March

Oh hi guys- if anyone is still out there- here is a monthly report of how things are out my way...

My camera is broken- which really gets in the way of blogging, and also takes up huge amounts of time in research- WTF is wrong with it? (still no idea really- but I think it's got something wrong with it's shutter speed/iso connection- it's basically turned into one of those really crappy cameras they used to give out with happy meals at Mcdonalds- it has to be in super bright sunlight or it won't work.  But it's still working sometimes- usually just on my test shots and not when the kid is smiling, sun is setting, cat is being cute, of course)- Can it be fixed? (no- I don't think so)- What kind of camera do I want now? (I think Nikon- and I'm stepping up to a dslr- looking at the d3200 which is not super high end- but probably enough for my needs, unless I can find a d5200, or d5100 for a good deal- I'm not spending 700 bucks on a camera since the lifespan of such an item seems to be about 4 years around here). Oh and also what am I using my camera for anyhow?

N is losing her first tooth! It's been wiggly for a while but now the adult tooth is coming in behind so I'm sure it will force it out at some point, I can't quite believe that she's old enough for this to be happening, also she gets report cards from school, and it's sort of hilarious the things she needs to improve on ( not that there's much) but skipping is an 'area of focus'- not jumping rope- but actual 'tra-la-la' skipping, I never knew it was so important. Also counting backwards from 10. Big things to work on here- meanwhile she's ahead in other areas- like reading and writing, and she has a "kind and quiet demeanor" which I thought was such a lovely way to describe her. The cuteness of her writing is epic, and her journal is a treasure.

I'm looking at website builders, Squarespace, and Wix are sort of leading the pack at the moment- I looked at wordpress and I just don't love the rigidity of it- but maybe I'm wrong- what do you think?  I want something that allows me a space for a gallery of works, and works for sale, and a blog, and artists cv, bio and statement. Maybe I should just forgo selling stuff on my own site and open an etsy store and link to it from my website. Any thoughts?

And of course in order to start up a website I need to have some work to sell or show, I'm working on it! So far I've got a huge portrait of N as summer on the go- it's almost ready to give you a sneak peek, and some clay stuff that is waiting very patiently to get fired- April is going to be a clay heavy month because I'm teaching a couple of classes, and so I must get things in order and also summer is coming!  I would love to have more work finished to sell locally at markets. Things are busy around here despite my blog silence, and Spring is on the way and seedlings are sprouting, and grass is showing, and kids are mucky, and the fresh smell of spring is upon us, enjoy it my friends!

In the Studio: Time for T (Squares)*

Here is the tile for the back splash in our Kitchen, in it's last mold phase e.g.: trying to make it into a functional tile that will work, and not make my Husband crazy when it comes time to put them up. The first mold I made back in November did not turn out great- I used mold soap instead of petroleum jelly to grease the mold- and the tile slid around while I was pouring the plaster in which made it less square and crisp than I needed- luckily I could still press out a couple of tiles- and so I pressed one and then set about fixing it up to re-mold it.

 Mostly I had to smooth out a few spots  and make the Wheat motif a bit thicker- so that it didn't disappear on the edge, and add a ton of clay to make the edges square (ish). You can see in that photo that the bottom of the tile is about a 1/4 inch out at the bottom- which would make it a nightmare to grout- and also not look very good, though I do like the 'not quite perfectness' of the edges and the slight rounding of the corners- It has to be a proper square- otherwise it will bug the shit out of me while I'm cooking, looking up at my mistakes tiled behind the stove. Otherwise the project is moving along- I'm on to trying to figure out the best combo of clay and grog to reduce warping and shrinkage, and perfecting drying methods next... It's starting to get a bit technical- which I love- but which makes things a bit boring for everyone else...like watching clay dry...literally.


* I know it's not actually a T-square in the picture- but for the sake a cute post title- let it go. Oh god now I'm looking at the picture thinking how much better it would be if it were a t-square...so much more balanced...

