MudFire Blogworks

Massey's Time Machine

2012-03-01T12:33:00.003-08:00

For all you non-believers... you shoulda been here last Friday. Dr. Massey was giving free rides in his time machine.

Featured Artist - Dow Redcorn

2012-03-01T10:43:00.001-08:00

Looking at Dow's work, you experience nature, up close and far away, at the exact same time, with the visceral feeling of skiing downhill, very fast, with pine branches whipping around you, and foxes and wolves leaving tracks in the snow, and a warm cup of cocoa spiked with a bit of whiskey waiting for you down at the lodge. Yeah, it's like that.

Dow is always making. Always smiling. Always surprising. We are so incredibly thrilled and honored that his first solo show is at MudFire Gallery. And we'll always get to say "We knew him when..."
Read on, you'll be very surprised at his world of influences.

Apart from making things from clay, what do youenjoy doing?

I have quite a few oil painters in my family, so I have always beeninvolved in painting. After I began airbrushing my ceramics with under glaze, Iwas inspired to airbrush oil paints on canvas. The result looks contemporaryand I can finish these paintings quite quickly as the paint dries much fasterthan traditional oil painting. I also enjoy gardening, cooking and eating…. Isthat a hobby? As far as sports, I really enjoy downhill skiing. Riding up theski lift, surrounded by tall, thin white and red fir pine, is probably one of the reasons why my current ceramicimages are what they are.

Describe the moment you fell in love with clay. Have you ever cheated on it?

It was at MudFire. I had not been a member for long when I had an idea tomake a cabin out of slabs of clay. It was probably too ambitious for abeginner, but it actually turned out quite nice. At that moment I felt like thiswas my medium and one I could succeed at and enjoy. I do cheat on itoccasionally, but I always return to it.

Who has been the most influential instructor inyour life?

Hands down, my father has been the most influential instructor/person inmy life. From my earliest memories, he has always excelled in just about everything…art,sports, business, hunting, fishing, relationships, etc. I was exposed to so many things by the time Iwas 21, it really shaped me at an early age. He also loves to travel. It seemslike my sisters and I were constantly in the back seat of the family car (having“piggy fights”) and going somewhere. Being originally from Denver, we were inthe Rocky Mountains quite frequently, hiking, campingor fishing. The most important lesson he taught me? To enjoy life today.

How much of your own ceramic pieces do you usein your own home?

Actually I use very few of my own pieces. I use my coffee mugsoccasionally but I use my salt pig almost daily. “Oink, oink”! My favoritepieces by others are mugs by Shadow May and Kyle Carpenter. Both are large andsubstantial vessels for coffee.

Is there a ceramic artist whose work you mostadmire?

Alice Ballard. She makes nonfunctional forms and sculpture. Her work hasprobably had the most effect on my ceramic forms and designs. I think herartist statement perfectly describes her work… “Themetamorphosis of Nature's forms, as they change from season to season, thatattracts me to that universal world in which differing life forms share similarqualities.”

I also admire Beth Cavener Stichter. Her large sculptures of animals areincredible. I would love to sculpt figures this large one day.

Another ceramic artist that I admire is my Aunt, Jeri Redcorn. She makestraditional Caddo Indian Pottery. One of her pots actually resides in the Ovaloffice.

Who would write your biography?

I’m not sure what the title of my Bio would be, but if David Sedariswrote it, I’m sure it would be something funny or weird or perverted. It wouldget great reviews but only because David took my average stories and made themfunny.

How important is the human or organic touch in your work?

I was once in Crate & Barrel and saw a slip cast, mass produced vasethat was sprayed with brown tea dust glaze and it looked like a tree stump. Itwas $50 or $60 dollars and I thought to myself “I can do that...but make itmore interesting”. So tree inspired ceramic forms and designs are what I havebeen doing over the past several years. I don’t necessary like closereplication of natural forms. I like the artist making their interpretation of it.For me, inspiration can come from anywhere. I’m a person who noticeseverything, the small unnoticed details in things.

Who is your favoriteartist not working in ceramics?

I love the artwork ofBritish painter Francis Bacon.

If you could visit the studio of any artist,designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?

Francis Bacon’s studio and home at 7 Reece Mews in London’sSouth Kensington neighborhood. For the last 30 years of his life, the studiowas never cleaned, so years of canvasses, brushes, photographs, sketches,notes, etc. piled up until his death in 1992. In 1998 the entire studio contentswere removed and reassembled in the Gallery of Modern Art in Dublin. So, next time I’m in Dublin I could actually see it.

Do you ever get potters’ block?

I have not really experienced any potters block. I like to sketch ideasin notebooks so I always have somewhere to look for past ideas that were neverpursued or to reinvent previous ideas. Sketching has also helped me be morefocused in executing my forms as originally planned.

Where would you like to be in ten years?

I’m going to quote another MudFire potter’s answer on this question…“Alive and making ceramics”.

Featured Artist - Tracey Broome

2012-02-23T07:08:00.002-08:00

Tracey's work is featured in the upcoming House and Home exhibit at MudFire Gallery. When we unpacked her houses... we needed to know more!

Tell us something unusual about yourself.
I am an only child, I grew up in Myrtle Beach SC, hanging out on the beach a lot and skateboarding every day. My dad worked in a furniture plant and at night reupholstered furniture in a tiny barn out on a friend’s farm. He would take me with him and I hung out in the barn ripping fabric, nails and staples off of furniture frames for him. He drove a truck and to this day, I love to see an old Chevy or Ford truck pass me on the road. My uncle was a painter and my mom always thought I would end up being an artist like him. My dad worked for a lot of interior designers and I decided that was what I wanted to do, so I went to school, got a degree in design, met my husband, and spent the next twenty years as a designer married to a photojournalist. I worked for furniture manufacturers and retail furniture stores, traveled all over the country and later designed sets and props for the theater. I found clay in my 40’s and took a lot of classes and workshops before I decided to make it my full time profession. I am still married to the man I met in college, he is a staff photographer for the Associated Press and we have a daughter in film school at UNC School of the Arts in Winston Salem. She is studying to be a screenwriter, and we are like most parents, very proud of her!

