Spring and Early Summer Studio Frenzy

newly glazed dishes laid out for photographing, inventory, and quality checks

It's been a minute since I last wrote about, well, anything. The end of the spring quarter and start of fall have been super busy and I've been spending so much time in the studio since classes ended (and even before that, really), that I wanted to put all that energy into that work, rather than writing about it.

a thrown sculpture I started in spring

I supposed the correlary is that today I feel more like writing than working (so far). 

Work waiting to be glazed, shoved out of the way while I make more

My throwing prescription is part of the reason that I've been in the studio so much. The other part is a couple of shows that I am looking forward to. First there is the Labor Day Artists Studio Tour in my home studio over Labor Day weekend. I've done this one the last two years and plan to invite the YVC art studio faculty to show at my place. That's Chris Otten (photography), Kayo Nakamura (our new full-time drawing/painting/printmaking instructor), and Monika Lemmon (drawing). 

bowls in the process of being glazed

The Labor Day weekend show is, for me at least, a chill way to invite folks to see my work and my studio. I don't have to move a bunch of stuff or set up a tent and I can be sure to be near a fan, shade, and cold drinks the whole time. All I need to do is clean my studio, which, admitteldy, is going to be harder this year.

stacked forms and some awards, as well as some mugs under plastic on my storage shelves

The next show I'm excited about is the Yakima Valley College faculty show at Larson Gallery. This will be in January of 2024. The gallery is huge and as soon as we confirmed that it will happen, I got really excited about a new body of work. 

the fired stacking pieces, last week, when I checked for fit and size 

I want to make these tall skinny stacked forms. As soon as the show was confirmed in April, I started throwing some pieces to be stacked. Most of them are simple round forms with flanges inside, measured (usually) to stack with others.

newly throwing stacking set with flanges

When I first started them in April, I was working on throwing just 30 minutes a day, in between class and grading and union work. I also didn't have a fully fleshed out plan about how these would work, so I threw a lot of short segment.

short stacking sets before firing

Once classes were over (the union work never stops, apparently), I got them all out and measured them and discovered I had quite a few unmatched sizes, so the batch from last week and this week is an attempt to match sizes. 

thrown parts of a multipart form in progress

I also started throwing taller pieces by attaching two thrown pieces once they had dried up a bit. I've never been someone who throws particularly large. My teaching demos are often fairly small both because I teach a lot of beginning throwing classes and because I am not allowed to keep anything I make on campus, and on campus is my main throwing time during the year.

a multipart form on the wheel (trying to show height, but I think I needed a tripod)

This throwing prescription, ironically, has got me throwing more often and with more challenging forms than I probably ever have before. It's kind of amazing how teaching people to throw (which is, granted, only 1/3 or less of my actual teaching job) requires less throwing than 30 minutes a day.

the piece on the floor is too tall for my shelves and wihin 1/4" of the height limit of my kiln

I realized the other day that my throwing skills have improved just since March. At least my skills or strength for throwing or combining to make tall forms.

my favorite textured surfaces take a lot of time

I am still more excited about the individual forms that have more going on, but combining forms sculpturally after throwing and working on complex surfaces both slow down the process a lot. My goal right now is really to make enough of the stacking forms for them to make an impact visually or spatially. I am trading off some of the complexity for some of the size and quantity.

even attaching things to the side takes more time than a vertical stack

Additionally, my high production means that I've got a significant amount of glazing that needs to happen and then I need to figure out where to put all this stuff, either while waiting for glaze, or after firing. 

bowls being glazed (and then stacked because I don't have enough surface for not stacking

I ended up pulling out a card table for glazing space since the functional forms have multiplied so much. The ones that have been fired I'm hoping to sell on the Labor Day weekend show or in galleries locally. I believe my brother already put in a hold on some. 

my glazing space is usually the workbench by the window, but I added a card table this summer

Starting the throwing prescription helped get me kick started into summer studio mode early this year, but it also has been somehow freeing. I know I have to throw something for 30 minutes a day and I'm nearing saturation on functional forms, so I finally got a chance the other day to throw some forms that I wanted to try for a sculptural form based on some diagrams of the lymphatic system I saw in the room during a Lymphedema appointment. 

