kt40

winners for measuring-spoons

 

well I am happy to announce that there were four winners for the measuring spoons Yipee! The winners are; Jen, Mom, Putzi and Anna. Wyatt ask me "Exactly what kind of drawing is this, if there were only four people who wrote in and each one wins something?!"  my kind I guess.

So I just need an address of where to send your spoons, just e-mail me at kkeuter@gmail.com.

Measuring spoons, May's ceramic give-away

  

I received some measuring spoons back from class the other day. I had made quite a few, not knowing if they would crack or break in any of the stages that go along with ceramics. Only one 1/2 a teaspoon broke. I am giving away a set it is probably my last ceramic giveaway until after we get settled and I find a new place to take classes. My class here is coming to an end next week. We will be packing up our stuff this June and July. We are moving. Japan is still in the lead for now, but until we are actually on a plane this summer, that is when I will know where we are going, I don't mean to be so high drama it is just the plain truth. So anyways, if you want or need or use measuring spoons leave a comment or e-mail me at kkeuter@gmail.com.  I'll put your name in the hat. I'm leaving this drawing open for one week before I pull out the winner's name.

finally finished my dream piece

You might remember that I have been working on and off on making a ceramic piece that I had in a dream long ago, well I finally finished it!! There was a point where I almost threw it in the garbage. I had received the two ceramic pieces back  (they looked like a hot water bottle that had been cut in half) and I hated the glaze, really I did, I even gasped when I saw it, nothing like an ugly ceramic hot water bottle split in two.  Then I said to myself "Katy you still need to finish it!" if you have read any of my other posts you know I have to see things through to the end. So, I went to the store and purchased some ceramic paint and painted and painted.  Then my mom entered the picture, she really saved this project, she sent me some feathers (I was having a hard time finding any here).  She knew just what I wanted. I never went into detail with her, and then there they were sent through the mail, the feathers from my dream and ones that I couldn't have even dreamt about, they were so beautiful. This dream piece does not make sense(a lot like my dreams really) It is a vase that simply holds feathers and a single rose.....it is laced together.....it is uneven.....it is strange.....it is something I would have never made if it had not been in one my dreams.  Doing this experiment has really made me listen to myself, lower the critical voice and turn-up the encouraging one instead. For myself and others. I have this tendency to see someone else's art, for instance a piece in a modern art museum and judge it immediately, I don't get it and I do not get the point of it. Making this piece makes me want to step back from being that person, I don't want to be so quick to judge, I don't have to always get it that isn't really the point of creating something......at least it isn't the point for me anymore.

I just needed to add that I realized that this project was a collaborative effort, the people who encouraged me to finish it, my mom, The people who collected the feathers, then dyed them, the rose, whomever it was who made the rose, the color of the paint for the vase, who came up with that color? The ribbons and their colors, my ceramic teacher for firing the pieces, my camera, the people responsible for designing my special little camera.....making something does involve other's creativity and ideas that is the other gift I received by seeing this crazy project through, stepping away from myself and seeing the bigger picture, others, some I will never know and ones that I do, and truly appreciating them all.

woman for garden wall

I made this woman for a wall in my new garden next year. I don't know if I will actually have a wall but one can hope can't they. She is based on the Madonnas that are around here that inspire me. They always seem to have flowers around them and shells. I suppose this stands for the beauty found on land and in the ocean, not sure, but that is what I would like to believe they represent. Mine doesn't have a child with her because she is more the mother of earth with a flower in her hair

and a full circle with a star inside stamped over her heart.

A year in the garden is a full circle to me and the plants

that grow then fade away do seem to live like stars.

And the winner is.....

I had Jasmine pull the name out of the bowl this morning....."It's Mary!" she said. So Mary the bowl will be sent out this week along with some Italian treats in it to you.

This makes me think I will do this again next month with another piece of pottery because, well I have quite a bit and we are moving and it is fun to be surprised to find out who it is going to and honestly I wanted to be able to send each one of you something but it wouldn't be a drawing then would it. Well I hope your Monday goes well! kt

Two days left

Only two days left for the bowl drawing( see post below) so if you want in, just follow the instructions below. Kt

Woman and tree small ceramic bowl

I received my little bowl back last night. I want to do what I have seen on other blogs, offer it out.....to anyone who is interested, all that you need to do is either leave a comment or email me kkeuter@gmail.com and I will draw a name this coming Monday and then send it on its way. Just seems like the right thing to do. It is a little bowl, maybe good for holding some keys and loose change. The woman in the bowl is intense but in a good way. It was made with thought, yes even the strange black line around her was intentional in a subconscious sort-of way. She has the presence of nature inside her and if you feel like you need a little extra of that right now, or maybe just a little pick-me-up gift, send me a note, your name will go into the hat, I promise, kt.

