Making Masks

I did my second Clay Teacher Friday. It went well. I did masks with some kids from Sanctuary http://www.ecsd.net/programs/alternative_education.html . The kids there have some behavior problems and are not a part of the regular school system. But kids are kids and they responded well to the clay. I learned one thing with these kids, set some boundaries. I like to give students the freedom to make any face, with the clay, they like. So saying that they have freedom, without specifying that freedom is limited to facial features was a mistake. Next time I will say they can make any kind of face they like, but have to keep their project in the confines of social acceptance. A boy put a symbol on his mask that could be very offensive to many people. He refused to take it off and things were starting to slide into a confrontation between him and the teachers. He was not working on the mask and it was affecting the energy and the rest of the students in the class. We were all having fun and working up until that point. I suggested that he could leave the symbol there, just cover it with a small piece of clay. That way he could get what he wanted and it wouldn’t offend anyone else. It seemed to work. I made a very thin pancake of clay, he covered the symbol, smoothed down the little piece of clay, and all was well. What he didn’t realize is that there is no way that clay can be removed, especially after I helped it along and made sure it was stuck. The cover up is there, and after it is fired, it is there in stone. If he tries to expose his bigotry, either real or just put on for the class, he will destroy his mask.

It was an interesting morning. The teacher said that they seldom settle and work for 90 minuets. But these kids did. They tried hard and did some nice work.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

First Day of School

Yesterday was my first job as the Clay Teacher. I was a bit nervous. I’m not really sure why. I went to talk to and do some throwing for two grade 10 classes. The first group was interested in what I was doing. . I had some samples that showed throwing a simple form, making it a cup, adding a handle making it a mug. Throwing and combining wheel thrown pieces and then using the wheel to build round slabs, the masks, and then I brought a little sculpture that had nothing to do with the wheel. There were a few students that were excited and anxious to try some of the techniques I had shown them. The next class was not as keen. It was a bit weird. I talked about the construction techniques of the examples that I brought, I threw a cylinder, vase, bowl and a plate. I went on and on for about a half and hour then stopped to ask if anyone had any questions. ….Blank stares and silence….. I asked if they had anything to add…. Blank stares and silence…..asked if anyone had plans of being artists….again…..nothing….mind you they were grade 10, all full of raging hormones and it was the last class on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend. So I didn’t take personally and I enjoyed it, the teaching and not the blank stares and silence. It was fun. I really enjoy being The Clay Teacher. There is no pressure. I just go in, talk about what I know, do what I like, be myself and then leave. I am not the one who is responsible for taking these kids and guiding them near, if not on the path of at least having a respect for art.I think half the kids in that class are only there because they think if you take art it is easy. There is nothing to read, no homework, what could be easier than being an artist? Those are the kids that are the most challenging and I am so glad not my responsibility. Mind you there is always one kid that stands out. There was a boy in the first class. He was very keen and working on a big bowl project that had him very excited. It would be fun to work with him and those like him, for more than one workshop, to help him from start to finish with his bowl.

Winter hit this last week. It came so fast that the leaves were still mostly green and on the trees.With the sudden nasty weather they all froze and fell off. This year we won’t get the pretty colours of the transition from fall into winter. It’s like someone flicked the switch, off with fall on with winter. We are driving to Grande Prairie to visit family for the long weekend. The weather is not that bad that we would consider not going. We are looking forward it.

Pot pic this time has nothing to do with pots. Here are pics of the weather outside our door.

We are the way to Grande Prairie AB for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Family food and fun, who could ask for more.

Until the next time.

Cindy

Put on a happy face.

Arts on the Avenue Kaleido Festival http://artsontheave.org/festivals/kaleido-festival-2009/went well. The weather was not all that great. The first day we had to shut it down early or get blown away, Sunday the weather was still very windy so the venue was changed to inside. It was well attended and we look forward to next year. Bigger and better!