my lymphedema inspired sculpture in progress

I was also able to throw some items on request from my daughter, as well as some forms I'd been meaning to try, like a citrus juicer form I'd never tried before and some displays for earrings for my daughter's projects. 

pierced bowls for hanging earrings

After two or three rounds of glazing functional forms, this week I got excited about getting some glazing done on some sculptural forms I had started during the spring.

sculpture in progress from spring

This week I've had trouble finding the time and energy. I had some medical appointments (oncology and blood work and shots) this week and they've put me on something new (because, apparently, you aren't supposed to have 8-12 hot flashes a day, who knew!). We had union stuff scheduled this week as well as some unscheduled concerns about folks not getting paid correctly.  

one of the first thrown forms for my throwing prescription

Meanwhile, my daughter was supposed to go to Louisville for TSA (Technology Student Association) Nationals, but her and the 22 others with her got stuck in the Denver airport for 2 days (~22 hours before they finally got a hotel!) because United had staffing problems and (I think) because the Northeast had weather or smoke. They ended up flying the kids home yesterday instead of sending them on to Louisville and the kid is obviously super disappointed.

thrown and textured sculpture in progress

I was almost suprised how much it impacted me. Apparently I worry, but having her stuck in a different city and I can't do anything about it doesn't make for restful nights and calm days (also, see above, 8-12 hot flashes in 85 degree weather). I know I didn't need to worry, but my body didnt hear that message. Yesterday, with her on the ground in Seattle and after 4 in a row union meetings, I literally lay down on my face on the computer room floor for 30 minutes to ease my pounding head. 

My June trip to Clay Art Center necessitated by the need for more clay and more kiln shelves

I feel like I've been all over the place in what I'm working on in the studio this summer, and also this post. The other thing we did this week was replace the aluminum barrel of my pug mill with a stainless steel one, a surprisingly labor intensive process. But that's a topic for another day.

my studio assistant daughter texturing a small form

For today, I'm glad to have my studio helper back, even though I also feel super terrible for her having to miss nationals. She's sleeping now after a trip that included all the worst parts about air travel (excessive turbulence, long delays, unboarding because of those delays, trying to sleep in an airport, trying to arrange for alternate flights--with a group of middle- and high-school students who were required to stay with their advisor, long --like 8 hour!-- customer service lines, food vouchers that didn't work, and finally lost luggage) without any of the good parts (like getting to your intended destination).  On the plus side, she said that its better in some ways to be in this situation with a big group because some people can always stay with the luggage while others walk around or, apparently, race on the moving sidewalk. 

DoVA Exhibition and Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios

There are just over two weeks left to see the YVC Department of Visual Arts Student and Faculty Exhibition at Larson Gallery. The Gallery, located on the YVC Yakima campus, is open Tuesday - Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday's from 1-5pm. You can read about the show in the Yakima Herald here (and see some student work).

The DoVA show features works in clay sculpture and functional pottery, drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking. The works in the show were made by students in Art and Photography classes at YVC during the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2017 and the Winter of 2018. Faculty also have work on display.

Resist Bulbs from the Nasty Woman show at Yakima Maker Space earlier this year

Saturday, May 19 is the Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios in Yakima and Tieton. I'm not officially on the tour, but my work will be on display (and for sale individually) as part of the Sculpting The Valley show show at Boxx Gallery, 616 Maple Street in Tieton. The show runs through May 26 and is open Saturdays, 11-4pm

My Experience at the Tour of Artist's Homes and Studios

This weekend I was at Michelle Wyles' studio with the Yakima Pottery Club. The weather was nice and quite a few people visited. 

half of my work for the show, happily set up in the shade

My daughter was with me the entire time and she managed to stay patient and mostly enjoy the 6 hours of the show, though I had to bribe her with the promise of a book to get her to help me pack up at then end. She brought her own work and set it up on the end of one of my "tables."