What is your typical day to day like?
I don’t have typical days. I am not a good planner. I don’t sit down and say, ok, today I will make this and this. I walk into my studio, mess around with the piles of found objects I have and see what inspires me. Deadlines and orders can loom in front of me and I will get distracted and make something completely off track from what I should be doing. I make two or three pieces a day with lots of distractions in between the making. I will never be a production potter. I take a long time with each piece and I work very slowly. I know I should speed up my production and increase the number of pieces I make, but I am a slow southern girl. I once had a boss that called me “speedy” because I was so slow and methodical with everything. I make what I want to make at a pace that I like, that’s the best I can do! At least once a week, I try to check in with other friends that are artists. We will meet for coffee, lunch or dinner and a movie, but it always inspires me and keeps me in touch with others who are doing the same thing I’m doing. I also like to visit a gallery or museum a couple of times a month just to feel the presence of other artists out there.

Apart from making things from clay, what do you enjoy doing?
For years, my husband and I were rock climbers. We climbed a couple of times a week, we had canoes and paddled whitewater a lot. Then he got this job with AP and I found clay and now there is little time for that these days. We still like to be outdoors, camp, hike, he climbs when he can, I don’t climb anymore, but sometimes think I would like to get back to it. Now, I enjoy time with my friends and family, really good coffee, really good food, good films, art, all the good stuff we need in our lives!

Describe the moment you fell in love with clay.
When I was a little girl my grandparents liked to visit Jugtown and Seagrove and they would take me there when I stayed with them in the summer. My grandmother had a great love for pottery and I loved those rides through the country to visit the potters down in Randolph County. I remember walking into the shop at Jugtown and feeling such a sense of history there. But I truly fell for clay at the State Fair in Raleigh. There was a potter in the Yesteryear pavilion with a wheel and he was shouting out at the crowd as he made pieces, telling stories and talking about what he was doing. I can’t tell you a thing he said, but I can still remember the sight of that clay on that wheel. I looked down at my daughter who was very small at the time, and I said to her, I am going to do that! Soon after that, I signed up for pottery classes and never looked back. I would love to know who that man was that influenced me so greatly!

Who has been the most influential instructor in your life, and what was the most important thing you learned from him or her?
I have had many amazing instructors and I have taken many many classes and workshops. They include: Meredith Brickell, Ronan Peterson, Susan Filley, Adrian Arleo, Debra Fritts, Steven Forbes deSoule, workshops with Amy Sanders, Po Wen Liu, Hitomi Shibata, Blaine Avery, and there are more I’m sure that I am forgetting. I picked up so many techniques and tips from each of these artists that I use in my work every day.

But the two instructors that have helped me the most are Deborah Harris and Barbara McKenzie. I took classes from these two potters at Claymakers in Durham when I first moved to Chapel Hill. They taught me above all else, the importance of a well crafted piece. They taught me to take the time to do things right. They also taught me that it doesn’t just come overnight, that you have to do the work, you have to not be afraid to try things and fail, and they helped me understand how to move on, not get attached to a piece that was obviously not working and just start over. They have both been endlessly giving of their time and knowledge as I have grown as a clay artist and they have both become very great friends.

Where does your inspiration come from?
Most of my inspiration comes from old discarded objects, antiques and treasures that people give me from their attics and drawers in their homes. If it’s rusty, old or broken, it inspires me! I am inspired by the architecture of the rural south. I love old cemeteries, plantations in South Carolina where I’m from, barns, dilapidated houses out in cotton fields, old paint on weathered wood. I also like to wander around in flea markets and antique malls. I feel so nostalgic when I am in one, especially if they are playing really bad music on their intercom. I love the crazy people that run their stalls at outdoor flea markets. I like to just hang around and listen to the conversations. I hear some crazy stuff, let me tell you. For instance, yesterday I was in an old shop in Asheboro, NC and I heard these two elderly ladies talking about the way things were when they were young girls. One was saying that they didn’t have yard sales when she was a girl, when they wanted to get rid of stuff they just threw it away. She said “why we took a bunch of our furniture one time and pushed it over the bank down the road from us.” Now THAT inspires me!! Only in the south!

Who is your favorite artist not working in ceramics?
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andrew Wyeth, I know extremely different, right?! but I love them both. The Basquiat movie is in my head all the time. I went to the Wyeth museum in Maine last summer, I just stood in this room with Andrew Wyeth’s paintings and cried.

Do you ever get potters’ block? How do you get out of your creative ruts?
I do get blocks, I seem to reach these plateaus and I get to a place where I feel that I don’t know what to do next. I get moody, irrational, lack confidence in my ability, question why I do this. And then, like a flash, I get a spark of inspiration from some crazy thing, and I’m back at it. I have gotten more used to it, I can feel it coming like a tidal wave and I just wait it out. I know that it will pass and something will come, I just wait for it. Many times I get out of these funks from something that wakes me at 3am, some glimmer of an idea, and I will grab my notebook and write it down. Recently, a girl I blog with wrote about a note in her friend’s studio that said “just work”. How true is that? If I just go out to my studio and do something, anything, something else will follow. Just Work! When all else fails I call my artist friends and go have coffee with them or I call my daughter and something they will say strikes a chord and I’m good to go.

What book or movie have you read or seen recently that rocked your world?
Movies: The Radiant Child, Basquiat, Harold and Maude, Stalker by Andrey Tarkovskiy, 2001 A Space Odyssey

Books: I recently read A Different Kind of Luxury: Japanese Lessons in Simple Living and Inner Abundance and it changed the way I thought about a lot of things.

Check out Tracey's wonderful houses the House and Home exhibit opening March 2 at MudFire Gallery.

Featured Artist: Shawn O'Connor

2012-02-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Shawn's unique wood fired work has everyone at the studio talking. We decided to circle back around to find out more about our favorite Downeaster.

What is your typical day to day like?

I try to treat my studio as a normal job. I typically work Monday throughFriday from 8am to 5pm with and hour break for lunch. Many nights during theweek I put a few hours in doing paper work or photographing work. I try to takeweekends off from the studio, but frequently find myself working if I haven’tleft town. I typically throw in the morning and trim and assemble in theafternoon.