Ceramic heaven

This Saturday I went with two of my best pals to ceramic shops we had quite a few wonderful unexpected detours too. I can't tell you how inspiring it all was and how many photos I took. How I couldn't stop taking photos. You may think whoa she has never posted so many photos all at once before and you would be right but I just felt compelled to share as much as I could. So here it goes

1) Bridget(thank you Bridget for driving as always) 2)Suzanne

1)Wall above the studio 2)Door outside the painting studio

1)The Kiln 2) window outside the shop

 

1) Masks on wall up to an apartment above the studio(this photo made me think of Jerry and Alicia)

The wife of the owner of the ceramics shop/studio took us on a tour of the warehouse it was built in 1812 and the walls were covered with black smoke it was so dark and quiet. I loved the black, white and gray tones that filled the space. 1) lone light bulb 2)Ceramic molds against wall 3)light coming through a shut up window 4)old pot open window

1)This was the husband's studio, the painting he had hanging up was given to him by his Uncle. The story goes that someone had given the Uncle this painting and he loved it and hung it up in his house, his wife however hated it and complained about it everyday. When she died he took it down because he felt so guilty whenever he looked at it and that is how it ended up in this studio. 2)The wife of the owner showing us the original kiln built in 1812.

This Man is an owner of another ceramic studio/shop(he is the egg-holder man, Melynn). I was so happy on this excursion to have to courage to ask if I could take people's photo this was a big step for me.(Mary, I will bring him back a photo)

1)He told me I could take a photo of the pieces he had made that morning I think he was quite proud of them. 2) Inside his shop/studio 3) This outside of his shop was charming with the laundry above.

Close encounters

I'm working on a ceramic piece right now, I have to call it a "piece" because I'm actually not sure what it is. Let me start over...I have been really inspired by my blog friends sperlygirl and breatheasy and how they are exploring listening to themselves and taking more chances with their art. I have dreams all the time with art that I have made. So, I have decided to try to create some of these pieces. The one I am working on now is from a dream I had seven years ago, yes seven years ago, with the image still freshly burned in my mind. So half of me is thinking "Maybe I can unburn the image if I make the freaken thing!" The other half is saying "Maybe you will learn something if you make this." I couldn't stop laughing as I was working on "it" the other evening because the scene from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' kept popping into my mind, where Richard Dreyfuss is sculpting with the mashed potatoes. What made me laugh even more is that I loved that movie. I was the extra short, ten year old, with crazy big curly hair who wanted to jump out of her seat during the part where the scientist are communicating with the aliens and shout out to the audience "Two different worlds communicating through music isn't that brilliant!!!" I was also the geeky kid who went out and brought the soundtrack(album) only to play the groovy synthesizer part, over and over again, much to my siblings dismay(this is a quirky fact about me that Jason loves, he thinks it is soooo ultra nerdy). Here is another fun fact about me, I actually met Richard Dreyfess years later(I used to work at a motion picture film lab) I was super pregnant with Wyatt and he came up to me and said "Congratulations! Don't forget to take care of yourself." I of course was totally speechless. Well I realize I have gone off on a tangent... so back to the ceramic piece.....who knows maybe I will learn something if I finish it.

Finished X-mas "cards" part three

Originally uploaded by kt40

Well I finally finished my Christmas cards. I just need to wrap them up and send them off to my friends and family back in the states. My ceramics teacher, Carmela, had a wonderful idea after they are bisqued to use furniture wax, you put just a little on a brush and push the wax into the cracks and then polish like crazy until all the wax has been rubbed into the clay so that you can't feel it anymore (like polishing shoes really) then I left them outside so that the smell would go away, then put a decoupage coating on to seal in the wax and give a little shine.  They look like pieces of leather and feel very soft. Finally I added my red string and natural looking elements. They are very funky but that is the kind-of stuff I make. I'm going to ask the kids to write 'Merry Christmas' on little slips of paper and put that with the ornaments(cards).

Front view of my X-mas cards

Here is a front view, this imprint is from some weeds from my morning walks.

This reminds of a story, when I lived in Eugene I used to have a booth at the Saturday market("Hello!" to my set-up crew, you know who you are) where I sold items that I had sewn and ceramics. I also sold bouquets of flowers in mason jars for a few dollars and if you returned the jar the next week you received 50 cents off your next bouquet purchase. I had a garden that was filled with wild flowers(I was very lucky, I had great river soil which made everything grow). One day my Mom told me that her neighbor had brought one of my bouquets and had told her that it also had a bunch of weeds in it. I said "Yes that is true I deliberately add weeds to my bouquets because quite frankly I think they are beautiful and deserve to be added to bouquets". That made my Mom smile.

Back view of my X-mas "cards"

On the back of every ornament is a relief of a leaf from our Judas tree in our yard, which is my way of making personal.

Working on my Christmas cards

Originally uploaded by kt40

If I can get these bisqued and fired before the 8th of December then I will send these out as my X-mas cards this year. They can be used as either an ornament or whatever really. I did my favorite theme this year, leaves and weeds, rolled them against the clay and then used a biscuit cutter then poked the hole with a branch. I will bring these to class tonight and explain my idea to my teacher maybe they will be ready in time to send off. I hope so I like this idea more than making  or buying actual cards right now.

Ruffled bowl view inside

ruffled bowl #2
Originally uploaded by kt40

I love the soft blue glaze combined with the yellow and orange flowers. I wanted to make a delicate bowl. I am going to work more with this idea this coming year. I am interested in making my bowls not perfect, by that I mean when I mold them I let the clay decide the form for the most part. I love making up these flowers that I add on they are a simple form but I think they seem realistic in a way.