my daughter's plate seemed to have been designed for containing roll-y grapes

My daughter's patience started to wane at the end of the the show. Earlier she had taken over the money purse and declared herself in charge of sales and making change for purchases. She also kept a runny tally in her head of sales to that point. Unfortunately, sales were slow enough that she had no trouble with this task. 

the pea hens/guinea fowl were SO noisy (and right across from us)

My studio is getting fairly full and I had made some functional work earlier in the year as an experiment, so I priced everything very low with the intent to sell well, make some money without a commission and clear out the studio. I was a little surprised that $10 and $12 bowls didn't sell, though people admired them, and I only sold a handful of $5 handheld sculptures, though people expressed how much they liked the work. My daughter, too, was surprised. She expressed her reaction with this question "Why do people say they like the work but they don't buy it even though it's really cheap?"

I did get some work done on a planter

This was a reminder to myself to say "no" to events like this and June's Art Fest. I decided about a decade ago that I liked making my own work and teaching, but I've never much liked making work that will sell. And I've never been a big fan of the effort it takes to sell the work at a fair or similar setting.

and I started a small sculpture during the show

I used to assume that if the work is well made and interesting, and people say they like it, they must not be buying because it is too expensive. Saturday was an experiment, I lowered the prices to the ground, and I did not see a jump in number of sales or total money taken in from sales, though the complements continued fairly regularly. If I were spending the entire day (about 9 hours total, though I haven't unpacked the car yet) doing a show like this to get a verbal boost to my ego, maybe it'd be worth it, but that's not why I make the work. I'm looking forward to the start of my summer studio hibernation (next month).

Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios

Tomorrow, 10am -4pm, Larson Gallery's Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios.

I'll be with the Yakima Potter's Club at Michelle Wyles' Home. Come see us. I'll probably bring some small work and maybe a few bike pieces.

My Clay Students

Can I just say how proud I am of my clay students this year? I have an amazing group of students and this May and June seems to be a culmination of their superior achievements. My clay students are winning nominations and awards for their art and their schoolwork. My clay students are strongly represented in the Student Exhibition (and awards) and I have students showing their work professionally at various locations in Yakima.

Tour of Artist Homes

I recently wrote about my home on the Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios. Several of my intermediate, advanced, and independent students showed their work at my home.

work by Grace Keller and John Peterson (photo credit: Gary E. Miller, Larson Gallery)

work by John and Timer Harrison-O'dell (photo credit: Gary E. Miller, Larson Gallery)

work by Shannon Hoptowit (photo credit: Gary E. Miller, Larson Gallery)

work by Katie Schnieder (photo credit: Gary E. Miller, Larson Gallery)

Student of the Year Nomination

Shannon Hoptowit, one of my independent clay students, my most senior clay work study and an invaluable worker for the last few years, was recently nominated by the students of Yakima Valley Community College for the ASYVCC student of the year award. YVCC students can vote for her for Student of the Year. 

Professional Venues

Besides the Tour of Artist Homes, I know of at least 4 other professional venues where students have or will show their work this year. 

Grace Keller, an advanced clay student, has a tiny studio in Glenwood Square on Tieton Drive and displays some of her work at The Glass Kaleidoscope on the main floor.

Mason Cooper, an intermediate student from 2012, displayed one of his pieces at the Emerging Artist show at Allied Arts earlier this year.

Shannon Hoptowit, Grace Keller, and Katie Schnieder, all students who displayed at the Tour of Artists' Homes this year, will also be featured in the Emerging Artists Exhibition at Oak Hollow Gallery in June. The Exhibition opens June 4 with a reception on June 7 from 4-6pm. Monika Lemmon, the painter who showed at my house for the Tour will also have her work in this exhibition.

Additionally, on June 8 my perpetual clay student, Mike Hiler, will be sharing a booth with me. I believe we will be up near Wray's if you are looking for us. Mike is nearing the limit of what one might call a student, as his work is regularly show at Oak Hollow and Larson Galleries and I saw his work in Yakima Magazine's Art Issue. (Look closely at the third picture in the linked article to see Mike's work.)

There is one more place you might be able to see my students' work in the future. I know at least one student is expecting to have work in Larson Gallery's Membership Exhibition, opening Friday June 7 from 5-7pm.