Monday Inspiration: Laura Muntz Lyall

Laura Lyall Muntz, A Young Girl Holding Daffodils, (source)

Laura Muntz Lyall, Untitled, 1887, (source)

Laura Muntz Lyall, Interesting Story, 1898, (source)

I had honestly never heard about this woman before- though Interesting Story does seem familiar- it is just the sort of image that gets thrown around for advertising though- tugging at our heartstrings. It makes me think, of course, of my girls, and how I should be painting them, or doing something art related to capture these early glory years, (the photographs seem to sort of have that covered though right?- any kid whose mom has a blog is probably in the running for most documented childhood ever...). Anyhow, before blogging- the artistic childminders painted the little rugrats- and Laura Muntz Lyall was apparently not immune to the cuteness either.  She studied art in Paris at The Academie Colarossi (other Canadian graduates include Emily Carr and Prudence Heward), and painted extensively up until her sister's death- after which she spent most of her time looking after her sister's children, after which she fit in what painting she could, doing the stay at home/artist gig (if it was 2014 she would have had a blog).

Her paintings have a really lovely quality to them- loose, and natural, and almost Pre-Raphealite to me, with their loose patterns, and recurring flowers, models with flowing hair. The light in Interesting Story is really lovely, and it seems so ahead of it's time- much looser than other similar era paintings. I think though- the most interesting thing to me is that she was essentially a mother, who was educated and painted, and that didn't happen too often back then. Women generally gave up family life to paint- they had to choose one or the other- and Muntz Lyall did that- until her sister's death when she took over the responsibility of motherhood and simultaneously tried to 'have it all' much earlier than most women. She took nine years off from painting then began to work again, presumably the exception to the 'if you leave you'll never go back 'rule. Inspiring stuff.

Monday Inspiration: Prudence Heward

Prudence Heward, Young Girls, 1945, (source)

Prudence Heward, At the Theater, 1928, (source)

Prudence Heward, Girl in Yellow Sweater, 1936, (source) 

Prudence Heward was a member of the Beaver Hall Group, a group of modernist Canadian painters ion the 1930's. It was really uncommon for women to be considered professional artists those many (short!) years ago, regardless of their skill, or training, most women who made art (painting, pottery, sculpture) were termed 'hobbyists', while men (also regardless of education or talent) were deemed professional. The Beaver Hall group were one of the first that actually included women. What I mean by that is that women were exhibited in galleries right alongside the men of the group as their peers.

It's not as though women weren't artists back then- they still painted- it just took the exceptional one to be considered a peer of the men- Prudence Heward was exceptional- and was asked to exhibit with the Group of Seven. The thing that is so unfair about this to me is that, seemingly, if you were a man- all you had to do is pick up a brush, you might stink, but no one would call you a hobbyist. It's somewhat hard to fathom that as recent as the 1930's  this was the case, there are still women alive who were born when 'good girls' just didn't do that sort of thing- mind boggling.

Anyhow- back the actual art...I love these images- I love the expression on the women- which is almost always somber, self reflecting. I love the luminous quality of their skin, the way the whole thing just seems to radiate inner light. The way that the edges are clean and sharp- but the painting is still so 'painterly'. I also love how they are like a time capsule of their period, there is no way that those images could be deemed timeless, and I think that's a good thing, they are most certainly 'of their period' (funny that last week I talked about how Brancusi's work was so good- because it was not 'of it's period', and now Heward's work is so good because it is. No accounting for taste right?).

Monday Inspiration: Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi, La Muse, 1912, (source)

Constantin Brancusi, Portait of Mlle. Pogany, 1912 (source)

Constantin Brancusi, Little French Girl (the first step [111]), 1914-18, (source)

Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1932-40 (source)

Okay I'm going to give a go at Monday inspiration again, turn this blog back into more than once a week postings if I can summon the courage to go against the tide of tiny people wanting me to play all the time (while I arranged these images I was served up a litany from N- "ooh, it's so frustrating when my kids don't listen to me" I was supposed to be playing house with her- putting my baby brother 'Duke' (aka baby A) to bed, unsurprisingly N was annoyed that both her 'children' weren't listening to her, I know how she feels...).

Where was I? oh Brancusi, Right. well. I have not always loved Brancusi's work, in school I thought it too reductionist and minimal, but now I love it- the lines! so flowing and perfect, space aged, but in 1912! It's a good example of work that needs to be appreciated within it's historical context. I put up this post because I thought the smooth flowing brass lines are really appropriate to winter somehow, but while I was looking through the works, I fell for his women. They are so charming, there's something about them that allows the imagination to follow. The lines are so simple- but so perfect in how they capture a moment, it is beyond me how a twist of oak can perfectly encapsulate a toddler's wide gait during her first steps, but it does, somehow.

