Festival in the Clouds

This weekend it was time again for Festival in the Clouds in Alma. Sunshine, music, and pottery sales! Here's a tour of my setup....

My lovely booth mate, selling her cute concrete rhubarb leaf impressions

I should have gotten closeups on my appetizer trios!

Food and water bowls for pets

I like how the green glazes look together

Flower mugs

 

An eternal favorite - beer stein coffee mugs

I also had bike plates and stackable mugs - blue, pink, and white glazes

My friend brought a wildflower bouquet that divided nicely into two vases

See anything you'd like to own? Email me! I have a new address: iris [at] wildirisclay [dot] com. I also have a new website! There's still more work to do, but the essentials are up at wildirisclay.com. Let me know what you think of my new look. I always enjoy feedback.

Speaking of which, I've had a request to do more photos documenting pottery in progress. I will try to do that! Meanwhile, a quick before-and-after:

A couple of weeks ago, while doing a throwing demo, a sweet little girl named Zoe was glued to my side, watching closely while making requests: mug, bowl, jewelry holder, large vase. She also drew me inspiring shapes for more pieces she thought I should make later. What a great kid!

After glazing, here they are in my booth in Alma.

Happy Summer, everyone!

We're Live!

My web site is up and running: www.wild-iris.com. Take a look! There are photos of finished pieces (something I don't do here much) plus a link to this blog so I can share my process from inside the studio. Since I take a different approach to pieces if they are to be utilitarian or not, I've separated my work into "sculptural" and "functional" sections. Under the "functional" tab, I'm starting a "pots in action" gallery of photos. If you send in a picture of your Iris pottery in use, I'll gladly add your photo to the array! Don't forget, Everything tastes better with ceramics!

From the new site, I have a link to my Etsy store so you can make ceramic purchases any time of day or night! I also have an official bio page, and my email is accessible from every page. Click on the icon of a present and you'll discover how to purchase Gift Certificates.

There is a section of events I have planned and what I've been involved in recently, as well as where I regularly offer items for sale. For example, I make teapots and tea cups for the Backcountry Herbal Apothecary in Frisco. The last teapot I dropped off there is on my web site's home page. I'm making some mugs with their logo for people to drink tea from while they wait. Alternately, I have colorful hand-built tumblers and plates at Magical Scraps Boutique. I enjoy creating items specific to each business. I look forward to meeting with the owner of Magical Scraps soon to determine what new pieces she wants in her store.

Let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see more of! Many thanks to Mountain Porcupine Design for the site.

Growing My Itsy Bitsy ETSY store!

It's finally here... An easy way to buy ceramics! Take a look at what I have up right now. I'll add more work as I take more pictures.

WildIrisClay.etsy.com

If you like a certain piece I've shown here, and it's not featured at Etsy, please contact me and I'll let you know if I haven't listed it yet, or if I've sold it but have similar pieces.

I've been working on the wheel in the Arts District for the past few months, doing throwing demonstrations and assisting drop-in students to complete their projects. Therefore, my next round of etsy additions will be thrown bowls, tumblers, vases... In February, I did throwing demos for the Second Saturday Art Walk in Breckenridge, and completed a set of dinner plates. They will replace (at long last) the boring Target plates we usually use. I can't wait!

Here are three locals excited about clay:

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!

Here we are!

Hello and welcome to our blog! Piers and Iris Peterson are sharing a space to post thoughts and progress on the art we create individually and together.

Please visit Iris's gallery at www.wild-iris.com, to check out photos of our work.

Iris: I am a ceramic artist, working on and off the wheel. My pottery is functional: mugs, bowls, teapots, and the like. Sometimes I leave the shape very simple; other times, I carve most of the surface. I enjoy how the fast pace of throwing complements the thoughtful patience of hand building. I use thick coils to build large shapes, most recently incorporating text and human imagery.

Piers: I look for artistic forms in nature and try to incorporate them into everyday living. Most often, this is in the form of furniture or ceramic/wood fusion in union with Iris's mudwork. I am staining our new dining room table, and just finished our latest collaborative piece last week.