Apart from makingthings from clay, what do you enjoy doing?

I’m an outdoor person at heart. I love to hike and camp, but pretty muchenjoy any outdoor activity. I’m also enjoy music, of all types. I frequently goto shows and concerts.

How much of your own ceramic piecesdo you use in your own home?

I try and use my own workoften. I feel it is important to understand fully how my work will live out itslife in other people’s homes. I will often make changes to future work I make,from the experience I have using it. I have a good collection of other people’swork that I typically use every day.

Is there a ceramic artist whose workyou most admire?

One of my favoritepotters, and friend of mine, is Jennifer Allen. Our work is visually andphysically very different, but we share some of the same artistic values thatgo into our work.

Why is handmade better than mass produced?

The hand made offers the aspect of the human connection. Often the valueof the maker is entwined in the object that they make. The user, or owner, ofthe object will often have a personal connection to the maker, addingsignificant emotional value to the object. Mass produced objects are often sterile and cold void of human emotionand connection. The tactile qualities of my work are very important to me, as this ispart of the experience I am creating for the user. My work is meet to be usedin the service of food and drink, so it is important to consider all the senseswhen making these objects.

Who is your favorite artist not working in ceramics?

Probably Richard Serra. I love his use of form andsurface to create work that gives an experience to the viewer on a monumentalscale.

Do you ever get potter's block?

I sometimes do have potters block, but find if I start working through aseries of forms that I have already made, I usually end up creating some newone at the end.

Wherewould you like to be in ten years?

I would like to have some roots somewhere in ten years. Hopefully beforethen but, you never know how things are going to play out. I’ve been movingaround a lot the past five years, grad school, residencies, jobs. I’m startingto feel a lack of “home” or stability in this transient lifestyle. It’s notreally an ideal situation for a studio potter.

Visit Shawn O'Connor's solo exhibit at MudFire Gallery in Atlanta or online http://www.mudfire.com/shawn-oconnor-2012.htm

Best of Kiln - Ginger Birdsey's Pastel Pinch

2012-02-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

This week's "best of kiln" award goes to the always fabulous Ginger Birdsey for her gorgeous cup and serving tray set in soft pastels. Check out the way the glazes pool and interact in crevices, and don't forget to set your internet browser to "feelie" mode to get a sense of the luxurious satiny texture. This set is marvelous!

Ginger used a white stoneware glazed with 2-D blue and Apricot glazes. The set was fired to cone 6 in oxidation. 2-D can be finicky, with a thick application resulting in pinholing, so test a bit, to get the right consistency on your work. Apricot, on the other hand, is a magic glaze that can make even your flattest glaze super-sexy variegated. Get down!

Apricot
Custer Feldspar    44
Whiting   19.9
Flint                    10.7
EPK                    10.7
Lithium Carbonate    5.3
Talc      3.1
Frit 3124              6.4

Rutile                   7.7
Bentonite             3.2

2-D Blue
Dolomite   21.8
Whiting 3.3
Nephyline Syenite    47.5
Ball Clay   24.1
Frit 3195   3.3

Cobalt Carbonate    0.5
Rutile                      4
Bentonite    1.9

Connected - Short Film

2012-02-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

While I've come to think of YouTube as a complete waste of time, I was never really smart enough to think of it as a place to fill the void left by the absence of short film festivals at the Biograph on M Street in DC. Until someone recommended this to me. I have to admit to being quite excited to explore this side of YouTube.

Featured Artist - Andrew Massey

2012-02-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

We met Andrew Massey in North Carolina last fall, by almost walking right past his booth...thinking the work was metal and we, of course, care for nothing in the world but clay... Luckily, a double-take, and next thing you know, we're buying stoneware wine cups (ultimately, everything is a wine cup!) that look like copper pipes with nails and rivets and threading. We're very pleased that Andrew has a solo exhibit, aptly entitled Massey's Machines, coming up shortly at MudFire . But first... we invite you to meet the maker!

What is your typical day to day like?

Well I live and work in the River Arts District of Ashevilleso i typically wake up to the sound of the train coming through. (I am byno means an early riser but would much rather spend time working late into thenight) I probably get up around 9 or so and have a nice leisurelybreakfast while i deal with emails, website, scheduling and business relatedthings, all while listening to some wonderfully classic vinyls. On nicedays I'll walk down to the studio (I've been loving the weather this winter). When i arrive at the studio I make a list of the things i want toaccomplish for the day, though i find that most of the time these lists are abit over ambitious which leaves me with no shortage of things to do. Iwill create most of the components for my work early in the day and try tostart assembling late in the day or save them for the next day. There isalways a bit of fun to be had with my fellow resident artists throughout theday as well. I enjoy working in the community studio environment. The energy between the 6 resident artists as well as the rest of thestudio keeps everything interesting and fresh. We will often talk abouteach others work in little mini critiques which helps us to each keep pushingour work forward. I don't typically get out of the studio before 10 or11pm with many times being much later. I find i am at my most productivelate into the night.

Apart from making things from clay, what do you enjoy doing?

In the time between creating inthe studio I love to just be outside. I live in one of the most amazingand beautiful places in the US(Asheville, NC) and it is always a struggle to balanceall of the many things that i love. I have been climbing for close to 12years now and i really try to take advantage of that as much as possible. I live 30 minutes from several crags and i am really trying to get outonce a week or so, even if its just for an afternoon. I was sidelined bytwo separate shoulder injuries this past year and now that i am through it i'mtrying to not waste any more time. Besides climbing, I love to get outhiking, backpacking, biking, or even just floating down the river. I lovethe culture here in this city where we can just be out on the mountain all day or in the studio all covered in clay and go right down to the WedgeBrewery afterwards with no one giving the dirtiness a second thought. Oneof the things i try to never miss, if i can help it, are the music, art, and beerfestivals around here. These are the times when you see the real asheville come out andplay. It is even better when these festivals line up with the end of along hard push to get new work out for a show.

Who has been the most influential instructor in your life, and what wasthe most important thing you learned from him or her?

