Labor Day Artists Tour Wrap Up

A view of some outdoor sculpture and sculpture garden on Sunday 

This weekend was the 4th annual Yakima Artist's Studio Tour. My studio was again on the tour, and again this year, the other 3 studio art faculty at YVC (Chris Otten, Monika Lemmon, and Kayo Nakamura), as was my daughter's jewelery (Dezignosaur on Instagram).

The sculputre path marks the route into the shed, backyard, and studio

Since it was all the same folks as last year, we tried to keep the good stuff from last year while making improvements. After the show last year I wrote down some ideas for things to do this year, but I didn't actually look at the whole list until the Thursday before the tour.

My studio on the first day of the show

A few changes or improvements I was able to implement this year (or keep from last year) included not putting out quite as much stuff as I sometimes do. I have a tendancy to worry that I don't have enough, so I dig out more and more. This year I put out the best functional work, but hid some pieces that weren't my favorites. I also didn't bother to unbox some work that was in the Dust faculty show earlier this year at Larson Gallery.

berry bowls

Something I found amusing was that during the show, someone asked me for a berry bowl in a color I didn't have on display. I had one stashed under the table, as I wasn't as happy with the interaction of the glaze and surface texture in that one. Since I had it nearby, though, I was able to bring it out for her. She didn't mind the color irregularlities, so I sold it to her at a discount.

berry bowls as pincushion heads

I had also boxed up, separately, some items that were damanged. At the end of the first day, Kayo and I were brainstorming about pieces that incorporated ceramics and mixed media, so stook a few of the pieces that were intact, but not great for food and turned them into pincushions/pin storage with heads.

my ceramic sculpture with Kayo's doll hands

The show ended up evolving over time, with more work showing up on the second day, especially from Kayo. The sculpture garden along the side of the house is a permanent part of the yard (since last year's show), but I added things to it for the show, as did Kayo.

Kayo's and my work hanging out in the rock garden together

I also had to replace some things that people ended up buying from the rock garden area. One person asked to buy a piece that had been out all year.

the shed being delivered (by a really neat truck)

A day or two before the show, the space for the show changed considerably. We had purchased a shed and weren't sure if it would be delivered before or after the Tour. As it happened, it was delivered right before and we decided to leave it empty for a few days in case anyone wanted to use it for art.

Kayo's work installed in the shed

As it happened, Kayo had a fabric piece that was just the right height for the interior of the empty shed. It was installed Sunday and was a delightful addition and surprise for anyone who attended both days.

Kayo's light up baby in the shed

As the show went on that day, she added a few more friends and surprises to both the interior of the shed and the rock garden and other spaces.

Chris's photo with googly eyes

Towards the end of the first day, as it was getting very hot outside and some of us were getting tired and maybe a bit silly, the googly eyes came out, creating a considerable change in the mood of some of the photographs and paintings.

Monika's painting with googly eyes

One of the delightful things about a group show like this, and more particularly, this particular group of people, is that while I was inside chatting with visitors to the show, changes were happening outside, so I didn't know about the googly eyes until I came out and saw Monika's largest painting, transformed.

Monika's work without googly eyes

I like doing this tour because I like having people come to my house to look at my beautiful studio and see my work. I also really like talking to folks about the art, about art making, about YVC, and more. 

Chris's skull with googly eyes

This year the four of us made a concerted effort to advertise to YVC faculty, staff, and administrators before the end of Spring quarter, since many faculty aren't on campus in summer.

my work and Kayo's on the porch of the shed

I also wanted the show to be fairly low stakes for everyone, since preparing work for a show can be stressful and all 4 of us teach full time, just had a big show in January, and don't always choose to make work that is particularly commercial. I kept reminding myself and everyone that the goal was showing our work, hanging out with nice people, and talking to more nice people, which I think we accomplished.

close up of Kayo's work

While people were visiting, we could often get into interesting and lively conversations. I found some of the particularly refreshing, both visits with people I know, but don't see all that often, and people I met this year at the show. One of my favorite surprise conversations was with a elementary educator who was asking for advice about setting up a home studio and finding time to make her own work. It was such a refreshing conversation that it made me feel much more excited for the start of the fall quarter.

