Jefferson County Potters Holiday Sale!

The Where: Elkhorn Mountain Inn 

                  and the Montana City Store

                   1 Jackson Creek Rd

                   Montana City, MT

The When: Friday, November 30, 2012 - 5pm-9pm  Opening Nite/Sale

                  Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 10am-5pm Sale

                  Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 10am-2pm Sale

The Who: Gary Anderson, Chad Carignan, Lisa Ernst, Tom Jaszczak, Page Kelly Piccolo, Wiebe Pottery and Tara Wilson

The How: There's plenty of parking in the back, just come in through the motel entries. There are two doors on the front and one through the courtyard in the back. Come on in to the conference room, and spend some time picking the perfect HANDMADE gift for those lucky people on your list! There will be a lot of handmade items to choose from, and you'll be helping to support your local economy.

Please enjoy the images below, they give you a taste of the array of fine pottery you'll see at the show.

A group of cups and a lovely bottle.

I liked this one, it sparked the idea for the final

Playing with composition

The final postcard image

One of the postcard contenders

A collection of cups

The back of the postcard

Ringing Bells and Carroming Thoughts

I have been reading a lot of journals lately, and wanted to share with you a quote that I read in the May/June 09 issue of Clay Times:

"I really don't think there's any artist worth mentioning who hasn't been inspired by the natural world." -Peter Callas

For some reason this has been ringing in my head.


Thoughts of natural textures I use in my own work go carroming through my brain - How am I improving on this? Does it invoke nature as I intend it to? Can I make this have more depth, be richer?

I also decided to challenge myself to explore a single form. I am not restricting the size, in fact I am going to make as many different sizes as my skill will allow. Nor am I restricting the finish. I intend to explore deep textures as well as some abstract designs. The only restriction, really, is the form itself. A jug. A larger belly, narrow neck and mouth, and a single finger handle. So far I am 25 pounds of wet clay into this adventure, I will share the process with you in the next few posts.

Reading is a good thing, hopefully it inspires thoughtful contemplation of self and one's surroundings. Today, reading has caused ringing bells and carroming thoughts.

The struggle for inspiration

It occurred to me about a month ago that my pottery continues to be attractive to other potters, but not necessarily to the general public. I reached out to a few respected people for critiques.

Now I was looking for actual critiques. Not the kind of "oh you are wonderful, don't change a thing..." critiques. People who love you give you those kind of critiques, because they don't know any better. I was looking for the kind of critique that would tell me what I was doing wrong. Because something is definitely wrong. My work sells, but barely. People who love my work are people who can and do make their own. They don't need to buy it, they can make it. It's a great ego boost to have a fellow potter say something to the effect of "Wow, look at that form!" or "I love the way you applied that glaze!" or "This pot is so light!" but it doesn't put bank in the wallet.

So what did I hear? Color. My color palette does not translate well in the online market. I need to add discernible patterns and color to my pots. Less browns, coppers, bronzes and golds. More white, green, and (gasp!) blue. I need to find a pattern and apply it to my pots.

This has led me to be acutely aware of repeating patterns in our society. Patterns show up frequently in home decoration, tile, wallpaper, fabrics. I have been looking at the work of my friends and colleagues and have been analyzing what they are doing in their own work. What colors do they use and how do they use them? What patterns do they employ? Do they draw them or do they stamp them, or is there some other technique? Why do they choose to use sprig molds to add clay or shellac and wax resist?

I want their work to influence me, what they are doing right to show me the way. It's a fine line between influence and imitation. I am working to maintain my vision of my work and allow these ideas to become mine. I have found patterns that touch me, attract me, and I am allowing those patterns to begin to work their way into my consciousness. The next step is allowing them to be a part of my work.