Just a simple post today…
A gorgeous latte, a worn wooden table, a seat in the sun at the local coffee shop, friends…
an afternoon in the studio, colorful underglaze, unlimited potential…
And one more shot – sans Instragram filters… I do heart the Instagram app as well –
Big focal hearts, milagro hearts, small hearts… Missing from the pix are the paired earring hearts. Into the kiln today. Firing either today or tomorrow. More pix soon!
Amanda Davie – that is.
Before Christmas I was doing my usual coffee drinking, blog reading and posting routine – and I left a comment on Amanda Davie’s blog. Now I had followed her work for a while – innovative mixed media pieces, unique bezels with resin, often incorporating vintage text, a sense of the sacred, a reverance for the natural world… These are things I am drawn to, and recognized a kindred spirit in her work. She is a artist/mother/blogger/creative soul in Wisconsin.
How thrilled was I to win the giveaway!?! And recieve a gift certificate to her shop? Ha! I am going to treat myself! So I window shopped, and browsed, and was tempted… and didnt commit. To many things I liked. I went back – they were gone… But thats ok. I found an even better piece. A talisman for the new year. An amulet for myself. ( Enough already, show them a picture…)
The packaging. Gorgeous. What attention to detail!
Inside – what? More gorgeous-ness! A bonus! Hand made treasure pouch withe silk ribbon and sea glass button. You are too much, Amanda!
Butterflies inside? Now its getting too serendipitous. My favorite symbol – the embodiment of transformation, a sylph of grace and beauty…
And the necklace itself…
The pendant is a cluster of charms, first and foremost a small brass screw-top vial. A charm of Inanna, a turquoise wand… My plan is to put a message to myself in the vial. A message for the year. Not goals per se, but an affirmation, a reminder, a few powerful words… And as I have “written” it, so it shall come to be. I am still thinking this over, knowing that the right words will come at the right time.
Gemstones – pearls, coral, turquoise, wood, hand crafted bronze charms. A plethora. A delight to the senses – touch, sight, sound…
Thank you Amanda! Thank you so much!
In our emails back and forth we have begun a fledgling blogging friendship – and I sent Amanda some of my ceramic pendants. I can’t wait to hear and see how she puts them to good use. Its nice to make a connection across the miles with a kindred creative spirit. Shame we are to far apart to meet for a coffee…
The weather outside IS frightful – in the 30’s with wind chills in the teens at certain parts of the day. Blustery, breath-stealing wind gusts. And today – the fire was so delightful:
And to finish the song reference – Let is snow, Let it snow, Let it snow…
Now this kiln load is eagerly anticipated. (SPOILER ALERT if you are my sibling, or in-law!) I have many gifts inside, firing away to the neighborhood of 2400 degrees. I wont go into more detail, as I know some of my siblings read my blog. ( As well they should, ahem.) Since FaerieCOn, all thoughts have been geared toward the holidays. J and I are heading west, to Austin for the family festivities. We are driving – who doesnt love a road trip? And I can pack anything I want! since I dont have shipping concerns or airline restrictions. That helped inspire my gift-giving and gift-making this year! Now you get a sense why I havent posted too much lately?
One thing I do want to share with you out there…
The Ceramics studio where I work and teach has an annual pottery sale. It is a diverse offering, featuring the work of novices, hobbists, experienced craftsepople and talented artists. ( I know that categorization treads on dangerous ground. Art vs. craft? What makes someone an artist? Yadda Yadda Yadda. Thats another blog post, or a whole series.) There will be functional pottery, sculptural pottery, fused glass, jewelry, perhaps some fiber art. Diverse offerings, indeed. If you are in the area – please stop by: Monday to Wednesday, Dec 13-15 10am to 8pm, and Thursday, Dec 16, 10 am to 5 pm. It’s at the Art Studio, Ab Jones Bldg, 310 Kiamensi Rd, Wilmington DE 19804.
These earrings are brand new, never before seen wee ceramic charms, with gemstones. The necklaces are simple, everyday pieces. Pendants and stones, as well. These will end up on Etsy sooner or later, if not this batch , then the next. They are fun to do…
This Sunday I also put together a box-o-treasures – ceramic pendants, that is…for the Shepherdess. I was thrilled to be invited to be a part of “Twas the Art before Christmas” open house/trunk show event this Friday. So if San Diego is where you call home – check it out. I am in amazing company there…
1. Pour a cup of coffee.
2. Open the kiln.
3. Unload the pendants. The first glimpse is exhilarating!
4. Remove firing hooks. Dont break any… Revel in the kiln’s bounty!
Tuesday – yes, its Thursday as I post this… but Tuesday was one of those blissful days where I was in the stydio all day. Actually hopping back and forth between my 2 home studio spaces. There were no vet appointments for furry kids, no classes to teach, groceries were already in house…no meetings to attend. It was such a pleasing and productive day, I tell myself to schedule more of them into future weeks!
