Holiday Shows & The End of the Quarter

Happy Holiday Season

If you'd like to see (and buy) some of my work, come visit one of my galleries this month. I have some functional work and a few small pieces at Oak Hollow Gallery in Yakima. The holiday show at Oak Hollow features a range of artists and mostly small or functional works and some holiday themed pieces.

some of the work I took to Oak Hollow

I also have some sculptural work at the CORE holiday show in Seattle. The CORE show is open through December 19. 

the CORE Gallery show (with my work barely visible on the right)

This is my last month with the gallery as I am not planning to continue in 2016. It was nice to be a member of the gallery, but I've decided that it wasn't worth the time and energy to stay with the gallery. Additionally, I wasn't able to spend much time in the studio this summer and therefore I wasn't comfortable with what kind of show I would have been able to put together.

some work I took to Seattle

This summer my energies were divided between my studio, the throwing workshop I participated in at Archie Bray in Montana, and getting the new studio ready at school. This spring and summer I anticipate being able to carve out a bit more studio time than last year.

the entrance of the new building in the evening

At school were really are settling into the new building. Next week is finals week, marking the end of our first quarter in the building. I am happy to say that all of our kilns, equipment, and venting are now fully functioning. We had a surprise visit from the fire department before Thanksgiving, but there wasn't an un-contained fire; just an alarm from a sensor in the kiln room while we were firing the gas kiln.

fire fighters checking out the kiln room last week

Making Work in CORE Gallery

This weekend was my shift at CORE Gallery. It is a nice show, featuring bright shiny and paintings by Kalindi Thompson and a large installation by Aaliyah Gupta. The work of both artists benefits from an up-close look. The show is open through the end of May. I walked around the neighborhood before my shift and I think the highlights were a print show by Jacob Lawrence at Davidson Galleries and a ceramic show, but I've forgotten where the ceramic work was.

my work in Seattle (very temporarily)

In the past I've brought reading for my six hour shift in Seattle. This time I brought reading and some clay so I could get a head start on my summer studio time. It's the end of spring quarter, the time when, every year, I get anxious to get in the clay studio at home and I also start to worry about getting enough work done in the too-short summer.

reading material and my work in the gallery

Last weekend I brought some clay to the Tour of Artists' Homes and Studios and finished building one small sculpture and a planter. This week I built a second small sculpture and some small planter pieces.

sprigs

This time I stopped by Seattle Pottery on the way to the gallery to replenish my clay stocks, but somehow I managed to forget most of my tools, including my cup of slip. I ended up roughing in my form fairly loosely with the tools I did bring. It worked just fine, especially since I then put the wet sculpture in the car and drove over the pass to get home.

sprigs added to my sculpture

I did remember some sprigs. When I got home I needed to repair a few parts of the sculpture, but not too bad. I also worked on the texture behind the sprigs.

adding texture at home with this broken tool

My home studio is pretty messy right now, and when school is over in 3 weeks, I'll have to clean it before I can get much work done, but at least I've got a head start on some building before then.

mostly finished piece (at home)

Bike Wheel, Spinning and Not Spinning

wheel piece completed in winter 2014

Last year I made a bike wheel piece that spins, but I made one big mistake. the colored bulbs on top are just set onto the spokes. When I had this piece at June Art Fest last summer, someone pointed out a bit of information I had missed: spokes can come out of the wheel rim.

new wheel bulbs with underglaze partially complete

So I had to make another piece, this time with holes in the bulbs for the spokes to go through. I also added textures to the bulbs because my mom told me to (and you should always listen to your mom).

two wet clay bases in progress

I also made some new bases, with chains like the first base, but I played around with textures and additions to these bases.

new wheel piece with bulbs being attached

I had the bases and the bulbs in place with time to spare before my show, but transporting the bike wheel piece to Seattle didn't go so well. On the first day of setup, I discovered that the wheel of the new piece wasn't staying on the base.

new wheel piece in CORE Gallery

I ended up at a hardware store that night minutes before they closed. I ran in with half the sculpture to get a bolt to attach the wheel to the base. Unfortunately, the bolt I got wasn't the best bolt. I epoxied the sculpture together that night, but in the morning it seemed to be listing dangerously to one side. 

check out the shadows under the wheel

The bulbs on the wheel are attached so that one side is a bit heavier than the other. As time ticked away and I was ready to leave the show and drive back to Yakima, I finally decided to err on the side of stability. I ended up adding epoxy so that the wheel no longer turns. 