My most influential instructor has to be my ceramicsprofessor in college, Nathan Cox. I probably wouldn't be here and playingin clay everyday if it weren't for him. I had just gotten into art withmy hands just dabbling in a bit of clay. I really loved working in claybut i would never have changed my major and really focus in without hisencouragement. I had many times where i would sit down with him and justtry and figure out what i was doing with my college life and where i was goingafterwards. I really just can't say enough about how much he helped mefocus in and believe that i could do something with this newly found passion.

What is your favorite food to eat out of your own pots?

Definitely my favorite thing to eat out of my own pots is ared curry dish. A few years ago i was always frustrated by the storebought bowls i had just not quite being big enough for my curry dish. Idid the logical thing for any potter to do, I made my own set of bowls atprecisely the perfect size. They have plenty enough room for all of thegoodness i wanted to put in them. Red curry is absolutely one of myfavorite things to make. I add chicken, green peppers, onions, red potatoesand a bit of basil to a big bowl of rice and curry sauce i have made andoooo.... it just hits the spot.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I take my inspiration from my long lasting love ofmechanical objects and many of the things i see in and around old industrialbuildings. I have always been mechanically savvy. From a young agei was taking things apart just to see how they worked and reassembling them. I always loved doing all of the engine work on several of the oldvehicles i have owned as well. I can see that my process has stemmed fromlearning how to make a basic teapot and seeing how the different components allassembled together. Just as every child loved to build with legos, I loveto build with clay. I also take much inspiration from industrialsteam-punk objects and how each contraption is seemingly assembled from manyrandom pieces taken and re-purposed from other objects.

Who is your favorite artist notworking in ceramics?

I can never keep to just one favorite, but i can say that Ihave been recently very intrigued with Alexander Calder. I recentlytraveled to the High Museum in Atlantafor their "From Picasso to Warhol" exhibit. It was the firsttime i had experienced Calder's work in person. I love his use ofphysical balance in combination with visual balance and it is something that itry to hold the same characteristics in my own work. Another aspect ofhis work that i really love is the subtle kinetic properties. His piecesare so balanced that they will move and change with the slight air currentsfrom viewers just walking around. I love kinetic sculpture in general,and it is something i am always looking at, but have yet to explore.

Where would you like to be in ten years?
Haha.... 10 years is a long time, but hopefully I willstill be creating.
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Andrew Massey's solo exhibit Massey's Machines, will open on February 24 at MudFire gallery and online.

Potter to Potter Interview: Shawn O'Connor

2012-02-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

In this first of a series of Potter to Potter interviews, Christina Kwan recently spoke with Shawn O'Connor whose work is featured in Daily Conversations, a solo exhibit at MudFire Gallery.
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I have to admit, the idea of speaking to Shawn O'Connorintimidated me at first. His pots are so robustly elegant and his artistsstatement so eloquent that I thought I would have to be at my most"on" to be on par with his conversation. Quite the contrary happened.Shawn is as casual and friendly as the potter on the wheel next to yours. Andhis genuine candor made me feel like I was talking to an old college buddy. Iguess at the heart of it all, that's what his pots are truly about - aninvitation to connect, an opportunity to nurture, and just a natural sincerity.I guess maybe all pots are just mini-me's of the potters who created them.

CK - So just to startoff, where are you from? In a nutshell, how did you get where you are now?

Shawn - Well, I grew up in a small town in Mainenamed Minot, so Maine has always felt like home to me. AfterI ended a residency at Arrowmont, I really just didn't want to move back intomy parent's house.

CK - Of course, no one wants to do that. So what are youdoing now?

Shawn - Luckily, an opportunity just sort of fell into mylap - working for the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation. They pay for me to liveand they fund my studio work.

CK - Well that sounds pretty much like every artist's dream.You're very lucky. Is clay your primary medium? How did you first becomeinterested in it?

Shawn - Yes, Clay is my primary medium. I was always intoart growing up, so it naturally evolved from there. In college I was asculpture major and in my junior year, I took my first ceramics course. Iinitially took the class in order to use clay as a sculpture medium and I justfell in love with the material itself. That eventually turned into learningthrowing and then solely making utilitarian pots.

CK - I think that's how it happens for most people. Itstarts off as just a human impulse to create and express oneself and then youdecide to take little steps here and there and before you know it... you're apotter! That's how I got interested in clay as well. As your career continuesto develop, what part of the process are you most enjoying and what are youmost surprised by?

Shawn - What I most enjoy doing is being in the studio andjust making the work. What I'm most surprised by is how much work is neededbeyond just making stuff. I'm always surprised by how much self-promotion isreally involved in being a working artist; you really have to work to get yourname out there and keep it relevant. It's funny how much that affects yourbusiness. Whether or not your work has true merit, if your name is"branded" or easily recognized, people will be more willing topurchase the work and consider it worthy.

CK - Yeah, they never teach you that in college. The"real world" of being an artist is never a topic of discussion in artcourses. So why is it that you make primarily utilitarian/functional pottery?

Shawn - I'm really interested in creating the experience ofusing the work. Of course the actual object and its aesthetic is important, butwhat I'm truly trying to do is create a connection; it's more of a sociologicalway of looking at pots. I like the idea of people using my pots day in and dayout, with that experience becoming a part of their everyday life.

CK - I completely understand that. I think that's actuallyan essential core of functional pottery making and most potters probably feelthe same way you do. It's a way to build human connection through an object.What techniques do you employ that make your work different? Are theytraditional or things you've invented? What makes your pots special?

Shawn - That's a tough one. Right now I fire my work in awood kiln, which is a method of firing that's been around for ages so it'spretty hard to "break new ground" in that discipline. I'm constantlyexperimenting in trying to break the traditional aesthetic and I actually justwrote an article regarding this very topic (CeramicTechnical Nov Issue).

CK - So do you think you've succeeded in doing this?

Shawn - I think I've succeeded in doing this in the sensethat I'm continuing to find new ways, new possibilities to break the traditionof the past. I feel like we're in this period that's sort of like how Raku wasin the 80s. Woodfire is a real trendright now, but everything is looking somewhat similar. I'm just continuing totry to set myself apart from that.