I spent some time making two loop pendants for a commission, and new necklaces ideas percolating in my head. And took glaze breaks in between to glaze new smaller ceramic components. I pressed some tiles – dryads, owls, Celtic dieties… (pix soon.)
And I spent a good bit of time in the upstairs mixed media studio. I am pairing words stamped in copper with my ceramic pendants. Take a look:
And a few extra stamped words for future mixed media adornments… Now, to patina!
*The rest of a week was a blur of errands, classes, meetings… Here’s to a more productive week next week! *
Well, packing and getting ready to go…
This Friday my new pendants and connectors and buttons ( Oh my!) make their debut at the Shepherdess in San Diego. I am excited, and a bit nervous – hoping they are well received. And hoping they sell. There is that.
Those are some of the high fire pendants pieces ( ^10r for you clay people). I also did similar pieces low fire – colorful designs on a white clay body.
And dont forget the originals – the pieces inspired by my tiles, only on a miniature scale:
And I am taking classes with Keith LoBue – stuffsmith, jeweler… I plan to blog during my trip, and I will definitely post images on my “Art of Jennifer Davies-Reazor” Facebook page. Become a fan! Stay tuned!
(PS – decided not to take the mini laptop. So I hope to blog, but will definitely be posting pictures on my FB “Art of…” page. So tune in!)
…until my trunk show of pendants, buttons, etc. at the Shepherdess in San Diego. I had a batch of stoneware firing in the ^10 gas kiln at the studio yesterday, and started glazing a batch of colorful ^04 white pieces here. Wait til I show you a comparison pix! They are worlds apart, yet the same…For now, a peak into yesterday’s process.
All lined up, rainbow of underglazes…
The middle. Messy explosions of color, lets get to the beauty shot…
OK – not the beauty shot really until after the firing. But the surfaces are wiped free of color, leaving it all in the impressions, thus highlighting the design.
Stay tuned. More soon!
in·ten·tion
1 : a determination to act in a certain way : resolve
2 : import, significance
3 a : what one intends to do or bring about b : the object for which a prayer, mass, or pious act is offered
4 : concept; especially : a concept considered as the product of attention directed to an object of knowledge
I have come to enjoy blogging. What started as… I should… has become I enjoy, but… I have the best intentions, thinking of things that would be interesting topics, taking phone pix while unloading a kiln… but never posting the blog entry. So I set myself a challenge, a framework for some of my entries this year. My intention is to be inspired by a word and definition once a week, as in this entry. I also have a plan to do an A to Z of entries. It occurred to me: 26 letters, 52 weeks. Subtract January – whoops – and some letters ( X, Z) only need one entry. So, loyal reader – join me on this venture?
When I lived in San Diego I had a teacher/artist/mentor friend, Sibyl Rubottom. She often chose the alphabet book as a format for her artists books. She was a printer, and a bookbinder, and a painter… and makes a mean latte. So I see where the A to Z idea comes from. And no, this isnt a literary blog, but I do welcome inspiration from all directions.
Now – pictures: This weekend we had an epic snowstorm in Delaware. I intended to do a million things while snowed in. I did quite a few, and had a great weekend, except for the shoveling… I intend to do more “play” in the studio tomorrow, as they are calling for another big dump of snow!
This was first thing in the morning; about 1/2 of our total.
To do list – made with all good intentions.
Shoveling – earns a person fresh baked scones!
And the focus of my studio time – experimenting with Mixed media book pendants. Fabricated metal covers, textured, grommeted, with embellishments… They measure 1″ x 2″ if I remember correctly. Maybe during tomorrow’s snow I will do the mini collages and watercolors forthe pages! More on these later, definitely.
Although my last post refered to the slow internal clock I have had of late, and the feelings of gradually waking up – one thing I have been working on is new small tiles, aka pendants. The colorful ones, shown above, you may have seen before. They debuted in September of 2009. I have improved upon these, and a few new designs I have scuplted and cast. Just waiting for the plaster molds to dry…
Then there are the new bits – this is the first batch. Fired to ^10 reduction, I wanted to test them, see the shrinkage first hand, etc before launching ahead. I am pleased with the results, yes?
They are so different from the former – earthy and rustic, rich warm tones. I love them and cant wait to do the next batch.
These pendants charm and buttons are being created specially for a Trunk Show at the Shepherdess in San Diego. I am fortunate to fly west each spring to see my dear friend Cooky, the proprietor/head shepherdess. And to work with my friend, the ever inspiring Keith LoBue – during his annual workshop cycle here in the US.
So this year, my trip will be two-fold! (March 19th is my trunk show – if you happen to be in Cali…) Off to the basement ceramics studio, coffee in hand, dog in tow… to make more stuff!
Jenny Davies-Reazor 