DoVA Show and Awards

The DoVA Student and Faculty Exhibition has been up for some time, but I haven't gotten a chance to mention the awards or show pictures. Seven of my clay students took home awards, including cash awards, purchase awards and Best of Show.

More than two dozen clay students exhibited work in the Student Show. Several student exhibited more than one work and a few showed three pieces, one for each quarter they took clay classes during the previous year.

clockwise from top: work by Sandra Juarez, Katie Schnieder,  Shannon Hoptowit and Shannon Hoptowit. 

Katie Schnieder, hand-built vases

Honorable Mention: Sandra Juarez's hand-built "Twisted Lady"

I taught beginning throwing and beginning hand-building classes this year. I taught throwing classes every quarter and my higher level throwing students have been experimenting with larger and more complex forms.

center: Shannon Hoptowit's "Giant Cookie Jar" wheel-thrown clay Award of Merit
also pictured, clockwise from top right: work by Janice Buckler, Jamie Davis, Amanda Gutierrez and John Harrison-O'dell 

Honorable Mention: Grace Keller's "Lidded Casserole"

My beginning students are making strong, though usually smaller, work. I believe part of the overall quality of my students' work comes from seeing each other working in the studio. I have a strong group of continuing students who demonstrate a solid work ethic. Students see each other working in the studio, recognize hard work as an expectation and thus work harder themselves. The hard work is practice and practice results in more work and better work. 

Shauna Avery, Functional Pottery (first quarter wheel class)

Amanda Gutierrez, Functional Pottery (first quarter wheel class)

My higher level throwing students combine hand-building and throwing techniques, altering their forms off the potter's wheel.

Doug & Laurie Kanyer Purchase Award: Mariah George's "Owl Lamp"
thrown and altered wheel pottery

Janice Buckler's "Paddled Vase"

Shannon Hoptowit's "Fish Kiss Vase"

Katie Schnieder's thrown and altered vase

This past winter I was blessed with an incredible hand-building class. Somehow I ended up with a whole cohort of hardworking student who challenged themselves and their classmates. Some of the strongest work in the exhibition came from first-quarter hand-building students. The class included a couple of students who had taken throwing classes before. Throwing skills may not directly translate to hand-building skills, but familiarity with clay helps with any technique.

Joshua Baxter's "Log Cabin"

Sarahgenie Bliss' "Centaur"

Makaela Duim's "Waterfall"

In fact, the hand-building energy was so strong this past winter that I wrote a new course to be offered next year which will be a second quarter continuation of hand-building. I have one continuing hand-building student this quarter who is testing out some of the hand-building projects that may be used in the new course next year.

hand-built clay Award of Merit: Lydia Gallegos' "Cebollas"

Jessenia Rodriguez's "Pomegranates"
Students in the Hand-building class made work inspired by Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield's "Abaya and Beyond" show, which was up during the winter. "Pomegranates", "Cebollas" and the Purse bag below were all inspired by this exhibition.

Further evidence that the clay work in the DoVA show is strong is that my clay students took home seven awards including Best of Show, a purchase award, a design award and three honorable mentions, as well as two clay specific awards. I also noticed, when I was last in the gallery, that several clay students had sold their work. 

Dick Lord Memorial for Excellence in Design: Timer Nite Harrison-O'dell's "Abaya and Beyond Purse bag"

Assistant Director Honorable Mention: Katie Schnieder's "Cracked Jars"

If you haven't gotten over to see the show, I highly recommend that you do. The show closes on June 1. Larson Gallery is open 10-5 Tuesday-Friday and 1-5 on Saturday. Students may start picking up work after 3pm on Saturday, so get their early. If you do miss it, never fear, you'll hear from these students again.

For some reason, this year's exhibition had a significant selection of dragons and dinosaurs, including a combination thrown and hand-built piece by Janice Buckler

Dragon Alley also featured this thrown and altered teapot by Timer Nite Harrison-O'dell

John Peterson's "The Year that Was"

Best of Show: Katie Schnieder's "Tyrannosaurus Rex"