CK - When did you first learn to woodfire and why did youcontinue working in this type of firing?

Shawn - Well my first woodfiring experience was up at aresidency at the Watershed Center in Newcastle, Maine. That was when I learnedhow to woodfire and I immediately felt a soulful connection to it because of myfamily background. Wood firing involves stacking and splitting wood and thatwas just something that was engrained in me throughout my childhood. I wentback to Watershed the very next summer as a staff member and I just kept doingit. The more I fired, the more my interest (and love) grew for it.

CK - Very cool. Not many people have that sort of backgroundso it's great how strong of an affinity you have to working with wood. How muchof your time to you devote to "making"? Are you also teaching ordoing other things to supplement your craft?

Shawn - I am fortunate enough to just be making. I spendabout an average of 50 hours a week in the studio. Sometimes it's more because,for instance, this past week I worked Monday through Friday just in my studioand then I spent the weekend wood firing. So if you count firing as part of"making", then it goes beyond 50 hours sometimes.

CK - What accomplishments are you most proud of at thispoint in your life?

Shawn - I'm pretty proud that I got my graduate degree, myMFA. I never would have thought I was going to get an advanced degree of anykind. When I was young, I hated school, so it was never a thought in my mindthat I would do that. I also have had two articles published in Ceramicjournals and that's another thing I never would have dreamed I would bedoing.

CK - What has been your motivation or your inspiration?

Shawn - To be honest, my motivation is that I just love whatI do. I'm really a maker of things and so it never feels like "work"for me. I love being in the studio. And as far as inspiration, I think it wasone of my graduate professors who said it best; he said, "You're not a butterfly.You don't go through a metamorphosis; you evolve progressively." So Iagree with him in that there's no overnight change or inspiration that resultsin any dramatic change in my work. There's a slow progression and evolution soas I learn and experiment, the work sort of inspires itself and I just continueto figure things out and move forward. Does that make sense?

CK - Of course. It's not always about eureka moments, butrather, development and growth that happens over time. So my last question ishow do your collectors feel about your work and what kind of feedback has beenthe most memorable or most influential?

Shawn - Wow, umm.. you know, I don't really recallparticular "collectors" per se, but I did get a memorable emailrecently from Jack Troy. He's a ceramics guy - a real figure in woodfire. I'veadmired Jack for a long time, both as an artist and as a person. He sent methis short email saying that he was using my cup and thinking of me. Though itsounds so simple, it really made an impact on me. To have someone I've reallyadmired say that their using my work is a big deal because Jack trulyunderstands what a good pot is. Knowing that he's using my pot on a regularbasis is really… fulfilling.

CK - Yeah, I can only imagine. It's sort of like your workcoming full circle, to have someone you really admire admiring your work. Thatsounds like a really satisfying validation of everything you've been workingtowards. Congratulations on being awesome!
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Check out Shawn's Solo exhibit online or in person at MudFire Gallery.

Featured Artist - Forrest Lesch Middelton

2012-02-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

To say we're excited about Forrest coming to teach a workshop at MudFire this May...is quite the understatement.

Here's why...

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If this looks like fun on the screen, consider joining us! This is going to be a high energy, intensive, three-day workshop. As of now, there are a couple of spots left. But probably not for long. For more details or to register, please visit our workshop pages.

Best of Kiln - Lindsey Elsey for Blue Steel

2012-02-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

Some things come out of the kiln and catch your attention like nobody's business. This tends to happens a lot when 150 talented risk takers are constantly experimenting, mixing, blending and testing. Crowd sourcing at its best!

The Esteemed Glaze Academy (Fair, Balanced and certainly not above Bribery), was formed on February 1, 2012, with a stated mission of sharing Best of Kiln results and glaze recipes. And so, without further ado... the premier "Best of Kiln" nomination goes to (drum roll please) Lindsey Elsey, for her crystal blue combination The Academy will henceforth refer to as "blue steel".

Check out the flowy crystals! Lindsey dipped the entire piece in Bright Blue Sky (from Ron Roy's and John Hesselberth's book on glazes), then dipped the piece in Jen's Juicy Fruit. The piece was fired on white stoneware in light reduction to cone 6. This has the potential of being very runny, but in this case, the glaze combo behaved.

Jen's Juicy Fruit
Neph Sy         44.5
Silica               10.9
Whiting    10
EPK                9.1
Frit 3124         8.2
Lithium Carb    8.2
Soda Ash         9.1

Rutile                5.5
Red Iron Oxide 1.8
Bentonite          1.8

Bright Blue Sky
G-200                   20
Frit 3134               20
Wollastonite           10
EPK                      20
Talc                       11.5
Flint                      18.5

Cobalt Carbonate 1
Rutile                     6
Red Iron Oxide   0.5

Ceramic Decal Printer

2012-01-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

MudFire recently launched MudFire Labs, a creative play-space for exploring crossover between ceramics, printmaking, technology, and production. Our first big project was a technology evaluation and purchase for a a ceramic decal printer. In this post we'll talk a bit about the technology, the costs, and what the printer is capable of.

But first, take a look at this...over 940 glaze tests we fired last night...

The best part was NOT mixing 940 glaze tests. I found a 14 page Pantone color chart on the web, and imported it into Photoshop and divided into tiles. Then hit print. Awesome!

Technically these tests are overglazes. They were fired on top of commercial porcelain tile with white glaze. The printer prints ceramic pigments. There are four colors in the printer, it is a standard CMYK four color laser printer with special toner. You print using a special Photoshop color profile onto decal paper, prepare the decal paper with a covercoat & flux/glaze, apply the decals to pots that have already been through a glaze firing, and then fire the pots to 1500 F or about Cone 011.

The system includes the ceramic toners, the modified laser printer, decal paper, covercoat, and flux. Industry uses the phrase flux, but it is really a fritted glaze that melts the ceramic toner into the glaze on the work.

Several years ago, purchasing and outfitting a printer system like this cost $30,000 and there was only one vendor in the US that offered a solution. Due to advances in technology and a more competitive market with multiple vendors, you can now purchase a system for under $10,000 with an affordable maintenance contract to protect against unexpected expenses.

