Thursday, April 30, 2015

Squeak Carnwath Lecture

Yummy chicken kebab dinner...
Last night, I was able to listen to a lecture by one of my art heroes. I first saw Squeak Carnwath's work as part of a photo spread of her loft/studio in the San Francisco Chronicle. It was back in the old days, when I was an apartment dwelling painter/ceramic kiln moocher. I still have the article in my desk drawer, because I fell in love with her large scale paintings, and with her home space. Then, I attended her show at the Oakland Museum a few years ago, and was dazzled by seeing her work in person.

Her lecture at the University of Santa Clara de Saisset Museum had a slide show, and was pretty freeform. The audience members asked questions. A couple of her thoughts stayed with me. She mentioned that art can be magical in the way that it can alter the past. She talked about symbols, in regards to their meaning in her work. And, she mentioned that numbers and text on a painted surface, forces the viewer to have to slow down and take time to see the painting.

But, my favorite idea was that a "professional" artist is not measured by work in galleries, or work sold, but by work completed. It's important to satisfy yourself. And, it's important to put in consistent effort, honing your ideas and skills. She mentioned Malcolm Gladwell's theory that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery of a task.

The start of the slideshow...
A Thiebaud print in the hall...
Hans Christian Anderson as interpreted by Andy Warhol...
Love the colors, and the subtle texture...
Brilliant compositions, as well...
Amen...

Found the book from the Oakland show...

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Taking a Day Off (Sorta)

Selecting underglaze colors for our student ceramic hamburgers...

Decided to see a movie, it's been a while...

Love this theater...

Ah, Gustav Klimt...

Sending this one off to the kiln...

Betty inspects some new bags of Navajo Wheel clay...

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Nice to Meeting You



One of my favorite things about my new school, is that my time isn't purposely wasted. Part of the reason that I started this blog, a few years back, was to give me something to do during staff meetings each Monday. It was in the contract that we had to meet each and every Monday, regardless of whether or not anyone had anything to meet about. Many of the meetings covered the same ground each week. Oh, and then there were the Wednesday afternoon meetings. Teachers met to collaborate. Many of those were doozies.

Today, we had a short and sweet meeting. There was a subject, and an agenda. Fabulous. The topics at almost all of the meetings this year, have related to students. How we can better meet their diverse needs? In all of the years of meeting at my old school, the children never entered into the equation. So, after the meeting, I came home and started sanding and putting the last coats on some work that I'll fire on Saturday night. I felt lucky to have some "me time" before doing my evening school work...




Sunday, April 19, 2015

Hunting and Gathering

Off we go...
Tick tock...
Mexican masks...
Key ideas...
A little entertainer...
Gorgeous bicycle...
There might have been a few more than three...
Pretty projector...
Eye candy...
Beautiful carved screen...
Everything that I hate from that era, in one area...


Saturday, April 18, 2015

One Cactus Obelisk or Two

Slabs cut to fit together...

A cactus wearing a flower crown...

A second cactus...

It's just about time to clean out the shed...

Always on the lookout...

My favorite jumbo rolling pin is cracking...

Cactus topper and a donkey seal...

Cactus topper and a skeleton seal...

And now, to dry in the garage...

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Ceramic Hamburgers

Inspiration...
Some students made other dishes as a reward activity...
Some students made breakfast bagels or dessert sandwiches...
This one is the spitting image of a Big Mac...
Looks like it's on a ciabatta bun...
Breakfast sandwiches...
Many sesame seeds...
I broke down and had one for dinner...
But, now it's time for a bike ride, with my special bell...

Friday, April 10, 2015

Armchair Travel

Arriving at the sale...

Today I invited Liz to come on along with me to a sale at Betsy's house. Betsy is an American tour guide in Mexico, and she specializes in tours that involve experiencing a maximum dose of art and culture. When she returns home to California with extra treasures, she sells them at her house. Liz and I ventured out to her sale, and then had some lunch. It was so nice to relax and goof around. It seems like I'm always busy, and that I've forgotten how to slow down and recharge. A nice, leisurely lunch was just what the doctor ordered...


Love the dimensional address numbers...
Beautiful black and white...
A table full of goodies...
Betsy's bird collection...
A sunny kitchen window...
Guardian of the glassware...
Calendar girl...
Love the tiny monkey mask...
Ordering some fries...
Oh look, more fries...
The spoils of my shopping spree...