(Now I've been told by N that "it's midnight, and she can't understand how I'm not doing what she's asking me to do", better go before I get a time out, cheers)

Workspace

Well- here it is where the magic happens, I was reading Jane's blog- and she's come up with the idea of showing your workspace and your sketchbook- bi-weekly- I'm not sure that I'm up for that level of posting (or you may see a lot of photos that look awfully similar, as no work progresses), but I do love the idea of sharing our workspaces, and I've been wanting to write more about art in this space, so I'll play along a little bit. Also this week has been uncharacteristically productive so I actually have stuff to share.

 I think that an Artists' workspace is a bit sacred really- I sort of hate sharing works in progress- I cringe when people want to see what I'm working on- because I feel like it's not enough, not clean enough, finished enough, well thought out enough, and I worry that the take away will be of me as a messy, flaky, kind of bad artist, not serious enough, or neat enough or worse- they'll think I'm a wannabe artist. I should know better- I don't know where that idea came from- except that I am a super responsible person- and I know the flaky artist stereotype- and I don't want to fit into it at all. Except that...well...I'm messy, and making art for me does require a little (or a lot) creative mess, I need to get into it and not worry about putting stuff away in the middle- I tend to make a giant mess, especially  now that I have the little ones to help me with the mess making, then I clean it up and start fresh on the new project.

Just lately I've been working on some tile patterns, so I've been doing the drawing and figuring, and brainstorming everywhere in the house- where ever the kids will be still, and I can avoid their 'help' for a few moments. This mostly means mealtimes, I sit and eat and draw, and it's actually been great- I've gotten more done that way than I have in months. I also tidied the table in my studio (not the spinning wheel though- which has been put there to keep it out of the kid's every day reach- but it got festooned with vintage hang tags, and fabric scraps while I was making the Halloween costumes, I asked N if I could tidy it- and she gasped and said "no! it's ready for Christmas!"). I enjoyed the clean table for a day or so and then I promptly covered it up again with prints from a printmaking workshop I attended (which was fantastic- my first time making prints- I think I may be hooked...).

The thing about the workspace as sacred space stream of thought, is that it's not really a productive thought- it ends up being something similar to the 'fear of the blank page', it ends up alienating artists, and allowing us to believe that other artists are better than we are- at everything, real artists have bright, open, airy, clean, absolutley tidy workspaces. When the reality is that most artists work in corners of their homes- with extra dressers, and kids toys, and random shoes (the one in the photo of my studio shelves above, that has me wondering that classic question: is that the lost shoe? or the one I found already?).  I am lucky enough to have a studio space all my own (you can see it in it's bright newly painted form in this post), I like it clean, sort of empty, and full of space- but it's rarely like that- especially if I'm working on something, and I don't think that's a bad thing actually.

I'm linking up with Jane at the Flight Platform, on this and other sketchbook posts.

Monday Inspiration: Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai, Great Wave off Kanagawa, Thirty six views of Mt. Fugi, no. 21. (source)

Katsushika Hokusai, Hibiscus and Sparrow, 1830 (source)

Katsushika Hokusai, Kingfisher, Carnation, Iris, 1834, (source)

In the Studio

The major work in the studio is done. I still have a pile of boxes and bags to deliver to the second hand store, a mirror to hang- possibly some magnetic paint to go up on one wall in strips- and a few bags of dried clay to move out to the shop- but basically it's done. The shelves were the finishing touch. K found them on ebrandon for 25 bucks, they're pretty basic veneered particle board- but they will work perfectly in the studio- and give me enough empty space to store greenware. I'm just blown away by the fact that I have empty shelves! it feels so good to have uncluttered this space.

It's pretty sparse in there right now- deliberately so- just a canvas topped table, shelves, and a stool with a plant on it- ( my post-apocalyptic looking peace lily- which was getting burned in the sun, and eaten cats- but is now recovering nicely out of direct light). It's got just enough space left over for some crawling practice, (I think the storing of stuff on my lower shelves will be short lived- once baby A gets going in earnest) and some clay work.

