New Work now at Oak Hollow Gallery

 

Mugs at Oak Hollow Gallery

I took some work to Oak Hollow Gallery the other week. I took some face mugs as well as a few other functional items. I only just got back today to pick up the extra pieces.

Dezignosaur at Oak Hollow Gallery

My daughter and her friends also took some work to the gallery a while back. They have 9 pairs of earrings on display and for sale at the Gallery.

my mug (top left) and Mike Hiler's (bottom)

My work is in good company with ceramics by Mike Hiler and Bernadette Crider as well as jewelry and felted animal portraits, not to mention the current show featuring work by Maria Navarro and Aislinn Hematyar Kalstad

My plates (left) and bowl (right) with Bernadette Crider's pastel carved porcelain

Next month I'll have a couple of pieces on display at the 66th Annual Central Washington Artists' Exhibition at Larson Gallery. 

The wider view of my face mugs

Mugs and Plates at Oak Hollow Gallery

some of these mugs are at the gallery, some have already been claimed

If you live in the Yakima area and are interested in having your 2020 mood mug, I now have some scream mugs at Oak Hollow Gallery. This past weekend I brought some mugs and plates to the gallery. There aren't a lot, but I'm hoping to make more. Oak Hollow is in the Chalet Place Shopping Center breezeway (between Wray's and Inklings) at 5631 Summitview Avenue. 

most of these plates are at the gallery

I believe there are about 6 or 7 mugs left (as of this writing) and a 8-10 plates. The plates are salad or desert sized and in fairly bright colors, though a few were done with a darker clay, so the colors are more muted. I took photos kind of at random, so I don't have pictures of everything and a few of these have sold, but I think the photos communicate the general style and size of the plates.

twelve inch ruler for scale

Next week is finals week, so I am hoping to get some wheel time after that so I can make more pieces (though I sometimes devote this time of the year to holiday gifts). I am planning to make some more sceam mugs and maybe some COVID mugs. If I have time, I might also make some of the smooth patterened mugs, too, though the glazing process is fairly time consuming. 

I've got only two of these, but I may make more

Though things have been quite busy over the past month, I wanted to get my pieces to the gallery before the holiday. A small part of me "worries" that the world might settle down in late January (after the inauguration and once the vaccines become available), in which case the scream mugs might be out-dated. 

Trump

But then the rest of me laughs at the idea; it seems pretty unlikely that anything could make the world settle down and people become calm and peaceful. With any luck the Trump and COVID mugs will eventually be out-dated and maybe the whole mood of 2021 won't be quite so dire and depressing, but people are probably going to continue to want to scream at one another, politics, work or life in general.

First COVID mug not for sale, but maybe the next ones will be

YVC Clay Sale

YVC's Clay Sale (Thursday, November 29)

YVC Clay Sale Poster (Fall 2018)

The annual pre-Christmas clay sale at Yakima Valley College is coming up this week! The sale will be held in the Palmer Martin Hall lobby (building 20) on Thursday, November 29 from 11am - 7pm. This is the first time we've run the sale all day and we're hoping it will be more accessible for both on-campus and off-campus shoppers.

Palmer Martin Hall

The clay sale features pottery and sculpture made by current and former YVC clay students and some work made by me, too. We take cash, check and credit cards and prices are always very reasonable. The proceeds from the sale go to purchasing equipment, supplies and tools for the clay studio and this year the proceeds will also help us pay for our hourly employee in the studio.

An old photo of work for the clay sale, colors and shapes are similar to what you might find this year.

The Joys of Having an Hourly Employee

I have to take a moment here to crow about how wonderful it is to have an hourly employee in the studio. During my 12 years at YVC, I've almost always had work study students, but the quality of work-study students can vary dramatically. Over the years, I've had four extremely talented, hard-working, and reliable work studies, but I've also had a number of work studies who've added to my work load by being unreliable, unable or unwilling to do certain tasks, or even disruptive in the studio. 

Our studio is enormous, come check it out on Thursday before or after the sale.

This year I was able to hire an hourly employee whose duties include regular studio maintenance and upkeep (just like the work studies), but this employee also is able to both train new work studies (it seems like we are constantly gaining and losing work study students throughout the year, so training might need to happen in August or November or March, when I have time and when I do not) and oversee what needs to be done and who can do it when.

Palmer Martin hallway, looking towards the lobby

My incredible hourly employee, Betty, has taken on the kind of organizational role that I didn't realize was lacking in the studio. There are a number of tasks that always need to be done in the studio (cleaning, laundry, cleaning, putting tools away, cleaning, and more cleaning) and there are a number of tasks that need to be done when there is time by someone trained in how to do them (recycling clay, mixing glazes, and restocking materials). There are also some tasks that need to happen some days and not others (loading or unloading kilns, emptying sinks, organizing supplies).  

our new t-shirt design (see the next section)

Betty understands the big picture and has taken responsibility for assigning the tasks on a day-to-day basis. She makes sure that all the work studies (I have three now) are trained in how to do the interesting tasks (like mixing clay and glaze) and makes sure that everyone gets a fair share of the boring or tedious tasks (cleaning everything, everyday). It has been incredible this quarter to come into a studio where the employees are always working on what they should be doing. I never walk in to see a mess and I never have to search for a work study to do the thing that should have already been done. I can check in with Betty once and assume it will be taken care of. We've gotten a lot more done done his quarter than we have in the past few years, and it is large part because I have an empowered organizer on the team.  Now we just need to make sure we can afford her all year.

