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. 

Student Exhibition 2023 Opening Tuesday

DoVA post card featuring student work 

Yesterday the YVC art and photography faculty got together at Larson Gallery to choose award winners for this years student exhibition, which opens Tuesday, May 2, with a reception from 5-7pm.

Back of the postcard

Choosing awards is always a blast. It’s great fun to see the work we’ve seen in the classroom on display in the gallery and to see the work of our colleagues’ students. This year we awarded over $500 in awards, including best of show. President Kaminski chose the winner for her sponsored award and Tuesday student government is coming to choose their awards.

Work in progress by Amy Matson

Of course each of the faculty like to brag on their own students, and it’s fun when we share students, too. I always love to talk up my clay students, here on the blog and in person and I think this show has some particularly impressive sculpture and pottery, much of which I’ve shared here before (but none of which I remembered to photograph on Friday).

Close up texture of Gicelle Hernandez’s in the gallery (for your scavenger hunt on Tuesday)

This year is my first fully participating in an in-person show in the new gallery. Last year the show was in the new Larson Gallery, but I was on medical leave for most of the year. This year most of the classes were back on campus and we were delighted to have a larger space in which to share more work!

Work in process by Rubi Leyva

The show features pottery and ceramic sculpture from my beginning, intermediate and advanced students, and one student from last spring’s clay classes with Jeff Kent. There’s also photographs, scan-o-grams, and digital art from students in Chris Otten’s photography and digital art classes, drawings from Kayo Nakamura and Monika Lemmon’s drawing classes (and my design class), as well as paintings, woodblock and monotype prints from Kayo’s printmaking and painting classes.

Duck by Carlos Garcia Alcantar

The exhibition opens Tuesday, May 2 with a reception from 5-7. Award winners will be announced during the reception. We hope to have a big crowd of artists, students, family, friends, and others from the YVC and Yakima community. The gallery is always free and open to the public and during the reception there will also be snacks.

Kahula, in a kiln, by Yarelli Sanchez

The show will remain up (with artworks for purchase) through the May 27. Larson Gallery is on the new West side of campus, on the southwest corner of 16th Ave and Nob Hill Boulevard, behind Taco Bell. The Gallery is open Tuesday - Friday 10-5 and Saturdays 12-5. Admission is always free and the Yakima Vintner’s tasting room is conveniently located next door and features award winning YVC wines, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages as well. We hope to see you there!

Nearly half the art department, during the Yakima Artists Studio Tour in September

Throwing Prescription

Spring quarter started last week. We're nearly a week into this funny shaped quarter (funny shaped because it started on a Wednesday, which makes the first 5 days feel short and long at the same time). I've got a relatively light quarter, with just two classes (or four, depending how you count) as well as my union duties. With the break and a new "prescription," I've gotten into the studio every day for about two weeks.

Apparently this many pieces is too many pieces for me to throw on one day (with stiff clay)

Over spring break, I divided my days between firing, glaze, building, and throwing, as well as class prep and union work. On the day I devoted to throwing (and trying out my new Garrity tools), I threw 25lbs of clay, using up the rest of a box of porcelain. While I was throwing the slightly stiff clay, I looked down at my left thumb and noticed that it was very round and puffy, with a little dent in the middle emphasizing how much it had blown up.

The lymphedema sleeve I've been wearing to try to help with the swelling

Of course the "blow up" was from lymphedema, itself a result of all those lymph nodes taken out last June. Without as many lymph nodes, my body's system for removing extra fluid, from a cut or injury or infection, is impaired. Straining or working muscles too much can also, apparently, result in the lymph fluid collecting in the body because it can't get moved out quickly enough. 

I used these "love birds" throwing ribs from Garrity Tool's tool of the month club to make the textures. 

I've been working with an occupational therapist at the Lymphedema clinic since July to try to reduce the swelling that has collecting in my arm, chest, and breast. OT for lymphedema is pretty great, actually. The main thing, besides wearing a compression shirt and sleeve, is lymphatic drainage massage. I have a series of moved I do myself, but when I go in to the clinic, she has a whole bunch of things she does and it's basically just like getting a massage. Very relaxing, with the benefit of improving the swelling, too.

