Artist Lectures

Saturday afternoon I was part of a group of artists lecturing on our work at Larson Gallery.

Five of us were asked to talk about our work and show slides.

I only remembered to take pictures before people showed up

ooh, nice looking installation, eh?

Renee Adams spoke first. Her work, though very different in materials, is very similar to mine. She mentioned Dr. Seuss, Ernst Haekel, squids and mushrooms as influences. I just nodded along, agreeing with most of what she said.

I followed up by talking about different making and firing methods. She'd already covered most of my inspirations. Here's a few of the images I shared.

Carolyn Nelson, who teaches at Heritage, spoke next and talked about the influence of the Cowiche Canyon and Irish architecture. She also spoke about her paintings and her kilns. I found it fascinating listening to her talk about kilns. Her glazing and firing process is so loose and experimental, it is actually funny. I sometimes feel intimidated by firing because I might do it wrong. She doesn't seems to have an idea of "wrong" and just goes for it. She showed some images of her kiln that literally has no sides. She just stuffs in some fiber blanket to insulate the edges.

Gregory Pierce, who teaches at Columbia Basin Community College, spoke about his inspiration and process. Interestingly, his influences are similar to Carolyn's in that he is also very much inspired by place and by rocks and human interaction with the physical location. I found his lecture very interesting as I think the audience did. After he spoke there weren't very many questions because he had basically covered it all.

The final speaker was Stephen Robison from Central Washington University. He showed a video of the wood firing process and talked about building kilns and firing. 

I really enjoyed listening to the other artists talk about their work. The audience was decent for a Saturday afternoon and a few students (mine) straggled in later in the day. 

After the lectures Mike Hiler and Eunsil Kim demonstrated their processes in the clay studio. Eunsil threw some small pieces for a teapot and Mike started a vessel shape build by coiling slabs. I left before they worked on their joint project.

Eunsil Kim starting to throw

Mike Hiler's work

cutting a base from a slab of clay

Eunsil Kim throwing behind already thrown pieces

throwing off the hump

Mike Hiler's work in progress

Mike Hiler with one of his mugs