the legwork when I decided to close up shop, and now it's a relief to alter the format for what I want to do now, rather than starting from scratch again. I've sent off some ideas to Nate, and I hope the site will be ready to launch before September. Details to follow.

Finally, I emailed my friend Syma some photos I took of her work while she was a guest artist in the Arts District of Breckenridge. (See her blog for mountain photos of the Arts District.) She will have some of her works on display at Teal Gallery in late August, which means she'll come back for a visit! I find her enthusiasm inspiring, and it reminds me that I'm an optimist as well, when I forget.

I have a small Bottomless Vessel to Hold Change that she made last spring during another residency in Breckenridge. It is soothing to me, a gentle reminder to laugh off frustration about life in flux; if I know change is constant and inevitable, don't I see it coming? Don't I expect it to happen again?

A year ago, Piers and I were working hard on the gallery. It is remarkable how far we've come since then. The helpful and supportive people we have encountered along the way have helped transform our life. We work just as hard as we did then, but are becoming more peaceful and calm. Thanks to all who read this blog - and stay with us for exciting things to come!