Monika, Chris, and Kayo enjoying the weather before it gets super hot

During the lulls in the day, when visitors weren't around, the four of us, as well as our families, had time to chat and even make more work. For some of the time, Monika was drawing and Kayo was making cards with Chris advising on the text for the cards. She sold most of the cards, but when she had the whole stack, it was really funny to read through the whole set. 

Kayos drawings, mixed media, and cards on display

Overall, for me, the show was a welcome transition between summer (when I try to spend most of my time and energy in the studio, making work--or doing family stuff) and fall (when I need to prepare and teach my classes--not to mention my union duties, which never actually stop). 

Monika's work in the foreground, with Chris and Kayo's tables behind

Today, the day after the show, I did union work, of course, but also finished putting away the work and signs and other stuff from the show. My studio is now incredibly clean and I have whole shelves of space free for the next time I can carve out some time and energy for the studio.

My studio after I put away the tour stuff

My plan for the next two weeks is to stay out of the studio and try to relax a bit before the quarter starts, but I also moved the four works in progress down to the main work table and lower shelves so I can get those done when I do get back into the studio.

 

Labor Day Studio Tour 2024

You are cordially invited to join me at my home studio for the upcoming Labor Day weekend (August 31-September 2) for the 3rd annual Labor Day Weekend Artist's Studio Tour. This year's Tour features 8 locations and more than 30 artists.

The tour is Saturday August 31 and Sunday, September 1 from 10-4, with a shorter visit/pickup time on Monday, September 2 from 10-12.  Tickets are $10 and one ticket gets you into all 8 locations and all 3 days, meaning you can pack all the visits into one day, or take your time visiting all the studios throughout the weekend.

Tickets can be purchased at any of the studios or ahead of time by any of the artists, so let me know if you'd like a ticket, or just show up and we'll have one for you. Tickets come with a full color booklet that includes pictures and statements from the artists and a map of the locations on the tour. 

This year, just like last year, I am hosting the Yakima Valley College studio art faculty at my house. I will have pottery and ceramic sculptures on display and for sale, as well as work by Monika Lemmon, Chris Otten, and Kayo Nakamura.

I also expect that my daughter will have handmade jewelry created by her and friends under the name "Dezignosaur." 

I've spent a lot of my summer in the studio working, as well as a lot of time before and after last year's Tour getting ready for the Dust Faculty Exhibition at Larson Gallery, so I personally plan to have both new and older work. I don't know if I'll be able to finish all of my summer projects, so some might be works in progress during the Tour.

I hope to have a batch of functional thrown pieces fired in time for the tour. I've also been working on large scale sculpture that probably won't all be done.

I hope you will come visit us during the show, whether to pick up some pieces for yourself or as gifts, or just to chat with us and see my studio and our work. 

Please let me know if you have questions about the tour or would like to buy tickets. You can also check out the Artebella Gallery website for more information, pictures, and the locations of all the studios on the tour.

Sculpture Garden

the view of the sculpture garden from the back

Last year, after the end of the Labor Day Studio Tour, we decided to transform the failed garden along the side of our house into a sculpture garden. 

walking into our yard for the Artist's Studio Tour

During the tour, the garden had already been transformed into bare dirt, so as to better display the work for the tour, but we decided to make it permanent.

cat's view of the sculpture garden

This small strip of yard between the house and the pavement had housed a garden when my daughter was young. She and I worked together on it over the years to grow a variety of disappointing carrots, a few tomatoes and pea pods, some hearty rhubarb (until the plant somehow died), a few respectable pumpkins, one impressive watermelon, and too much mint. 

the piece on the left is high fire and ready to withstand the weather, but the tall piece is raku and much more fragile

As she got older and both her activities and mine got more complicated, both of us lost interest. I was only ever doing it beause it seemed like you "should" help a kid learn to garden. I hated being hot and working in the sun, not to mention remembering to water and weed all the time. Eventually, I think, her youthful excitement at the miracle of life was overwhelmed by her growing recognition that this was a lot of work for not a lot of payoff.