I do my first Clay Teacher job today. I am going to Victoria School http://www.victoria-school.ca/ to talk to the high school kids about being a potter, making pottery and whatever they want to talk about or watch. It will be fun. I wish someone could have come and talked to me at that age. All the potters I met growing up were hobby potters and they have a different outlook on pottery. I have been both a hobby potter and a trying to make a living potter, they are not the same. If some old fart potter had come and told me to run and become anything but a potter when I was 17, I wouldn’t have listened and I am sure they won’t either. So I tell the good side, show them some techniques and talk about skill, craft and art. The rest, they will have to take their life time to figure it out. That’s what it is, a lifetime/lifestyle choice. Being a full time potter has its commitments. It’s difficult to get started and can take a few years. The money is often not all that great. The work is hard. You have to find your place among all the other potters and stand out to a point where your pots will sell and sell enough to support yourself and perhaps a family. There is a skill level obtained when you make thousands and thousands of pots. You need to be a skilled potter to be an artist, but how skilled? You have to have control over your clay. However while production potters are pumping out the pots, hobby potters have the time to play with the one of kinds. It has been the oldest discussion since there has been a hobby and professional potter, who is the real potter. Is craft art or is it only that, a craft. You are what you think you are. If you think you are an artist, you are. If you think you are a craftsman, you are.As long as you have the skill to control your clay and the understanding and control of the process and you can make the clay do what you want it to do and not just take what you get, it really doesn’t matter what you or anyone else labels you, craftsman or artist. There is some very bad pottery out there that is seen as art and some wonderful work that is overlooked or just seen as craft. If what you make makes you happy, then you are doing it right. Keeping in mind, what makes you happy and feel good about your work will and should always be changing.Tomorrows work is always your best work.

Next Friday I work at a place called Sanctuary.http://www.ecsd.net/programs/alternative_education.html#sanctuary With these kids I will take a completely different approach. They have some behavior problems. Life has not been all that kind to them. We will talk about masks. We all wear them, so we will make some, talk about feelings and what feelings look like. It should be a good time for both me and the kids. I am looking forward to it.

Here are a few of the masks and suns I have been working on. They are fun to make and after winter hit last night with freezing temperatures and blowing snow a warm smile is be appreciated.

Until the next time.

Cindy.

Mug Shots

September 23, 2009

My class at ACT starts tonight. I always enjoy them. It will fun to get out for a bit. I have been missing teaching. I am looking forward to when I start working with the kids. When I am working with the little ones I am the grown up that comes into the class, interrupts the normal day, and tells them to play in the mud. I do meet some children that really don’t want to get dirty. Sometimes it is a cultural thing and some kids are just cleaner than I ever have been or will be. I still find it hard to understand kids that don’t want to play in the mud. Lucky for me there on only a few of them.

I got up with my kids this morning. I am not sure if 18 and 20 can be called kids anymore, but I am thinking that my getting up with them won’t last long. John has to be at work at 7:00AM on Wednesdays, so if I get up with him at 5:45, work the day and then my night class; it will be a long day. Also at 18 and 20, if they can’t get themselves up, fed and out the door, it is time they learned how.

We are getting involved with Arts on the Avenue http://artsontheave.org/ We live just two blocks from 118^th Avenue we are 40 blocks south of all the events, but we have been in the neighborhood for a long time. They have asked us before but we have always been too busy, or that has been the excuse. This weekend we will go see what it is all about. It will be good to meet the other artists, promote the studio and the Clay Teacher. It should be a good time. Art, music, food what more could you want, oh yeah... drink.

Every few months I make 50 mugs for a corporate client. I am writing this at 8:00 and they are sitting in the kiln at about 600 F. They have to be delivered today. It will be a bit of a push, but we will have them out and sanded by noon, we many not have any fingerprints left, but the kiln will be unloaded.

We got the kiln unloaded, the mugs delivered and kept our fingerprints. That will eliminate that life of crime I had in mind but here are some mugs shots.

On the Road Again

September 5, 2009

Wow, that was a quick summer!

The show and the Folk Fest came and went. I never did get to the show at the City Arts Centre or hear how it turned out. I haven’t even looked into getting the tea set back yet. The Folk Fest was good. We sold pots, made some money and made some good connections. We would love to do it next year.