MudFire evaluated different options, ranging from a very established pioneer in the field, to hiring a consultant to modify a printer, to outsourcing our decal printing, to a relatively new company in Phoenix called Digital Ceramic Technologies, or DCT. We went with the DCT system. Their website is www.ceramicdecalprinters.com.

Many of you may remember Andy Brayman's service EasyCeramicDecals.com which seems no longer to be active. Janet at www.ceramicdecalprinting.com has picked up where he left off. We had the good fortune to meet Janet during our evaluation and at our DCT training session in Phoenix. If you need someone to print labels for you, don't hesitate to call her. She has I think four printers in-house running full time and was planning on buying another from DCT.

The founders of DCT, Mark and Joel, were early users of another vendor's products, and they started DCT to provide a very customer-focused, high quality, lower cost solution. We think they've achieved that. Visiting their training class in Phoenix was an amazing experience and we were so excited to get back and unpack our system and get printing. They've come up with a simple solution that prints well, having developed their own toners, papers, and coatings that work extremely well together for great color.

We're surprised at how few clay studios have this sort of technology available. I think with DCT out there, that is going to change quickly. If you'd like to read more about my personal vision for how and why I'll be using the printer in my work, check out my personal blog entry. Here's a peak at the first actual pots out of the kiln with color decals.

Featured Artist - Martha Grover

2012-01-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Martha Grover's process involves an unusual combination ofvarious glazing and assembling techniques, resulting in the whimsical,functional forms she describers as "reminiscent of images orchids, flowingdresses, and the body." Thrown and altered porcelain forms are combinedwith slabs, with most seams left decoratively exposed. The work is fired tocone 04, and then finished with a layered glaze process that involves bothpouring and spraying. The snowy,seashell like patterns on Grover's surfaces are achieved by layering a colored,opaque glaze over a clear base coat. Ultimately the finished piece is fired to cone 11 in an electric kiln.

Martha learned to throw from a high school teacher, but itwas while she was studying architecture in college that she discovered thefield of ceramics. "I was lucky to have a great teacher and I fell in lovewith throwing, but not one told me you could actually go to school forthat. I come from a science-drivenfamily of engineers, and I have alwaysbeen interested in the arts, so the logical decision was to major inarchitecture. But the ceramics studiowas right next to the architecture department. I never looked back. By the timeI completed by BA, I knew my passion was clay."

Since then, Martha's work has been published in Clay Times,Ceramics Monthly, 500 Pitchers, 500 Vases, and 500 Platters and Chargers. She has been honored on the cover of CeramicsMonthly as a winner of the 2010 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist Competitionand is currently working at the Archie Bray Foundation, where she has receivedthe Taunt Fellowship. "When I tookthe Myers Briggs, my personality tested on the borderline between introvert andextrovert, and I think my pots have a similar quality. Outrageous but quiet. A little frilly, but still functional. And there are details that you don't see atfirst, that you discover through interaction."

Her pots have a striking, special-occasion quality to them,meant to encourage the user to pause and fully experience interacting with theceramic vessel. "In our lives, we oftenmove past the objects surrounding us at a very quick pace. My goal is to create an undeniable presence,one that acts as an invitation to explore the work thoroughly, taking time toknow all of its many facets. Onlythrough sustained interaction we can truly know and appreciate someone orsomething."

Tell us something unusual about yourself.

I have an Airedale named Harvey. I got him as a puppy just after I finishedundergrad in 2002. As anyone who has aterrier can attest, they have their quirks, challenges, and very entertainingcharacteristics. I affectionately referto Harvey as the“Monster.” As a puppy, he looked (andstill sort of does) like a Sesame Street Muppet—curly brown hair and mouthhinged open wide with a little pink tongue inside. At 10, he still acts like a crazy puppy, inmanner and discipline. I thought thatafter a few years he might calm down, but no, he is still just as energetic asever.

His name is from the Jimmy Stewart movie “Harvey.” In the film, Harveyis a 6’ 3.5” tall, invisible rabbit, and a pooka: a benign butmischievous creature from Celtic mythology. And mischievous my Harveyhas turned out to be! Airedales talk,constantly. He loves to makenoises—grunts, groans, squeaks—he tells me all kinds of stories about his daywhen I get home from the studio.

Harveyalso tries to sleep on my pillow, whether I am using it or not! He is a constant source of amusement, andfrequent frustration—the kind where you can’t help but laugh and shake yourhead at the same time.

What is your typical day to day like?

I usually start the day by getting into the studio at 9 AM. I begin with a cup of tea while checking email,responding to inquiries, and other paperwork that goes along with being anartist. Then I spend 30 to 60 minutes atthe wheel throwing parts for the pieces that I will assemble later in theafternoon. My throwing time varies dependingon the volume verses complexity of the pots I am working on that day.

Once all the parts are thrown and starting to set up, I do any necessaryaltering and slab preparation for assembly in the afternoon. By the time I’m done prepping everything,it’s time for lunch. After lunch, I moveinto hand building for the afternoon. Ispend the rest of the afternoon assembling the thrown parts and slabs intofinished pieces. Around 4 PM I willthrow another batch of pots to use the following day or sometimes later thatevening depending on how busy the season is. At 5 PM, I take a break to go home and walk the dog and havedinner. A few nights each week, I willgo back to the studio after dinner and finish a few more pots. I am usually in the studio six days a week,seven during the holidays or when a big show is coming up.

Interspersed with my regular production schedule, usually while pots aredrying, is packing work to ship, taking slide photos, and the usual re-checkingof mail at least two more times during the day, then another cup of tea andtaking care of recycling clay (I try to make this a continual process so itdoesn’t become overwhelming).

How much of your ownceramic pieces do you use in your own home? Other people’s?

I have a great collection of pots at home—more than canreasonably fit in the cupboards and on the shelves! I love using handmade work. I use a few of my own pots at home, butmainly the house is filled with other people’s work. I already spend 8 to 12 hours a day with mypots, and there is something so enjoyable in using another potter’s work—it isalmost like having a conversation with them. If it is a pot made by an artist that I know, then the experience isalso a walk down memory lane—a time to think of them and their work and generalthoughts about handmade objects. For me,the use of a pot strengthens so many connections, between me and the vessel, meand the maker. The use of other pots alsoencourages me to think critically about my work—the decisions that I make witheach piece. It’s an ongoing dialog.

