I throw each plate on the potter’s wheel, trim the foot and alter the rim, giving it some undulation. I also decorate the surface with sponged and trailed slip (the clay version of cake-decorating), swirls and dots of shallow texture and relief patterns. The stripes and/or large dots of color are underglazes and are finished by dipping into one of nine glossy glazes from my palette and fired in an electric kiln to cone seven. If you are a maker and would like to learn more about my and other surface decoration techniques, check out my instructional DVD here!

The images above are the very few I took during my minimal outings at NCECA in Philadelphia, and include some favorite pieces from a quick jaunt through the PMA (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and one great building somewhere in the city with curved leaded windows. (You can see more of my favs from the PMA here.)

The next group of pictures is from jaunts near my home. The first two are from a building in Amherst, MA. I love the tall, slender windows and contrast of brick and stone. The second is a detail of the stone and how they used brick dust in the mortar leaving the stones looking like they are outlined in hot pink.  The rest of the images are from two visits to Historic Deerfield in central Massachusetts not far from our home.  Since I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in the historic homes, most of the pics (except the barn detail and canopy bed detail) are from pieces in the visible storage cases of their museum.  I see different things in each image, from ideas for form and detail to appreciation for handmade and craft like the last two images of the mended bowl and plate.

These last images are a favorite each of something I saw while teaching at the Penland School of Arts & Crafts (the garden bottle tree in Bakersville) and the Appalachian Center for Crafts (one of the many hand-painted signs on campus) this summer. And last but not at all least are two images of the Statue of Liberty I took when I did a lecture for the Brooklyn Potters Guild.

I’m getting better not only at remembering to take my camera with me, but actually remembering to take pictures as well, and hope to share more of what I see and figuratively bring home to my studio with you here.

There are a handful of potters in our generation who have made great contributions to the field and community of ceramics in addition to being great makers, and Ayumi is one of them with her joyful pots and groundbreaking strategies connecting the importance of handmade to a new audience.  Over the years we have compared notes about the strange and interesting career that is being a studio potter, the gypsy life of teaching workshops, marketing to the unmarketable, the curiosities of community and communication, and the notion that when we were undergrads at Alfred in the early 90′s, we never dreamed how much time we would spend on a computer doing all of the above.

More details and info will be forthcoming, but for now mark up your calendar for that weekend to leaf peep and pot shop at Ayumi’s church-turned-studio in the country.  Between the two of us, there will be plenty of pots and dots!  It’s going to be a great weekend and we hope to see you.

You can subscribe to my e-newsletter for more information by clicking “subscribe to list” in the top bar on the right here.

Pictured above: Rabbit cup and Fox plate by Ayumi Horie.

The first leg of my tour is a drive down to North Carolina so I can teach for the first time at the Penland School of Crafts.  I know firsthand how great a place Penland is which makes returning to teach for two weeks with my own large class of 20 (and with ceramic artists Jenny Mendes and Alice Ballard teaching in the other studio), a fantastic treat.

The second trip is my second Artists-Invite-Artists residency at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. The first time I was invited; this time I am a co-inviter with the talented Rebekah Bogard.  We met during the same AIA residency two years ago, and were having such a wonderful time, that by the second or third night, we sat down and came up with a list of artists for our next residency.  Now two years later, in addition to showing at the Salad Days Pottery Invitational, our AIA group of talented (and fun) artists will be converging on Watershed very soon for two full weeks of making and mayhem: Kurt Anderson, Mark Burns, Jason Green, Bryan Hiveley, Kathy King, Phyllis Kloda, Lorna Meaden and Nick Sevigney. Pictured new striped plates just unloaded from the glaze kiln.

The last stop is not at all the least.  I am very much looking forward to a week of teaching for the first time at the Appalachian Center for Crafts.  And since this workshop is over my birthday, we will have an extra special time! Check out the Schedule page for my fall workshop tour schedule.  Pictured new striped house form, flower bricks just unloaded from glaze kiln.

Which brings me to the beginnings of my schedule for 2011.  Workshops are always being added throughout the year, so check back on my Schedule or Workshops pages. I will be making a return trip in August 2011 to the Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts where I was an artist-in residence (1997-98), and taught one of my first workshops in 2004.  I’m looking forward to the new and familiar, and Gatlinburg is always a riot.  Check out Arrowmont’s website for information on their re-location efforts, and how you may be able to help insure this great place has a new space.

So that’s where I’ll be for the next six weeks, and some of where I’ll be at this time next year.  I’ll be back here (home and the blogosphere) in August.  But if you don’t see a post it’s because I’m helping my hubby renovate our bathroom….or catching up on lost time in my garden.  Happy Summer, everyone!

I’m excited about my fourth Spring Studio Sale this weekend at our home here in north central Massachusetts.

Saturday, May 22nd 10 – 5
& Sunday, May 23rd 11 – 4

We hope you will join us for a look-see inside a local potter’s studio and a taste of some local cheeses. As usual, seconds will be available for purchase (come early!) as well as gallery-quality pieces.  Visit my Contact page to drop me a note for directions, or if you are on Facebook visit the event page link here. Bring a friend, and we look forward to seeing you!

