–An art show in a storm
What a windstorm we had just over a week ago! Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 will be remembered by a lot of people in the Pasadena area…for a long time.
On the Tuesday evening prior, Tracy and I were getting ready for the ceramics showing at the Wheelhouse in Monrovia as we loaded our final glaze-firing for the year. We loaded a full kiln (est. 85-90 pieces), knowing that we wouldn’t be creating at quite this elevated level until the new year. So, that full kiln represented many hopes for a positive response to our newest work (and many hours).
Normally when we fire, we set the kiln to begin it’s slow heat-up process around 6pm (better energy costs in the evening). The temperature builds and builds , hits a peak and holds. Then it allows sufficient time for a slow heat reduction and finally shuts off and is left to cool for many hours.
That week, our start-time was 6pm on Tuesday, November 29 which gave us an unload time of Thursday morning. On Wednesday night when the winds began their fury, we weren’t quite sure if the kiln had finished before we lost power–and we didn’t know what the situation would be if the process hadn’t quite finished…had it possibly cooled down too quickly?…and would we open the kiln to a pile of rubble for our last firing of 2011? (Ceramics crack and/or break when asked to do anything too quickly.)
So, upon waking-up to the destruction and still windy conditions of Thursday morning, we dealt with our personal and neighborhood damage and postponed the unload until that afternoon. When we finally had the opportunity to open the kiln, we found that everything had proceeded normally–what a relief! We were also happy to see that the kiln and surrounding shed were undamaged in the storm.
However, in the big scheme of things, a successful tile firing seemed less important once we ventured out of our own neighborhoods to witness the broad spectrum of destruction everywhere we looked…just everywhere.
Finally, after removing and boxing-up the contents of the kiln, we ran into a friend who suggested our power outage would not be a mere 24 hours as originally thought, but possibly up to 5 days. So, at around 3:30pm on December 1st, Tracy and I decided to go on an ice and battery mission–apparently everyone else had the same idea!
What an odd experience. As we entered the first store (of many), we were met by exiting people with empty hands…relaying the fact that the store was out of both of these items. We drove on…no parking was available anywhere and a sense of frenzy was beginning to pull us in. People around us were frantic, distracted, and apparently under the spell of their primal brains that engage “survival mode”.
As we left yet another parking lot with nothing to show for it, we noticed the sun getting lower in the sky and a sense of urgency crept in. We both thought of a scary film where you had to be indoors and locked down before sunset because the creatures were coming out to rule the night. Okay–a bit overdramatic, but if we had let ourselves, we could’ve fallen steadfastly into that mindset and lost a bit of our humanity.
Eventually, we found a store where we could at least get ice, so ditched the idea of battery power in order to get home before dark. Tracy dropped me back at my place with ice in hand, ready to load into my fridge just about 30 minutes before complete darkness would descend on our little Mayberry village of Sierra Madre.
And I’m mostly sure there were no goblins ruling the streets that night…
Anyway…amazingly enough, The Wheelhouse got it’s power back before the Friday night pre-show so we joined the other artists and went about the task of setting up our display. Many stories were shared amongst us and we all remarked on how miraculous it was that nobody was reported as seriously hurt.
In retrospect, Tracy and I experienced that palpable taste of mass urgency when responding to a calamity, entangled with our own tumultuous push into a creative deadline.
Wow! What a mixed bag!
…One of these things is not like the others…
–Wheelhouse Pottery Studio Holiday Sale
Hurray!…We can’t wait!
This Saturday, December 3, we will be showing our recent tile work at The Wheelhouse Pottery Studio in Monrovia, located at 1831 Santa Fe Place.
Look for some new images that just went into the kiln today!
The studio is just south of the Myrtle/Duarte Rd intersection behind Troy’s Donuts and Aamco.
On Friday night (Dec 2), there will be a secret pre-show for Friends and Family–that’s you!… 6:00pm – 9pm. (Apparently I’m not so good at keeping secrets). I’m pretty sure Tracy and I will be there on Friday evening. This is the sort of show where the work shows itself so we may not be around on Saturday…I’m pretty sure I’ll be attending several soccer games.
This event is one of our favorite shows to shop for gifts–we always find a cool or unique piece, perfect for a special present. We love being part of this community of mud-slingers and feel privileged to be participating in this Holiday ceramics show.
Please notice the show’s postcard below, you may see something familiar…
Yay! We made the postcard!
–a fine day was had by all
Tracy and I just came off a 3-day show at Creative Arts group. It was our first event that ran over several days and now, a week later, it just seems like a whirlwind of activity…a bit of a blur.