If you collectpottery, do you tend to collect deep from one artist or style, or broadlyacross many artists and looks?

I collect broadly from lots of artists—mostly pots but somesculptural work. My collection hasbenefited greatly from my time at different residency programs and working indifferent galleries. I like to collectand use other people’s pots because it is very instructive to me as amaker. I learn about form, weight,contours, and style through use. I liketo have pots in styles that contrast from my own. Other artists make decisions in their potsthat often differ from my own, and I may not fully appreciate those decisionsuntil I actually use their pots.

What is your favoritefood to eat out of your own pots?

While it’s not necessarily my favorite food—I love too manyto pick—my favorite pot that I made and use most frequently at home is a smallpitcher/creamer. It is a light texturedgreen, with a longish spout. I fill itwith homemade maple syrup every weekend for Saturday brunch. My dad and grandmother make the syrup on thefamily farm in Maineevery year. I love it on pancakes,waffles, or French toast. The littlepitcher pours perfectly—not a single drop of the precious syrup drips down thefront! The handle is just the right sizefor one finger. One of my favoritefeatures was quite unplanned. I storethe syrup in pint-sized mason jars, and at the end of brunch, I can tip thepitcher upside down on the jar to drain. The spout and top lip of the pitcher are shaped in such a way that it restsperfectly on the mason jar, so that it can be left to pour out any lastremaining drops to save for the next time.

Where does your inspiration come from?

The simple/short answer – flowers, dance, old moviecostumes, and antiques.

All of these played influential roles in my childhood, andthus are the forms that my hands long to make. My parents’ house is filled to the brim with antiques. Old china, furniture, paintings, dishes,candlesticks, and silverware filled my visual realm as a child. I was raised in the woods of Western Maine. Myfamily grows most of their own vegetables. Along with the food, they grow just as many ormore flowers. I was constantly in theflower beds as a child, looking at the intricate details of the blossoms. I also studied ballet from the age of 3 until18. And my sister and I were, and stillare, fascinated by old movies, especially the lavish movie musicals of the 50sand 60s.

All of the ornateness of the antiques; the delicate edgesand details of the flower blossoms; the lift, shape, and movement of thedancers; the grace and style of the old movie stars; and the handmade/homegrownmentality of my parents have shaped what my work is today.

Do you ever get potters’ block? How do you get outof your creative ruts?

I don’t think that I do, but I know there are times when I make fewer newforms. For me, new creativity comes inbursts. A few times each year I getreally excited about a new form or variation in my work. The rest of the time I just try to focus onmaking the established forms that people enjoy. The life of a potter is filled with repetition, and I think this helps mein some ways with not getting “potter’s block.” There are always more mugs and bowls to be made, which gets me throughperiods of less creativity.

This past spring I was very inspired to make a new form –Tulipieres. I had wanted to make a large-scalevase form for quite a while and was having cracking issues when I attempted tomake them as one piece. It suddenlydawned on me that I could make them in smaller parts that would stack – thelayers could then be fired separately and reassembled out of the kiln. It made firing and glazing easier, and thestacked vase has the added benefit of being more versatile to fit various sizedflower arrangements depending on the situation and space. The technical problem in a way ended up beingthe creative boost to make an exciting new form.

I have had many other instances where a simple conversation sparks a newidea. The latest was a chat about theabundance of cupcake shops. This lead tothe thought, “Maybe I should make cupcake stands,” then “What about cakestands?” This was followed by some internetand book research of what others have made and then experimentation in thestudio.

Being creative and coming up with a new form in my style can be achallenge, but I enjoy the process, and if I ever get stumped, I try to bringit back to my core goal of functionality and my personal aestheticinfluences.

View Martha's solo exhibition at MudFire Gallery online and in person from January 27 - February 19, 2012.

Also check out these "how-to" articles published by Ceramic Arts Daily:
Seamless Transitions: How to Spray Layers of Glazes to Softly Blend Glaze Colors
Treasure for Treasures: Lidded Box Form

Great Glazes - Malcolm Davis Shino

2012-01-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

As far as I know, every pottery teacher has had that charming moment when a new student joyously announces they've just found out that Malcolm Davis is an actual person, not just the name of their favorite, confounding, elusive glaze.

And what an amazing actual person he was! Most everyone in the clay community is aware that we lost a great teacher, spirit and voice this month. The Washington Post wrote this obituary chronicling some of the highlights of Malcolm's life and career.

Part of the rich legacy Malcolm leaves behind, of course, includes his eponymous glaze. Malcolm Davis Shino is traditionally fired to cone 10... but we've been firing it to cone 6 (unaltered) for many years with wonderful results.

Here's the recipe to try - fired in reduction, of course, cone 6 or 10 or anything in between... and quite possibly even lower. All the pieces pictured below were fired to cone 6 in medium reduction in our car kiln.

Malcolm Davis Shino
Soda Ash	16.3
OM-4	13
EPK	17
F-4 Soda Feldspar	9.3
Neph Sy	38.6
Red Art	5.7

Below are 40 different things to try with shino. Part of this list was originally published in Studio Potter magazine in 2003. People have been experimenting and adding to it ever since.