Our studio, a fish eye view

I do have to say, this is not the first or only time I've had a studio with employees who are on task and getting things done without me having to remember to assign every little task, but it has been quite a while since I had a whole studio full of folks who were on task all the time.

YVC Clay T-Shirts

Besides keeping the work studies on track and making the studio run smoothly, my hourly employee has been helping get us get ready for the clay sale. Betty, as well as Les, my community helper, and some of my continuing students (in intermediate and advanced clay classes) and one of my work studies (who has taken a clay class before) have all been making and glazing work for the clay sale. Besides the usual assortment of cups, bowls, lidded jars, and strange beginner sculpture, we have made mugs, ornaments, planters (some with succulents already in) and hopefully a few yarn bowls (if we can get them done in time) specifically for this sale.

The text is a pun. A kiln is the "oven" in which we "cook" clay to make ceramics. Or, to put it another way, its the hottest piece of equipment in our studio. 

Additionally, this year, for the first time, we are selling YVC Clay T-shirts at the clay sale. They are each $15 and we have sizes S - 4XL. Gina, our talented and patient program assistant for Humanities created the imagery on the t-shirts and got them printed. Again, I am extremely lucky to have this help getting ready for the sale and keeping folks on task in the studio. I remember not so many years ago when I was in charge of everything to do with work studies and clay sale prep and-set up. Needless to say, we didn't have t-shirts or planters with succulents or a sale open 11-7 back then. It is much nicer to have help!

New Artebella Gallery in Yakima and YVC Clay Sale in November

While I've been running ragged keeping up with big changes to my online classes, a 3D printer that stopped working, new educational technology and preparing curriculum for our upcoming accreditation visit, I've neglected pretty much everyone online that doesn't involved Canvas.

Artebella Gallery

I have small work like this on display in Artebella

Though I'm barely keeping up with any kind of studio work since my August show in Hood River, I do have some work in a new gallery in central Yakima, south of Astria (Regional) Hospital. The new-since-this-summer space, Artebella Gallery is nestled amongst the cozy little medical buildings and offices on West Spruce Street, right next to Taste and See Deli.

This gallery is owned and run by Pamela Searcy and she and Meghan Flynn both have studio spaces in the small gallery, which is open from 10-4 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and by appointment. I have smaller sculpture on display at Artebella.

Another piece at Artebella Gallery

Oak Hollow Gallery

Though Oak Hollow Gallery, between Wrays and Inklings in the Chalet Place Mall, is now under new ownership, I still have work in their regular sales gallery section. Stop by to purchase some cat mugs before Christmas.

Cat mug, like the ones I have at Oak Hollow Gallery

YVC Clay Sale

Speaking of holiday pottery, the Fall Clay sale at YVC is coming up in November. This year the Thanksgiving holidays fall early, which means we've moved the clay sale time back a week to November 29. 

The only official clay sale photo I can find (from home, because I forgot to photograph the new poster at school)

Not only that, we've also extended the time of the sale. Stop by Palmer Martin (Building 20) on the Yakima Valley College campus anytime between 11am and 7pm on November 29 to stock up on pottery made by current and former YVC students and faculty. Proceeds from sales go to support studio operations. 

Palmer Martin hall (which we now are supposed to call 020)

We can take cash, checks, or credit card and while you're on campus, stop in and see our beautiful clay studio!

The clay studio, pre-students

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).

Inventory Cards

On our furlough day before Thanksgiving, I cleaned my studio. I spend most of the rest of the weekend cleaning the house, playing, making a pinata and sewing a (not-yet-finished) puppet theater for my daughter. 

homemade cupcake piñata and a hanging puppet theater (in progress)

The other thing I accomplished over the long holiday week and weekend was to get my studio inventory to a functional state.

my inventory box: portable, flexible, non-digital

I had originally planned to purchase a database program. That is, after a colleague laughed at my Microsoft Word table-with-a-tiny-thumbnail inventory method, I planned to get a database. But I wasn't sure where to begin to look for a database. Also, I keep thinking I will get a new computer, so I should somehow wait to get the database.

Regardless, indecision contributed to inaction and last week I determined that I needed something, immediately, to function for me as a list of what work is currently in which show and the dimensions of works I plan to enter in shows. Running out to the studio each time I am preparing an application to measure and check on pieces is silly.