new wheel piece and old wheel piece

Though I worried about it off and on during the days after I left Seattle until the night I returned for the Art Walk, the sculpture stayed upright. I left a sign on the pedestal instructing viewers not to touch, and the piece is visually ok and probably a bit better than last year's piece.

second base with chain being epoxied in place

But I intend to conquer this piece. I still have one more base at home that's ready to go. This weekend I threw some replacement bulbs. Since I think I need to fill the gallery again in a year, I am thinking I will need to streamline some of my forms, so no texture for these bulbs.

wet clay bulbs before the spoke holes were attached

My show continues at CORE Gallery in Seattle through February 28, 2015.

Wall Installation at Mechanical Botanicals

I spent the weekend in Seattle for my show at CORE Gallery. Mechanical Botanicals will be open through the end of the month. 

"Ericano Diversia"

The reception on Thursday evening for the Pioneer Square art walk was much more fun than I expected. It was raining mod of the evening, but there still was pretty steady traffic into the gallery. I didn't really stop having conversations with visitors until after 8pm. 

a view of most of my work in the gallery (and one Mark Callen painting)

Of all the people to come in, only one single guy was unpleasant. Everyone else was nice and complementary and interesting to talk to.

I didn't sell anything, though I might have if I had priced my gridded wall installation as 100 individual pieces. A few people told me my prices, were too low, but when it's followed up with no sales, I'm not sure I can believe that market wisdom.

wall installation detail view

I had to be in Seattle on Saturday to watch the gallery and I didn't feel comfortable driving back over the pass that night, so I cancelled Friday's class and visited a number of galleries and art museums in the area on Friday. 

The Jason Walker exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum was quite good, as was the Anne Drew Potter lecture at Pottery Northwest on Friday evening. I also got to meet Tip Toland which was pretty cool.

It rained most of the weekend so I was lonely in the gallery on Saturday afternoon. I took lots of pictures of my work and sketched some plans for next year's show. Late Friday evening it occurred to me that I'll probably have to fill the space again next year.

This year's show had 11 sculptures and two wall installations that I made over a year and a half including my sabbatical time and two summers. Next year's show will have to consist of mostly new work and somehow I'll have to make it in one year with no sabbatical time. Time to start building.

"Mechanical Botanicals" opens this week

The view in my side of the gallery

I set up my show in Seattle this weekend. "Mechanical Botanicals" opens (officially) on Wednesday, February 4, 2015. The First Thursday Pioneer Square Art Walk is Thursday night from 6-9pm. I will be there for the Thursday evening event and I will be in the gallery from 12-6pm on Saturday. The Gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 12-6pm. 

the view in the door of CORE Gallery

This is my first show at CORE Gallery (117 Prefontaine Place South in Seattle for those of you entering it into your GPS). This was a nice space in which to install. The gallery has bright lights, a locking door and plenty of space. Often I've installed shows only when the gallery director or staff is present. It was nice to install without a time limit, and without someone watching or waiting for me to make a decision.

drilling holes for the first wall installation

I brought over a lot of work. Last week I brought some stuff in one vehicle. This weekend I filled a second car with my work and loaded extra borrowed pedestals into the truck bed. On Saturday my husband helped me drill holes and install hooks for my 100 piece wall installation. When they brought my second car load, my daughter and her grandparents helped hang most of the bulbs on the hooks.

the gridded wall installation

We unloaded all the work on Saturday, arranged pedestals, installed the grid of bulbs on the wall and put up the vinyl signs on the window and wall. I picked up the signs on Saturday morning from Sun Signs in Tukwila. They were great. The guy came in on Saturday just for me and was so fast that I was out of there just minutes after we'd arranged to meet.

preparing to put up my window sign

I thought putting up the signs was neat. They go on, as my daughter said, like a temporary tattoo. But mostly I just thought it was fun to have my name on the window (and wall) of the gallery. It makes the show feel very official.

second wall installation

On Sunday I planned to come in, double check the set up, perhaps install a second wall installation, and adjust the lights. I ended up rearranging the pedestals three times before I was satisfied. I did install the second wall piece, but I called in my husband to adjust the lights. Apparently he is capable of standing on a ladder with his hands above his head without breaking out in a cold sweat.

partial view in the gallery

I swept up the gallery, removed my boxes and packing materials, emptied the weekend's trash, and left Seattle during the first quarter of the super bowl. The pass was eerily deserted on our way home. I'll be heading back on Thursday, but I don't think I can hope for any highway clearing distractions to assist with that drive.