the yellow and black piece in the foregorund is raku, while behind it is a high fire piece that was damaged by force

I remember seeing her Grandmother's beautiful greenhouse with berries and lush greenery and even kumquats and being both impressed and dejected. But she said something whose phrasing I forget but whose meaning has stuck with me, basically: she spends a lot of time on her garden, while I'm to busy to be any good at gardening. 

the closest piece dates back to my MFA show and was also displayed in a garden

Well, I appreciate the folks who do grow tasty plants for the farmers market and those who brighten up my walk to school. And I have some idea that at least some of those folks like spending time on gardening, but that's not me, so this new garden is a perfect fit for us for visual appeal, limited maintenance, and not having to water it.

The ceramic "rocks" inside this wood fired piece blend in with the real rocks aound it (unfortunately, this is the the one that got stepped on)

My husband put down the brick trim and the rocks, and then I simply arranged some old sculptures on that side of the house.  Most of the sculpture has stayed intact pretty well in the nearly 11 months since they've been out. A few pieces were done with low fire clay, so they were damaged a bit during winter, but not as much as I expeted. One more piece was stepped on, we think, when a guy was lurking around our window last year.  

view of the garden today from the front

I'd like of like to put some larger work in the rocky area near the front, but I'm a bit worried that I'll put in the work and then someone will swipe it--or smash it. On the other hand, we've had a large sculpture on the front porch for over 17 years and it's only been pulled off the porch by teenagers and left on its side in the front lawn once in all that time. 

Coiling Big

works in sections drying in my studio

This summer I decided I wanted to build large. I think my stacker pieces from last year that I threw on the wheel were a big part of what I was thinking about when I got back into the studio this summer.

base of the first big coiled piece from this summer

The stacker pieces from last year were a great challenge and I liked making the big pieces, but coiling big is so much easier than throwing. Making these was just enjoyable and relaxing.

second section of the first sculpture in progress

I started with a coil at the outer edge of the widest bat I had and just continued coiling. My original plan was to create a three section tall piece where each section was just short enough to fit in my kiln (each about 25" tall). But I misjudged the angle of the base piece and ended up narrower than planned at the transition to the next section.

second section from the top

The wide base gave me plenty of space for adding my large bell pepper sprigs, and large hole cutter impressions. I've used these sprigs in limited appliations because of their size, but they were a good fit here.

green pepper sprigs

The first sculpture was fun, so I started a second and third at the same time. I was also throwing daily at this point and finishing a human bust to use to display 3D design work. I figured I had plenty of time, because time in the summer is wibby wobbly.

first sculpture drying

For the second piece, I decided to expand the base past the edges of my bat (because I didn't have one that was large enough). This added a bit of a challenge, as I was concerned that the curve at the bottom would tend to sag or split, but it appears to be fine.

based of second sculpture

As this piece got taller, I decided to split it into two sections. At this point, I realized that this was starting to look like a Navajo wedding vase, which wasn't my intention.

second sculpture with split

In an attempt to pull the composition away from the wedding vase form, I added some twist to the base and the next two sections. I was fairly happy with how the twists look, but as I applied the surface texture, the pressure and the added moisture started to cause some weakness near the twists, so I removed them for drying.

second sections of second sculpture with twists

I did give myself a bit of a break in that one of the third piece has holes in it instead of sprigs. My plan is to make elements later to attach to the holes. The advantage of this approach is that I can take my time on them and not have to match the drying of all the elements.

Third sculpture (two sections) in progress

The structure of this piece is pretty simple on the bottom. I had gotten a wider bat for this piece which allowed a wider start with a slow transition into the second level, and then I got silly and started pushing the limits by adding angles that were more complicated than necessary. 

two sections of third sculpture and one of the second, drying

After measuring the connection, I took the top part off. The curve in the second part was too abrupt to hold up the wet clay above it without cracking. Since I always planned to build in sections, I'm hoping the top section will hold after firing.

waiting for firings

I made things even more complicated for myself by putting a deadline on both of these forms. I needed to get these pieces done before leaving on a family trip, but I also needed to get some glazing done. When we get back, I am looking forward to spending some time on some new taller projects without a time constraint.