Sunday, September 25, 2016

New Building

The collection includes Franz Kline...

Today I headed up to the Bay Area to visit the new Anderson Gallery at Stanford University. Even though I got there early, the parking lot was full. I've been anxiously watching the construction of the two modernist buildings on either side of the old Stanford Museum building. I'm not a big fan of modernist architecture, and I love the traditional, formal look of the old museum building. It looks like two messy warehouses have been plopped down on either side of the museum. There is no visual connection to the three buildings. That being said, the interior of the Anderson Gallery is pretty fantastic. The pieces are very far apart, and there is a lot of room between each piece. And, the work is awesome. Some of my favorite artists are represented there. In fact, there was even a tiny, lovely Georgia O'Keefe. It's definitely worth a visit!

Then, I headed over to Clay Planet to take a quick class on using small silkscreens on clay. It was fun, and I bought some of the materials, to give it a try on my work.


Chuck Close is there...
Squeak Carnwath is in the house...
David Gilhooly and his frogs...
Mr. Arneson has a couple of pieces on display...
A gorgeous Louise Nevelson sculpture...
A thickly frosted Wayne Thibaud...
Stopped to get a slice...
Dashed over to Clay Planet...

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Nick Cave's Spectacular Soundsuits

This one was covered with metal flowers and candleholders...
It looked pretty fabulous standing at the end of the long hall...
Many buttons and a facial abacus...
There was a video of the wearer playing the abacus and dancing...
Where doilies go to die...
The entire suit was mother of pearl buttons, from head to toe...
So much fabulous texture...
Loved the pairing with the tights...
Lots of fishing lures and beaded kitsch baskets...
This one was made of sock monkey parts...

Friday, September 23, 2016

Alberta




I've been thinking about my grandma a lot lately. I remember at her funeral, my aunt said that Alberta was the kind of person you assumed belonged only to you. Grandma had personal relationships with all of the people in her life. She tried to teach me to knit. I failed. She tried to teach me to crochet. I failed. She then got a plastic grid, and taught me how to use yarn to stitch square patterns. She never gave up, despite my clumsy hands, and all of the tangled yarn.

When I was a little girl, I decided to tape record the life stories of my grandma and grandpa. I sat each one of them down, and recorded both parallel threads that finally intersected after WWI. My grandma related to me that she had always wanted to become a teacher. She had packed her suitcase for college, and was ready to leave home, when she found out that her mother had cancer. I pictured her putting her dresses back on their hangers and silently hanging them back up in her closet, as she started crying into the microphone of the tape recorder. Alberta was never able to attend college, because she had to stay home to care for her mother. But, she was a master teacher.

There was never a time, when we left her home, that she didn't come outside to hug us and to wave "goodbye". I always liked to turn around and watch her get smaller from the wide back window of our car.

My reasons for becoming a teacher don't relate to my grandmother's dream. I believe strongly in having a personal relationship with my students, and I think that is a lesson I learned from her. But, there are really hard days at my job, when I don't feel very good about my efforts. She reminds me that the work I do is a privilege. And, this always gives me comfort...





We're In

A grandpa and a grandma...

Our class is going to be participating in the Mi Casa Es Tu Casa show at the Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery. Today, our entry form for the exhibit was accepted. We will be making an ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos this year. Our altar will have figures of people and pets who have passed away. The students have written short remembrances of these important people and animals. We just need our work to hurry up and dry. Then we will fire the figures and glaze them.

It is important to reflect on those who have had an impact on our lives. They live with us always in our hearts, even though they have passed on before.


An awesome and much loved little doggie...
Two family members...
A mustached grandpa and a pet chicken...
These will provide background height to our ofrenda...
A grandparent and a kitty cat...
This student worked from photos of his dog...
All sixty figures are in the kiln, waiting for some forced drying...

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Finished Flat Faces

Love Denisse's rosy round cheeks...
Starting to nail them into our outside bulletin board...
Unpacking and mixing them up...
Love the boo boo face expression...
Parent volunteer creations are there, too...
Love Jazielle's eyelashes...
Almost done, but there are four faces that are missing...
The last few faces...
I'm ready for my close-up...
Left room for the future four faces...

Monday, September 5, 2016

Labor Day Weekend Frenzy

Making a flat bead to go on the base...

A few days ago, I was photographing my finished and glazed totem. I was hoping to quickly send my application in for the Blue Line Arts Totem and Plate Show. After I finished the photos, my foot caught on the paper background, and I knocked the whole sculpture to the floor. Every piece, except for one, broke into many pieces. So, I won't be able to make the deadline for the show, but I decided to rebuild the totem. I always tell kids, when their work breaks, that they can just rebuild it. I assure them that their next piece will look better than the first one, because they have gained more experience and wisdom. This is kind of actually true! I set to work today, to right a clumsy wrong. I also got some glazing done this weekend. I'm anticipating student flat faces being fired and finished this week...


Rolled out some bead shapes...
Made some more flat discs...
Made an army of pokeys...
Built a flange on the topper...
New and improved totem...
Glazed and sanded these two heads...
Glazed and sanded these two ladies...
Made some stoppers for flea market bottles...
Percy spent most of the day working on his own projects...
Received the studio manager seal of approval today...