Updates on Various Winter Projects and Shows

It has been a busy winter, but some of the things I'm doing don't really have images to go with them yet.* So here's a few updates on some upcoming and ongoing projects and shows.

NCECA Presentations (March)

I spent a chunk of time today working on my presentations for NCECA. Yes, I said presentations, plural. Last week I wrote about what I'm planning to do for my Blinc 20/20 presentation: "Grappling with Politics in Art." 

I'm also going to be leading a Topical Networking Group on "Culture's Impact on a Classroom Studio" on Wednesday March 14 from 2-3pm. Here's the program description: 

"Under-resourced students bring different cultural expectations and behaviors to the studio. How can we design projects and approaches that value students’ diverse cultural backgrounds? How can we develop clay studio classrooms that are vital to student’s educational experience and development?"

NCECA is the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. The national conference features demonstrations and talks by artists and educators and lots and lots of related shows featuring ceramic sculpture and pottery. I went last year in Portland, but apparently didn't write about it. Perhaps because Janice passed away right after the conference. 

YVC photo setup for sculpture

This year's conference is in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately it is also during finals week, so my students and I are going to beta test online submission for glazed work. We've been getting ready for it by starting the firing process early (we unload our first winter 2018 glaze firing tomorrow) and using our photo booth in the studio to document work.

Top Pottery Blog of 2017

While I was waiting for some pictures to load (I got a new phone and am struggling with making all the updates to all the different logins and settings--like iCloud), I finally got around to looking at Pottery Making Info's blog and found my name on the list of Top Pottery Blogs of 2017. Last year I only got honorable mention, this year I'm the tenth (of 17).

Grappling with Politics in Art, the Shows (February & March)

As I've written about a few times, I have work in the Nasty Woman show at Yakima Maker's Space through February 24. I got in there this weekend to take new pictures of the work with better lighting than last time.

first amendment bulbs

When the show closes (open 10-2 on Saturdays), I'll pack up the work and drive it down to Hood River for the "Raising our Voices: Art as Activism" show at the Columbia Center for the Arts. That show opens March 2 with a reception from 6-8pm. This second show runs through April 1.

installation (detail) at Yakima Maker's Space

Studio Cleaning (January, February, and...?)

One of my least photogenic (and probably least interesting to anyone else) winter projects is my multi-month home studio cleaning project. This one has been overdue for years and years. On our first 3-day weekend, I spent some time pulling everything out of my studio cupboards, cleaning, tossing junk, and reorganizing things to be more accessible.

shelves, in order and a clean countertop

The biggest improvement in the use of the space (so far, at least) is the reorganization of my underglaze bottles. I bought some sliding two tier wire drawers. Each drawer fits exactly eight bottles of underglaze and each two tier set just fits inside my lower cabinets. I can slide out each drawer and bring those underglazes to my work space. In the past, I had them in boxes that would break or be too heavy to move. This is a huge improvement in convenience for me in my home studio.

underglazes, in order

I've got a ways to go on the whole studio clean up project, since I pulled junk out of the cupboards, some of it has to find a new home. As long as I was at it, I figured I'd do a thorough job of cleaning the whole room. I figured with two 3-day weekends in winter, there'd be plenty of time. What else am I trying to do this quarter anyway?

egads, I have more cleaning to do

YVC Studio Projects (Fall and Winter)

I've also been working on my flipped classes this winter. I've written about the winter class I'm flipping and the one I started flipping in fall. Last Monday a reporter for the Yakima Herald came to my class to talk with me and the students about flipped classes. It looks like the article was just posted as I was writing this. I haven't read it yet, but it was interesting talking with the reporter about the classes. Talking about what we are doing and what is working so well about it helped me see it from a slightly different perspective even than when I wrote about it.

student work, cut apart for hollowing

Northwest Artists Ceramics Invitational (April)

I've got one more show coming up this April. I was invited to take part in the Northwest Artists Ceramics Invitational at the Robert Graves Gallery on the Wenatchee Valley College campus. The show runs April 2 - 26, 2018 and there will be a reception April 6 from 5-7pm.

a new piece I'll probably bring to Wenatchee

The Slowest Commission Ever (2018-2018)

There's one last thing I want to mention: I started a commission for my Aunt about 100 years ago. I thought I would be able to finish it before Christmas, or maybe before the new year, but I kept getting stymied by the support for these pieces and how to make them stable and weather resistant. The pieces are meant to go into a large vase in my Aunt and Uncle's yard. I made a teeny tiny bit of progress this weekend, but I've got a bit more work to do yet. And then I'll need to figure out shipping for these large pieces.

commission pieces still in progress

*Often the process of writing helps me think. I discover ideas or approaches I couldn't think of before I began to write. Today, as I actually wrote this post, I realized I have a number of events, projects, and ongoing stuff that I haven't posted about yet but that do have some associated images. I guess I'll be posting about them soon.