My new method, as I mentioned previously is decidedly low tech. But after spending a good part of my afternoon writing assignments and presentations on the computer, using a kinetic, physical tool is my preference. I can add too, annotate, and quickly modify the information on the cards. I can stack them into groups according to size, show, medium, color, or whatever I need to do. Physically moving the cards also helps me think about what I need to do with the actual works. 

some of the finished works I have on hand, ready for shows

The new approach consists of index cards in a box. The cards each have one picture of a work and written info giving dimensions, year completed and cost. If the firing or medium is unusual (i.e. not low fire ceramic), I list that. I also list the shows the work is in or has been in. In some cases I identify a work as part of a set or installation or note that a work needs repair or I want to make changes in the surface or color.

After I got all the cards made (mostly, there are a few new works I haven't photographed yet), I grouped the cards together into useful categories and binder clipped them. I have a set of works currently in shows, a set of works I have tentatively promised to a show in January, a set of works that need repair, and a set of works that are ready to be entered in shows. This latter is the most important set of works because applying to shows is high on my priority list for this winter. Applying is harder, however, when I don't know what I have available and I have to go track down the stats on the work (run out to the clay studio and measure it or look it up in my awkward computer inventory document). 

work for shows, holiday shows, and installation stacks

I also have a set of works that have sold recently or were given away. I need them in my card database because I tend to forget they sold and try to find them in the studio. I have a few cards for works that are missing and I can't remember if they sold or are packed away. I will keep these cards clipped and available in case I discover any new works in boxes next time I clean or start to repair work.

box-o-repairs

One of the extra advantages of my new (portable) file system is that I can refer to it without going out to the studio. (I can also take it out to the studio with me to make updates.) I tend to forget how much work I have in the studio. When I have a show coming up, I get panicky, thinking I don't have anything to put in the show. I have to go to the studio and start counting works on shelves or actually group work together on a table. A clipped stack of index cards has a reassuring heft that tells me I do have work. I can enter that show. And I don't have to go out to the cold studio in December to check.

missing works: did someone buy them?

Mini Sculpture Project: The end of the 80 days

The school year is officially over, grades are in (though I got my first post-grading e-mail asking whether I'd forgotten to grade something) and my summer has begun. I'm taking about a week to recuperate from this weekend's windy June Art Fest at Chalet Place in Yakima. My studio is a disaster, since I took down all my shelves and tables to be part of the June Art Fest booth setup. I'm going to attempt to put it all back today. 

Last week I didn't do much in the way of mini-sculpture making. I took some clay to June Art Fest but there was too much to do and too many people coming through to leave me time to work. Maybe next year. 

What I do have is some pictures of work made before finals/packing/grading week and one piece made Sunday.

Really, I have no idea what I was thinking with this one. I think I made it while waiting for a kiln to finish firing at the start of finals week.

This one too. I used a school stamp (actually a stamp I made for my daughter's day care clay demonstration but then brought to school and left for my students. This one is smaller than most of my pieces.

Coincidentally, I pulled "Renee Adams" as my inspiration hint on Sunday or maybe Tuesday after visiting the Ellensburg Artist Home Tour. This is (sort of) a mushroom like the ones she had on her wall in her studio. Her's had all sorts of cool textures on the surfaces, soft and fuzzy.

underside of mushroom

shell (in the kiln)

another shell, not in the kiln

Sunday's contribution (during nap time while I watched Bones for the first time in months).

Lookie, I loaded a kiln! As of last weekend when I loaded the kiln, I had 82 pieces. I have maybe 85 today.

During June Art Fest I sold quite a few small pieces. I priced them pretty low, between $10 and $25 for pieces this size and smaller. I think people who didn't feel they could afford big work still wanted something and this was within their price range. I also sold a lot of "critters," my mini-sculptures with legs and/or faces. I had been thinking of this mini-sculpture project as mostly a me-thing. I wanted the satisfaction of making stuff during the school year and I wanted to challenge myself to make stuff following arbitrary rules (inspiration hints) and I wanted to keep my hand in a a bit while I couldn't make more complex or larger sculptures. I hadn't really been thinking sales.

I also realized this weekend that my mind-set is different from the last time I did art fairs (2005/2006). Then it was a significant part of my income. Now it isn't. My motivation in making the stuff isn't sales (though its hard to say how much it was in 2006) and I realized I would make the stuff regardless of whether it would sell. Selling now is more a way of making space for the new stuff.

Did I mention it was windy this weekend?

I'm Famous!

Of course by "famous" I mean that my work is on someone else's blog: Check me out on Noah Scalin's Blog, Make Something 365.

Also I've added a page for the Daily Mini Sculpture Project to make it easier to find quickly.


Yesterday was the opening for my show at Oak Hollow Gallery in Chalet Place on Summitview in Yakima. This month's show features my sculpture and Jack Roberts' paintings and mixed media work.

I sold a few things at the opening last night and partway through the event Josey, the owner, asked if I had some lawn ornaments, so called my husband and had him bring in a basket. I have a lot of work at the show, much of it small, but some pieces from the From the Ground Up exhibition at Larson Gallery last month.

Also coming up at the beginning of June I will be showing my work in June Art Fest at Chalet Place (between Inklings and Wray's, generally). More details to follow.