We had a wonder holiday and trip this past summer. It was our first real holiday since 2004. The Folk Fest ended August 9, the 10^th we packed up and August 11^th we set out on a road trip. We have family in Chesapeake Virginia. Jim’s son Torrey is in the US Navy and we drove down, or across, to visit him and his wife Carrie. The first day we got to St. Lewis, 36 hours and then the Friday the 14^th we were in Virginia. We spent a week there and had a wonderful time. Torrey gave us a tour of his ship, the air craft carrier Harry S. Truman. It is huge but must be very crowded when all 5000 people are on board. We saw where the USA began. Went up to Washington DC and saw the president drive by in his motorcade. That was a rush. When we got there a number of men in black suits with wires in there ears were all around the White House closing down access. Now there are a bunch guys who take themselves seriously. Then suddenly all roads were blocked and out of the back of the White House sped the President and his entourage. It was cool.

Obama in the back seat.

We swam in the Atlantic, got beaten by the waves and after a week of fun, family and history we headed southwest for Nashville.

The family in the Atlantic.

Torrey and Carrie at Williamsburg VA

Williamsburg VA

We drove through the Smokey Mountains and spent one night in Pigeon Forge. That was a bit of surprise. Dolly Parton came from there so we expected a…. not sure… small town with a monument or something. Coming out of the back woods of the Smokey Mountains into….. well….. Vegas, just no gambling. Lights, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, shopping, street performing Elvis impersonators. It was more than weird.

It became weirder the next morning when we thought our daughter Kaileigh was in the car and she was standing beside the car leaning in to talk to us and we ran over her foot. It broke nothing, pulled nothing and now, just two weeks later the swelling is gone, just a bit of bruising left and she is walking normally. When we were in the docs office just after it happened I asked her how she was doing,she said the blood pressure cuff hurt more than her foot????

You can see the tire tread marks….ouch….

The holiday went on for almost 3 weeks. I will talk more about it later.

The Clay Teacher is getting calls, emails and bookings. We are confident it will do very well. It is really exciting. I love the building of a business. When we opened a studio on Fort Road 10 years ago, it was a real rush to set it up, get equipment, attend shows, and build the wholesale cliental. We then moved to Jasper Avenue and opened the Gallery. It too was a hoot to get that started. We moved walls, well hired people to work, picked out flooring and paint. Once we were open we found artists, clients etc. A part of me will always regret that it didn’t work out. The much larger part is glad we are free from the daily responsibility of retail. The Clay Teacher gets off work at 3:00 and doesn’t work weekends.

That’s enough rambling for one day.

Until next time

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Artist's Statements and Schtuff

July 20, 2009

I am putting a tea set in an instructor's show at the City Arts Centre. They asked me to include an artist’s statement. I have always had trouble with those. I never have been comfortable with long and flowery explanations of how and why I created a piece. I never wanted to say anything like how the elements of nature combined with the elements of the spirit in a single work, represents them both, the artist or whatever. Maybe the work does represent some of that, but not on a conscious level for me. I make pots because I am a potter. I alter them, add to them, give them faces and make them one of a kind pieces because I want to or I have to, and for me, I’m not sure there is a difference. I started playing in the clay before I started going to elementary school. I have had many changes in my life since I was that little girl playing in the mud in my backyard. The one thing that has remained constant for all those years is me playing in the mud. I am not sure that makes me an artist. I have become fairly proficient at throwing pots. I am happy for the most part with what I make and when I take the time to do something more creative than production pottery; I really enjoy how it makes me feel. It makes me feel like me.

Here is the tea set. “Tea on the Run”.

I was thinking that I would rather put a face that I have been working on in the instructor’s show.The masks or faces combine sculpting, slab work and the wheel. They are the most recent and then therefore my best work, but not as good as I am going to do tomorrow. But I don’t want to put a mask in because we are doing the Folk Fest in a few weeks and I think I have a better chance of selling the mask than the tea set. Spoken like many artists, I need the money. I won’t add that to my artist statement. It seems that once you have to make a living at selling this schtuff, the art community will not see you as an artist.