1. Rather than mix each batch fresh, add 1/2 batch when old batch is 1/2 gone;
2. Use wax resist or shellack to cover parts of a pot;
3. Use plastic wrap to cover parts of a pot;
4. Place glazed ware in dry sawdust, perforated bags, bubble-wrap, textured paper, or packing peanuts to influence patterning caused by drying;
5. Stack glazed pots to dry;
6. Dry glazed pots touching one another or crowded together;
7. Dry with coils of wet clay, shells, etc. on flat surfaces;
8. Apply wax with foam stamps, splatter on with fingers, trail with slip trailer;
9. Splatter water on surface of glazed pots with fingers or tooth brush;
10. Spray soda ash solution on glazed pots;
11. Sprinkle wood ash (or mix of wood ash and soda ash) on freshly-glazed pot;
12. Dry open pots upside down;
13. Dry pots in front of heater or fan or repeatedly mist/spritz with water;
14. Bury in wood chips;
15. For luster, brush/spray high-iron glaze over;
16. Try saggars – or build up around pots with hard bricks/broken shelves;
17. Add some common salt/kosher salt/rock salt;
18. Substitute different feldspars, kaolins, spodumenes, ball clays;
19. Re-fire to biscuit temperature in electric kiln (cone 06);
20. Vary the percentage of soda ash (from 0% to 20%);
21. Substitute amblygonite for ceramic-grade spodumene; it has lower thermal expansion and higher phosphorus content;

22. Soak biscuit in soda ash solution;
23. Test over iron and iron/manganese washes;
24. Fire test tile dipped in copper-red right next to Shino pot; spritz copper-red glaze over glazed pots before firing; or try adding copper carbonate to the Shino glaze;
25. Dampen/spritz areas of biscuit with water or damp sponge before glazing;
26. Aim heat gun or hair dryer across ware board of freshly glazed Shino pots;
27. Spray hair spray over glazed pot;
28. Use thin wash of temmoku glaze or a gunmetal glaze (containing manganese) over a Shino-glazed pot;
29. Try spraying Shino glaze, varying placement, overlap, vary density;
30. Apply soda ash or wood directly on pot after glazing; spray first with spray adhesive if pot is too dry for ash to stick;
31. Spatter iron oxide wash over freshly-glazed pot with toothbrush;
32. Try thin washes of ocher, manganese or copper carbonate;
33. Sgraffito – scratch through pattern on shino glaze.
34. Place your pot in the freezer for an hour before glazing
35. Stuff plastic wrap inside your vessel for a few days while the glaze is drying and salt crystals are forming
36. Use blue masking tape or damp strips of newspaper on top of a freshly glazed pot to influence drying irregularity. Remove tape before firing :- )
37. Use underglazes to paint designs on bisque before glazing
38. Rub black underglaze or red iron oxide wash into textures of your clay before glazing
39. Apply the glaze thinly over recently washed bisque, then re-dip/re-spray two or three days later
40. Mix two different shinos together in a spray bottle container and spray your bisque. Try a 50/50 blend to start.
41. Use your finger to run lines and patterns through the salt crystals that form on the surface of a dry glazed pot.

Please leave a comment if there's something else you'd recommend trying!

Featured Artist - Adrina Richard

2012-01-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow has kept Adrina Richard out of the studio for the last 8 years. (And very only occasionally has she been delayed by lack of coffee.) An expert handbuilder with an eye for contemporary style and geometry, she is one of the most approachable, generous artists we've had the pleasure of meeting. It's not at all infrequent that you'll find her leading an informal how-to in the studio, sharing glaze information, or just demonstrating the latest of her new tools to a group of curious studio members. A relative newcomer to the 30,000 year-old clay scene, Adrina has been juried into some very prestigious shows (The American Craft Council, Perspectives and Fired Works for starters) and exhibits at several galleries in the Southeast (including MudFire Gallery). Not bad for an ex-con.... read on!

Tell us something unusual about yourself.

I was arrested duringthe civil rights era in Atlanta. The inside of the Atlanta city jail in the 60’s was not prettyand the food was terrible. Here's aphoto of me and fellow convict, rep. John Lewis.

Describe the moment you fell in love with clay. Have you ever cheated on it?

I don’t remember the exact moment I fell in love with claybut it was soon after I started working with it. The possibilities overwhelmed me, and stilldo. There are so many ways to expressoneself in clay that I have found myself taking workshops in methods I probablywon’t ever pursue, but they are so fascinating I just must explore them. I have taken over 50 workshops to date. However, I have some serious talks withmyself about staying focused and not straying too far. The danger is always there to be scatteredand thereby accomplish little. I’ve only“lusted in my heart” about jewelry. It’sup to you to determine if that is really cheating.

Who has been the most influentialinstructor in your life, and what was the most important thing you learned fromhim or her?

I’d say that the most influentialinstructor, to date is Annette Gates. Taking her workshop a few years ago and admiring her work has greatlyinfluenced my work. She taught me sometechniques which really helped me develop my body of work.

How much of your own potterydo you use in your own home? Other people’s?

We use all ceramic pieces at home, both my own and fromour collection. I love to take piecesfrom the wall and other places and serve food in them. I have replaced all glasses with tumblers andcups made of clay. We enjoy naming theartists as we put food and drink on the table. I think about their work and admire it as I use it.

If you collect pottery, do you tendto collect deep from one artist or style, or broadly across many artists andlooks?

Thereare soooo many wonderful ceramic artists out there. I do have multiple pieces by some artists butcollect broadly. The variation isamazing. And, of course, some if it isdecorative as well as functional. Ireally cannot limit myself to one style of anything, including furniture in myhouse. It’s really a mix.

Where does your inspiration come from?

In looking at my workI’d say Asian art is definitely an influence. I must have been Chinese in a past life. Or, that Mongol DNA got dropped in the Caucasus.

Does the change of seasons affect your pottery? Your methods?

I sweat more in thesummer.

Do youever get potters’ block?

Since I hand build alot, I like to throw pots to break the routine. I also try making weird shapes to see if they have possibilities. I call those prototypes. And, as my fellow potter, Ginger says, If they work, then they are the first of aseries.

Where would you like to be in ten years?

Alive and makingpots!

Visit Adrina's artist page at MudFire Gallery and check out her sexy pots!

Oh, the Places You'll Go at Burning Man!

2012-01-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

We're excited to start sharing project ideas, member profiles, studio news, art finds and more on our fancy new MudFire blog. Let's kick off oith one of the funnest and most inspiring videos I've watched in a while. Your MudFire founders have been involved with the Burning Man community since 1997 and have been there and to regional burns countless times. Perhaps in a way this is where MudFire began as we pondered art, work, living consciously, how to foster community, and our next steps in this short sweet life. It is fitting indeed to launch the blog on this note and kind of amazing it only took us ten years of MudFire to get around to blogging!