Another Garrity throwing rib made these textures

When I visited the lymphedema clinic after throwing during break, my therapist told me that I needed to spend more time throwing, but for shorter periods of time. So instead of infrequently throwing 25lbs of clay, I should spend about 30 minutes every day throwing. Basically, the idea is to get me back up to where I can handle more throwing. She also ordered me another compression sleeve, because if I throw in it, it gets messy pretty quickly. 

Some small forms I threw with my sculpture clay (not a great throwing clay body) 

I operate better with specific directions, or maybe I just prefer them. If I'm told to "take it easy" or "not do too much" I feel frustrated about how to define "easy" and "too much," so I really like this clear and specific direction: throw 30 minutes a day. And, it has the added advantage of telling me to do something I want to do anyway (but don't always make time to do).

Some small and large forms I threw with the sculpture body

I started last week Thursday, the first day of my clay class(es). It's a 3 hour class, but I don't throw the whole time in any of those classess, especially not on the first day.  I threw at home on Friday and over the weekend, using some recycled scupture clay. The clay includes nylon fiber and grog (ground up fired clay), which makes it a good sculpture body, but a fairly annoying throwing body. This time around it also had bits of metal in it. I need to figure out if that's coming from the pug mill or somewhere else. 

a thrown and hand-build sculpture in progress

The nice thing about throwing at home is that I can work on my sculpture. On the three days I threw with this body, I threw small pieces that I plan to combine into larger sculptures. Because I threw a bunch of sculpture pieces, that gets me back into the studio the next day (or days) to build with those pieces, so that's a good motivator to get me into the studio in general. Because the pieces are small, I don't necessarily need to commit to more time than I have.

one of the small sculpture forms I threw with the sculpture clay

Today I threw at school, both because I don't have any throwing clay ready, and because I wanted to have more bowls ready to trim tomorrow during class. The nice thing about throwing at school is that other people are around. I chatted with some folks in the studio and generally just enjoyed being in the space. The clay is also a lot nicer for throwing and didn't have any bits of metal (though I did find a bit of rock, which is fairly unusual).

the March Garrity tool makes a good paddle for small work

It's also kind of nice to have a time limit. I'm supposed to throw for 30 minutes, which I was able to squeeze in between meeting a student and attending a Teams meeting. But I also didnt' feel like I needed to commit to a huge undertaking. I was able to setup, wedge, throw, and clean up in about an hour. Because the time has been prescribed, I feel like I can just do it and be done.

the Garrity arm tool (full view)

Having a time limit it nice, sometimes, for something that could expand to take up any amount of time--Like writing a blog post. I could let it expand to take up several months of editing and perfecting (like I've done with the last two posts I haven't actually published) or I could set myself a limit, keep it short and be done.

Cancer updates

Last year about all I wrote about was cancer. I realized this weekend that it’s been a long time since my last cancer treatment update (in early October). Part of what got me thinking about it is that twice this past week a colleague didn’t seem to recognize me. I wonder if it’s because my hair looks so different. 

My curly hair this morning

For a while I'd been posting regular selfies during my treatment, in part because I didn't have all that much else to do, and in part because I kind of wanted to track the visual changes, which, aside from the hair were relatively minor. After I finished chemo, my hair started growing back, but at first it was a lot whiter than when I'd last seen it. Now I think the new growth is darker, but I didn't trim the white, so it has kind of a frosted look. It grew back slower on top, which makes for some weird length, but the most unusual part is the chemo curls.

this, apparently highly toxic, soft pastel from my daughter's drawing kit is taunting me

Apparently chemo damages the hair follicle, twisting it, which results in curls. That’s the explanation I’ve found, but it raises questions for me about naturally curly hair. Regardless, the curls are pretty normal for folks who’ve had chemo. They last 6 months to a year but can last longer. As someone whose straight hair never held a curl before, I’m enjoying having natural curls and even though the length is all over the place (thanks to the hair delayed regrow the on top), I’ve decided to keep everything I’ve got and enjoy it as long as it lasts.

boing boing curls

The curls have just reached the point where they make little spirals, or, as I would have called it when I was a kid, “boing boing curls.” If you wish for “boing boing curls” as a kid, you might just get that wish fulfilled after chemo 30 some years later. I'm pretty sure that as a kid I would have specified long "boing boing curls," but, as chemo ended in April, I may be getting close to the end of that type of growth.