Making

 

 

The concentration with which she painted each gift for her cousins was remarkable, I kept asking if she was done, and she would say no, then consider it, and then add one more stroke- just so- and then pronounce it to be done. I was really impressed. And I love the sensibility of the finished product, the way that she chose different colours for each bookmark, and kept to that colour combo for the whole thing, making each one different and complete.

 

There must be a natural way to select colours, something inherent, because she tended to choose complimentary colours; purple and yellow, blue and orange, and I swear I did not interfere. There is probably some basic colour knowledge that we shed as we get older, which is really just there at our fingertips as children. 

Backlighting

Oh how I love the drama of a back lit photo- I know it's a bit overdone, maybe, and not the best for details- but atmosphere, oh my! I think that it works for gardens the best honestly and something heavily veined like a beet leaf or Swiss chard, looks like something so special- when in regular lighting it looks like nothing much.  And I love sunspots- cliche though they may be, in some photos they just look right.

In the Studio

I think I have to face the music and say that the clay work is going to be over until after the baby is born. I kind of hate saying that because I had just looked up a bunch of glaze recipes to try and bought some new stains that I wanted to check out- and I just bought more boxes of clay. But, in all honesty the physical nature of the work is probably too much for me right now. I'll have to save what energy I have for weeding (have you ever stood in your garden that needs weeding, and not been able to do it? It's darn hard to resist the urge to just bend down and pull out some plants).

I may get a couple more firings done before the baby arrives, those luminaries I made are just waiting to be loaded in the kiln and fired to cone 10, and then they'll be done and I'd love to have them finished this summer. But yesterday, when I realised that I would have to actually take it easier, not just think about taking it easier- I dug out the old samsonite cosmetic case I used for drawing and watercolour in university, and we had a little painting session.

I love the way that old case smells- musty and slightly unpleasant thrift store mixed with charcoal dust. It reminds me sharply of the basement drawing classes in university. The night classes, where we would all sit silently and draw in a darkened room, soft music playing whispering if we had to talk at all- our usual relationships and chat non-existent because of the models. I think it was my favorite part of school- the night classes, they were like a time out of time- occupying a space all their own.

I think I'll re-jig this case to allow for some outdoor work this summer- restock it with drawing and watercolour stuff and maybe make a special spot in it for the camera to sit as well. I've been thinking more and more about the camera as a creative tool- really trying to be mindful when I take my photos and edit them, to think of the end result as more than just documentation of my day.  So I'll put more energy into that camera work as well. It'll be nice to get into some paint again though,  a way to get some creative work in, while taking it easy.

In the Studio

Fiddlehead carved boat

My 'helper'- in this case a small plastic farm boy- who was helping me adjust the pot
you'd be suprised at how often this happens.

the pile of beckoning bright fabric

I'm a little picture light this week- but a bisque kiln produces no photos- and I spent the week carving some gravy boats. I also made a cake plate- which was about 60 percent what I wanted it to be, so I recycled it. I could have saved it- the old me would have cried over it a bit (not literally), but I would have spent some time trying to patch it or sand it or just generally make it work. Really it's much better to just scrap it- before you fire it.

I have learned that by working regularly- when I only make a few things a year- whatever they are, they get precious, and I try very hard to save it from it's proper end, but when you work regular hours, and therefore produce lots of work (or more than you are used to producing), it's much easier to let it go. I think that comes from my painting background a bit too, when I painting doesn't go right- we paint over it until it is right- we are in complete control of that medium. But Clay is different- it's a bit wild, it depends on how it dries, and what type of clay you used, and how you attached it, and once it cracks, warps, slumps and then dries- it's usually too late to fix it. That is the correct moment for quality control- not after you fire the darn thing and then decide it's not really good enough- because you see- before you fire the clay you can add it back to water and re use it, but after it's fired you just have to throw it away.

Anyhow- I began writing this because I wanted  to write about my studio hours, I have wanted to set up regular working hours for a while- and only in this past month have I actually been able to manage it. I now work from whenever I get up until lunch time, N keeps herself occupied with snacks and shows right next to me, occasionally 'helping' me, and I get some work done. And I'm surprised at just how much work you can get done, just by putting in actual part time hours, I figure I'm spending 20-25 hours a week on clay right now, and that's ridiculous to me because I 've spent most of the last two years on baby and toddler time, which is like being in a time vacuum. I know I'll have to go through that vacuum again when the next babe comes along- but I'm so happy to have discovered that a couple of years in I'll be able to actually produce work again. It's thrilling.