My home studio is located about an hour each from Northampton, Worcester and Boston, MA; Manchester, NH; Brattleboro, VT; Putnam, CT; Woonsocket, RI .

Thank you for sponsoring creativity and community, and supporting local artists by buying and giving handmade.

If you would like to receive direct notification (6-8 per year) about my upcoming workshops, exhibitions, studio sales and other Kieffer Ceramics’ news, you can subscribe by going to this link and clicking “subscribe to list” in the top right bar.  There are a couple big events coming up this the fall you won’t want to miss!

This is a brief update about what’s coming up for my work and studio prior to my travels:

Studio Sale
Saturday, May 22nd 10-5  and Sunday, May 23rd 11-4
My Spring Studio Show & Sale is just around the calendar corner, here at our home in Otter River, MA. This year it falls the weekend before Memorial weekend.  As usual, seconds will be available for purchase (come early!) as well as gallery-quality pieces.  Cash, check or Visa/MasterCard are welcome.  Visit my Contact page to drop me a note for directions. Please bring a friend, and we look forward to seeing you!
Pictured: Three stripe and dot plates, in progress.

My online stores.
KiefferCeramics.etsy.com & KiefferDesign.etsy.com
My online pottery store is open for your springtime gifting needs, and filled with new pots like stripe-y plates, house vase forms and of course, cups!  I have also added some new and smaller pendants to my online design store.  Because of upcoming travel, I may be closing my stores from 6/10 – 7/24.  I apologize for the inconvenience, but wanted to let you know so you could shop in advance for gifts, and stay tuned soon after for new work to be posted.
Pictured: Plates in progress with shadowed striping from blinds.

“Salad Days” Pottery Sale at Watershed
If you happen to be in Maine, or would like a reason to be, I will be participating in the pottery sale at the Watershed Center for the Ceramics Arts in Newcastle, ME on Saturday, July 10th.  The sale is in conjunction with Salad Days, a fundraiser for this great ceramic center and residency studio where I will be one of many resident artists for two weeks also in July.  Check this link for more information.
Pictured: In progress pitcher handles.

If you happen to be in CO, l will soon have three pieces juried by Pete Pinnell in the Contemporary Clay Biennial at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction, CO (5/14 – 6/26).

See more details about my exhibition and workshop schedule here.

DVD
On a different pottery note, the feedback from my Surface Decoration DVD continues to be a delight.  If you haven’t already, I hope you will check out the trailer and enthusiastic comments by viewers on my DVD page, which will also take you to the buy page.  Makers will see some new ideas in the DVD, and ceramics teachers/professors may be interested in buying, or having your school purchase it for your program and/or your library.  I appreciate your support!

Spring has finally sprung here in north central MA, and I hope for you too. Between the weather, little beginnings in my perennial beds and new vases and other colorful pots in my online store, I’m ready for flowers as well as your springtime shopping needs.  Thank you for thinking of my work and handmade for that upcoming wedding, graduation, birthday, or just-because-day (including Mother’s Day, May 9th) coming up in the next couple of months.

Mark your calendars for my Spring Studio Sale the weekend of May 22nd and 23rd, and visit my online Etsy shop here to buy pots, and here to buy pendants.
Happy Springtime, Everyone!

www.KiefferCeramics.etsy.com
www.KiefferDesign.etsy.com

As promised in my last post (before NCECA), here are some new pots that I’m most excited about, ranging from small covered jars and house forms to quite tall (for me) jars and flower bricks, many using underglaze color for details like stripes and dots.

From top right, first row: Large covered jar w. Blue stripes & Allium (16″h) and Large pear covered jar w. Polka dots, Moonlit (15″h);  Second row: Tall flower vessel w. Lilacs (Corset series) (14″h) and Tall flower brick w. Stripes (17″h);  Third row: Medium plate w. Tangerine stripes (8″ dia.);  Fourth row: Small house from flower bricks (each approx. 5-6″h);  Fifth row: Small covered jar w. Red ribbon stripes (8″h) and Stamped vase (10″h);  Sixth row: Tall flower brick w. Blue stripes (18″h) and Small covered jar w. Polka dots (8″h).

A man’s accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail.
~ John Foster Dulles, (American US Republican Secretary of State (1953-59).

This is all brand new work unloaded just last week!  Some have already sold, others are in boxes in or on their way to Philadelphia awaiting installation in exhibitions for NCECA, and still more will be packed up today for a drive down to Philly for another conference exhibition.  (Details on all next week’s conference shows are on my Schedule page here.)

We think in generalities, but we live in detail. ~ Alfred North Whitehead (British Mathematician and Philosopher, 1861-1947)

So, this is a teaser post, a glimpse of form and detail.  I wanted to share some new work with you to show the underglaze dots and stripes I’ve been working with and mentioned here, but am saving the full reveal for those of you who will be able to get to some shows in person at NCECA next week.  Consider this an enticement (whether you are able to attend Philly or not), to seek out ArtAxis, La Mesa and the Studio Pottery Invitational in Philly, or check back here in early April for more pics in their entirety, and pieces to purchase at my online store.

Only the poet can look beyond the detail and see the whole picture.
~ Helen Hayes, (American stage and film Actress, 1900-1993)