the sculpture (right) as I left it at Christmas

The fact that I'm most interested in the hair, and I've been writing almost exclusively about my students' work for months, now, probably tells you what you need to know about my health (boring is good). I have been done with “active” treatment since September. In January I had my last meeting with my radiology oncologist who seemed to think my radiated skin looked good. She officially "released" me from her care, surprising me because I didn’t realize I was still under her care. The only hiccup was that I complained about some joint pain and that worried her (which worried me).

the other sculpture that I left even less complete over Christmas

In January I had my first post-surgery mammogram and that came back clear (about which I am much chiller now than I was then--when they didn't call with the results the next day I called them and told them they had to tell me or I'd worry all weekend). I also had my last weekly lymphedema appointment at the end of January. Which means that in February, I have no scheduled medical appointments of any kind! This is the first month since August of 2021 when I haven't have a medical appointment (or lots) related to my breast cancer!

both sculptures finished (and trying to keep the cats out at this point)

I‘m not done with treatment or appointments. I’m on five years of a daily pill and a shot every three months to stop my hormones. I have more lymphedema check ups, but they're spaced farther apart. At the start of March I have a pair of appointments my new oncologist and to get blood work to make sure the hormone stuff isn't causing major trouble. (Just the normal trouble of hot flashes and all that unfun menopause stuff.) Though some of them are decidedly not fun, I think that the symptoms have been fairly manageable. I can work just fine, I'm sleeping fairly well and I’ve gotten back into a sort of exercise routine of running with my daughter and doing some video workouts. I even went to yoga twice this month. 

old work and new work before and after glazing/firing

Mostly I’ve been focused on teaching and union work. In December I started some sculptures in my home studio that took ages to finish, not least because I got COVID when I was visiting my brother’s family at Christmas. But I finally finished building them and they are ready to fire whenever I get around to loading a kiln. This weekend I finally glazed a batch of functional work from who knows when. And that's all I've got, because between the glazing and the union and the classes I've told myself I'll squeeze in some rest this weekend!

Expressive Portrait, Glazed & Finished: Fall 2022

Last week, students in my Winter quarter class started building their solid portraits. I've been pretty busy so far this winter, so I had not gotten around to posting the finished sculptures created by my fall quarter class. 

painted solid portrait by Thai See

The solid built portrait project is probably my favorite hand-building project. I enjoy the format of the class, and the way the students separate into different tools and techniques, then come together for this solid building project. So this project is fun because we are all working together.

Kate Winslet as Clementine (from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) by Thai See

 

I also enjoy it because of the way the students work on this project. Most students use an armature, but they aren't required to do so. However, because the build is solid and fairly large, the first day consists mostly of hitting clay with paddles to make it stick to itself or the armature. It's hard not to enjoy such a physical project.

Charlie from Heartstopper by Amy Matson

I suppose it is also fun for me, because while the students are working hard, pounding on their pieces, making lots of noise and moving lots of clay around, I'm simply walking around, checking in with them, making suggestions, talking about their plans and proportions and the positiong of their armature.

Nien Nunb from Star Wars by Carlos Garcia Alcantar

On the second day of the project, they are cutting, hitting, and still making large changes to their project. Eventually they start to separate and work at different rates, but by the start of the second week or so, by design, they are all ready to cut. And again, that day, I'm walking through, thoroughly enjoying myself, while they are all cutting and hollowing and again making big changes to their projects.

Scream, by Amanda Goodrich, glazed

I never built this way, myself, in undergrad or in graduate school. I never really used an internal armature in my own work before I started teaching either. I've done so since, but I'm not even sure I had made and finished a full-side sculpture like this until my students had already done so in my class.

Scream, by Amanda Goodrich, side

This process is just a bunch of fun for me and the students seem to really enjoy it too, though I know it can also be frustrating--and some of them feel the frustration more than others, of course. Some of the students who feel frustrated with the project are those whose work looks great to me and their classmates, but who have really high expectations of themselves. These students may be bothered that their first portrait project isn't as perfect as they imagine it could be.