Mechanical Botanicals

My first show at CORE Gallery in Seattle opens next month on February 4, 2015. The show runs through February 28 with a reception for the Pioneer Square First Thursday Art Walk on Thursday, February 5.

My show will feature work from my sabbatical, and, if I get things done in the next two weeks, new work from this past summer.

I will be in Seattle for the first Thursday Art Walk from 6-9pm. The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday 12:00-6:00pm. If you would like a postcard (and I haven't already gotten you one, send me an e-mail with your address. I will also plan to get some to Larson Gallery on Tuesday.

CORE Gallery & Sabbatical Presentation

It has been a busy week. Last weekend I had a meeting at CORE Gallery, where I will be a member starting in January. CORE is a non-profit gallery for mid career artists located near Pioneer Square in Seattle.

CORE Gallery's November website

Our meeting last weekend was to introduce us to the gallery and get to meet the other 19 artists who will also be a part of the gallery. I am excited about becoming a member of the gallery and getting to know new artists and a new art community. I have enjoyed been a part of the Yakima art community for more than eight years, but it will be interesting to talk with different people about my art, particularly people who haven't been watching my progression. 

A sculpture from my sabbatical

In February I will have a solo show at CORE, featuring my sabbatical work (and this summer's work if I ever get any of it finished. The February show will open February 4th with a First Thursday Reception February 5 from 6pm-9pm. (Now all I need to do it finish work, make postcards, update my website, advertise my show, get myself to Seattle with all my work and pedestals and get the show installed.)

The wall installation I'm thinking of doing in Seattle

Speaking of daunting tasks, this week I also presented to the YVCC Board of Trustees on my sabbatical and a trip I took to Milwaukee for the NCECA Conference. I heard later that the presentation was received well by at least some, but it was one of about 300 presentations that afternoon and I was asked to stop a little before I got to the end of my images. I think I was asked to stop early because there was quite a lot scheduled. Regardless, I think it went well, but I also found it fairly stressful. Strange, how talking in front of a group of 35 students every day can be perfectly normal, but presenting in front of 7 officials can be completely exhausting.

Gallery News

Last week I took a trip to Seattle to visit a couple of galleries. Both visits went well and I have good gallery news to report. As of last Wednesday, I have work in the shop at the Schack Art Center in Everett. The center has an art gallery with rotating exhibits and a shop with smaller work for sale year-round. In the back of the art gallery space is a glass hot shop where one can watch artists blowing glass during the day. The center also has art classes and art studios.

lidded box (now at Schack Shop)

I brought some smaller work to the gallery, including some lawn sticks, lidded ceramic boxes and pea pods. The meeting with the shop director went well and she was pleasant and easy to work with. Across the street from the center is a children's museum. My daughter's reward for her patience on the long drive and the wait while I showed my artwork and did paperwork was to spent two and a half hours playing at the museum. It was big enough to entertain her for even longer.

lawn sticks installation (several now at Schack Shop)

open pea pod with mulberry paper (now at Schack Shop)

My other good news to report doesn't actually begin until January. Starting in 2015, I will be a member of CORE gallery near Pioneer Square in Seattle. The gallery is run by a group of artists and managed by Shunkpike. The gallery is made up of 20 artists per year with most staying year to year. February through November two artists show together in the gallery each month. In December there is a group holiday show and in January a community show. Additionally, throughout the year the represented artists all keep one piece on display (for sale) in a back section of the gallery.

one of several pieces I brought to CORE (who knows what will be there starting in January)

The gallery seems organized, well lit and visible with nice walls, and it is close to quite a few other galleries including Punch, Gallery 110, Soil, Globe and Foster White. The 2015 schedule will be out in the next month or two and I will let everyone know when I will be showing. I will have something there starting in January as part of the artists' permanent display wall.

another piece I took to CORE

In the meantime, you can see my work at Tieton's 10x10x10 show with a reception this Saturday during Highland Community Days. You can always see a few of my pieces at Oak Hollow Gallery in the permanent section (my small pieces are on the shelf in the back right corner near the desk/computer).

"Aoi Cephalotini" (now in Tieton)