So I know I wanted to try seasonal studio time, but I think I'm going to keep it up through the summer, maybe cut back to quarter time, do an hour or two of studio work in the morning and then go out to the garden, If I can until the baby comes. Because the one thing that happens when you make work is that you realize how much more stuff you want to make, and how many more hours you need to make the things you want to try (on my list are cake plates, carved canisters, french onion soup bowls, shorter vases, platters, and dinner plates).

Anyhow- after carving three gravy boats this week- and with the Babe getting up earlier and earlier (damn that summer sun),  I was feeling a little clayed out- and I think I'll try to get some sewing done this next week (as well as some more mugs), a couple of cotton maternity shirts, and some jean patching, in some bright colours is just the remedy I think.

Oh hello there...

Dear Blog

 I've been meaning to write to you, to apologize for neglecting you this past month. In all honesty, I've been under the weather- and any moments when I haven't been under the weather I've been concentrating on things like- feeding my family, or keeping the kitchen sanitary, or getting some clay work done. I've been making some work, and getting a good start on a cache of stuff for a fall sale.

Since deciding to take a bit of a seasonal approach to my myriad hobbies, I think that I'm more productive in each of them, and also more able to act on ideas that crop up while working. Instead of thinking of ways to improve the next gravy boat and then starting it weeks later, I'm making several in a week, perfecting methods as I go. Which is probably no great insight, especially if you can keep your focus, but for me it's a revelation.  I am starting to get a bit nostalgic for my sewing machine, but really I don't miss it all that much, and it's only until spring that I'll keep it packed away, maybe I'll bring it out in May, to get started on some summer stuff for N.

I'm a long way from where I need to be in order to have the type of booth I want in October, but I think I'll make it, and starting early is going to make it so much easier for me. At any rate- I think I'm going to keep it a little low key around here until May, I'll post once a week - an update on what's happening in the studio, and maybe a little photo of N here and there, but nothing major until spring- just think of it like a hibernation.

A Seasonal Approach

  

Lace mugs in my new glaze colours- I love the way they look together.

I have been working with clay again this past month- after a hiatus in which I focused on seasonal needs and demands; the garden, preserving, cooking, sewing. I missed art making, not at first- not right away- at first I reveled in the apparent freedom of giving myself the space to think up new pieces, new ideas, but in the fall I started to get twitchy- I felt the need to make some art- somehow. I had the idea that I would try to manage my pursuits in season, summer for gardening winter for art- in an attempt to manage that craziness that goes with trying to do it all simultaneously. I think it's a good idea, still- but I think I need shorter seasons.

Lace Mug with the glaze rubbed in to design, and wiped- gives the texture much sharper contrast.

I have felt very happy and peaceful seeing these pots go through their firing process, I made them last spring, and they've been nagging at me to get fired, but I knew I wanted some bright glazes, and I didn't have it sorted out yet. I'm pleased with these mugs, they are simple to make and quirky, and unique, and they are bright I think, they make me smile. I have learned a little bit from these mugs too, they need to be a bit smaller, and I'm itching to see how the colour will look if I rub it into the pattern, and then wipe it off, instead of letting it go thickly over it, which obscures the texture a bit. I also am pleased that my Chicken souffle dish worked out, It was the first time I tried an applique method, inspired by Wedgwood's Jasper ware ( I got the chicken impressions off of old toys of K's, which I made plaster moulds of,  I plan to make more with more farm animals, I love them)

 Souffle Dish with Appliqued Chickens, pretty good for a first attempt.

You see I have many hobbies, and I tend to turn my hobbies into more than just that- I will try to live solely off my garden, and to make everything we eat, and to sew my own clothes, and make my own dishes, and.... well you get the idea, I get carried away. I'm usually well able to do all those things, and to put in the effort that makes it possible, but I'm just now learning that it's not necessarily possible all at the same time, and not always with a young child in tow. The thing that I am loving about this seasonal approach is that it seems to afford me a little mental space, where I can focus on one thing at a time, and I think that allows me to grow more within each hobby.  Also, I feel renewed each time I start again, and I am astonished at how capable I am in that particular activity (the flip side of this is that worry slightly before I begin, that I have lost my knowledge), I am loving that experience of having to trust myself over and over again.