Medusa by Valeria Alvarez

Occaionally, I get a student who is so frustrated by the process that they end up disliking the end product. This happens in the throwing class sometimes, too. They expected the class to be easy or pure fun or something, but in the end they found it difficult and that somehow ruined the results for them. I find that both students who struggled and students who didn't appear to struggle can feel this way at the end of the quarter.

Two Geckos by Brooke Mason

Of course there are some students who struggle or dislike the project or their final results because they didn't really put in the time. I didn't really have that happen during most of the quarter this year, but it has happened in the past. 

Two geckos before firing by Brooke Mason

The clay can be unforgiving, breaking or squishing if handled incorrectly or worked on too wet or too dry. Just missing some studio time can result in clay that's too dry and needs to be entirely restarted. This isn't such a big deal on the wheel, most of the time, but it can be a major problem with a hand-building project that took weeks to build.

Dog by Yarelli Sanchez

The work I'm showing in this blog is (mostly) finished work as presented for the final critique. Students in the hand-building class had 5 builds during the quarter and they were required to glaze at least 4 of them. One of the 5 could be painted, the other 4 could be fired in the cone 10 kiln in a reduction or oxidation atmosphere, in the raku or pit firing, or in a low fire kiln. 

Dog by Yarelli Sanchez

Finishing the work mostly meant glazing or painting, and many students used underglazes with glazes. Horsehair raku firing was also an option, though none of the solid portraits ended up being finished with only horsehair raku (one was done with horsehair then re-fired).

Dog by Yarelli Sanchez

I also tell students that they can bring in non-ceramic materials after glazing and firing. This includes paint of course, but could also include epoxy, clear acrylic medium, hair, paper, or any other materials the student wishes to use. In the past students have added a dog collar, rubber, beads, staples and pieces of metal.

Dog by Yarelli Sanchez

This quarter, just two or three students used something besides paint. One added some acrylic medium to increase the shine on her piece after firing. Another added hair to her Gollum. Though Gollum doesn’t have a lot of hair, it makes a real difference. His particular hairstyle reminds me of when my hair was falling out near the beginning of chemo. 

Gollum by Amy Matson

Amy, who created Gollum, actually used her own hair. She shocked her classmate when she cut it off during class, yakima more than she probably needed. Whenever I’ve made sculptures that incorporate hair, I’ve used the fake kind that you can buy in a cheap hairclip—but maybe that’s because I knew I’d eventually lose it all. (Hmm, now I’m wondering why I didn’t save my hair that fell out for use in my future sculpture.

Bantha by Julia Snow

Hair and fur texture make a bit difference in making a sculpture look realistic, stylized, creepy, beautiful, or strange. In the fall, we had some pretty different approaches to hair and fur. Julia's Bantha has these tufts of fur, Yarelli's dog fur varies quite a bit across different parts of the body. Some others focused more on the form than the surface.

Bantha by Julia Snow

I can't wait to share images from this quarter, with student's permission, because we have some very different approaches to surface texture happening. I feel like each class cohort can have a very distinctive feel, energy, or approach. This quarter 6 students from fall are continuing into the Winter quarter, meaning this cohort combines new and continuing students. I've been kind of surprised how different the energy is. The winter group is a good group, they're making work and rising to the challenge of the class, but the humor and perspective is just a little different. It's a little bit difficult to name.

Dog on Pillow by Thunder Morales

I suspect part of the reason it feels so different is simply because half the class is working on different projects than the other. I've got six or seven beginners, doing the same assignments as the fall students, but with sometimes very different personal approaches. Then I've got 4 intermediates working on pretty independent and thus quite varied intermediate projects, and I've got 2 intermediate students who took the beginning class online or while I was on medical leave, which means their experience, background and perspective is pretty different.

Dog on Pillow by Thunder Morales

I'm definitely not complaining. I've been really happy with how the group has worked together even with the different projects. They've now completed two and a half builds, and I'm pretty much always happy when the builds get done. Some of them had to push a bit to meet the last deadline, but that energy (oh no! here comes the deadline!) can yeild some very interesting and surprising results.

Dwight from The Office by Jordan Golob

This week my three clay classes all start glazing. I'm looking foward to seeing what we get for the first firing, but I'm also interested to see how my intermediates approach glazing, having already had one or two quarters of experience prior to this class.

Derek Arneecher's Winifred after the second firing (with underglaze)