Speaking of selling this schtuff, I have to get to work. I have been making mugs and small pieces for Folk Fest. I was pushing and put a bunch of mugs in the kiln, way too wet. But since I have been potting forever I know how to push… Yeah right. Of all the things that you would think I have learned over the decades of making pots, is that you can’t rush some things. I lost 18 mugs because I thought I could break the rules. Sometimes you get caught. Today is going to be muggy…..

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Plans for the Day and Family Pics

July 8, 2009

It has been a while since I blogged. In the summer there is little to do with the Clay Teacher, especially since this is the first summer as the Clay Teacher. I hope the summers to follow have some Clay Teacher activity. I have been potting. The casserole didn’t turn out that well. I was trying to follow the style of another potter for the client. I didn’t like that style and my knock off showed. I did bring one that I liked. They liked it too and bought it instead of the knock off. They said would order more in lots of 10. It was a school and as of yet, no order. I think the teachers, the end of June, might have had more on their minds than casseroles dishes. I have the corporate mug order made but not glazed. I am waiting on more info from them. The store in the east ordered again, that is bisqued and cooling the kiln along with some internet orders and Lilia ordered a bit more. The east order was a good size. More dinner sets. I have made a number of dinner sets this last month or so….about 40….I am working on a dinner set now

About 4 years ago we shipped an order to a store near Toronto. They didn’t order again. We always stamp out pottery with Out of the Fire Studio and Alberta Canada. We received an email a few months ago telling us they had bought one of our tea pots from that store and broke the lid. They wanted us to make a new lid and had found us on the internet because of the stamp. I said I would try and send them a couple that might work. They got back and said that they would be in the neighborhood, could they drop by. They do live in Kenora ON. We didn’t expect them to stop by. They did and placed a wedding registry with us. At first the registry didn’t take off. It was a good size, 13 piece dinner set with a number of completer pieces. We had sold a casserole dish and a couple of trays and thought oh well. They told us last week, what wasn’t sold in the registry, they would buy. Since then it has taken off and they will have to purchase very little, but it has to be done by the 20^th of this month so his brother can take it to the wedding. I have been busy making dinner sets, only because we stamped the tea pot with our name.

Jim has redone Out of the Fire web site http://www.outofthefirestudio.com/ and The Clay Teacher ( I didn’t add the link here, if you got this far, you don’t need it). He has been busy as well. They really look good. Out of the Fire has been online since 2000 or 1999 it was time for the old girl to have a face lift. I’m not sure that time will ever come for me. Need yes, surgery no.

We have some running around to do today. We will get our business license….finally… It has taken this long to get the development permit so we can apply. There is a small wholesale order to deliver to shop down town. Then we will get our badges etc for Folk Festhttp://www.efmf.ab.ca/ we are in the craft tent this year. With the badges we get full access to the festival, even Wednesday and Thursday night when the craft tent is not set up. We hope the sale goes well. 85,000 people will attend that weekend. We should be able to sell something to someone. We will promote the Clay Teacher and the pottery. We are looking forward to it. But I am freaking out a bit. I am doing the “WE DON’T HAVE ENOUCH POTS!!!!” thing that I always do. I get this wedding registry done this week and I can put my head down and make pots. When I do that, I have the ability to make a whack of pots. How many pots do we need for 85,000 people, how many will they buy, what they will buy, and will they buy anything at all? Same questions different sale……..the nice thing about pots is they don’t go stale. They can sit in a tote and wait until the next sale, unlike bread. Also today we have a new client stopping by to purchase what we have in stock and then place an order. It is White Avenue store. We haven’t had pots on White Ave since…..years……When driving on White I often call it Wait Ave, the traffic is bad.

Pot Picks today are Grad Pictures… the pot is in my dress

Jim, Kaileigh, John and me.

Chin Picks

Kaileigh, me and John

King of the World Picks

Superman.

For more pictures of John's Grad see http://www.johnslowinski.com

I have to get to busy.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

For pics of the family and Grad Day go to http://www.johnslowinski.com