We truly had a grand time of it. Lots of old friends of Ramona Paloma Tile came by to say hello as well as new. There was no shortage of warm greetings and shared chuckles.
On Sunday, at the end of the show as we said our thanks to the organizers of the event, we discovered an interesting little truth. As first-timers to this show, we were relegated to the “kids’ table”. Yup, we newbies were all housed together in a rear classroom dubbed “Room 4”. Within that farewell conversation, we were told that Ramona Paloma had helped break the curse of Room 4. (It had notoriously been a less-visited room, tucked in a rear corner of the event.)
However, all that is changed now!
Along with our Room 4 roommates, we had a walloping good time in that intimate little room. There seemed to be a constant stream of friendly visitors to see the “artwork of Room 4”. It’s an interesting social experiment to share a small room with strangers. I’m happy to report that instead of strangers, we now have some new friends! We even had a little storage room in the back of our display which became our fort after a while. (What is it about rainy weather and close quarters that turns you into a kid again?)
Ode to the Room 4 artists:
Meet Judy. She makes intricate kiln-fired glass pieces and traveled to this show from Arizona. Since her work was located close to ours, she appeared to be associated with our tile, and actually began talking about the process with those who had questions. She was hilarious and engaging in such a low-key way.
Meet Christiane and her husband. They love Beagles. She makes tiny folded origami pieces into jewelry and wall-hangings. She actually hand-paints 8 careful coats of glaze on each folded work of art. Amazing!
Meet Janice and Jill. They work together but create separate pieces (similar to Tracy and I). Janice, an elegant woman from Australia, makes beautifully woven pieces that some people may call baskets, but they are so much more. They’re like 3-d collages using natural objects, metal and wire…really lovely. (And Janice has a gorgeous Black Lab named Cassie.) And Jill? Well she arrived wearing ostrich skin cowboy boots and wasn’t afraid to carry the right attitude to wear those boots with style. She presented fascinating folded and hammered copper pieces as bracelets and necklaces. You could really see the hand in her work.
Next we have Kathleen. She makes carefully rendered and incredibly complex drawings. (Dictionary.com suggests…”something complex may be well-organized and logically constructed as well as subtle and intricate”) Yes, that sounds about right.
In the center of the room, we have Beverly. I overheard Beverly telling someone that she had been an English teacher, and a film-maker prior to her life as a jewelry-maker. That description was so fitting for her–a confident woman who wears awesome color combinations and makes beautiful jewelry full of color and life.
And next door to us was Penny. A woman we did not previously know and yet every time an old friend of mine came in to say hi, they would turn to Penny next–also greeting her as a dear friend. How is it, Penny…that everyone I know…you know…and we don’t know each other? That’s a mystery, apparently. Penny makes crazy-cool jewelry featuring found objects and vintage pieces. She is not afraid to re-adapt a necklace from by-gone days into an eye-catching masterpiece by modern standards.
And that was our stint at the kids’ table for 3 days…full of irony, amusement, and anecdotes with Tracy and I throwing our hearts and souls into making as many tiles as our little gray matter could produce…and loving every minute of it.
I guess it took me all week to reflect–kinda like adding salt and pepper at the end of a cooking fest—season to taste….savoring each flavor and nuance as it comes up.
Thank you to all our tile friends that came by to see us. Tracy and I find tremendous delight in your response to our work.
–Creative Arts Group show in Sierra Madre
As we enter into the season of giving, Tracy and I fling ourselves into the tile-making process with abandon! We have been fortunate enough to be invited to participate in several upcoming shows.
First of all, we will join in the festivities with the Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre, as they host their Annual Art Festival–coming up next weekend, November 11, 12 and 13, 2011. The weekend schedule goes as follows:
Opening Night Reception: Fri, Nov 11, 7-9pm.
Show continues: Sat., Nov. 12, 10-5pm and Sun., Nov. 13 from 10-3pm.
The Festival includes work by more than 70 professional artists, plus the Student Sale (Fri & Sat only), and Artist Demonstrations. No worries about inclement weather, as the show will be indoors.
Please pop in to say hi at the CAG Art Festival located at 108 N. Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre.
You may find out more about this art studio by calling 626/355-8350, or visiting www.creativeartsgroup.org
Then on December 2 and 3, (Friday and Saturday), we will be participating in a wonderful ceramics show at The Wheelhouse in Monrovia. We love this community of potters and are thrilled to be a small cog in their wheel. (…wheel…Wheelhouse…I think there’s a joke there somewhere…). Their Annual Holiday Sale will be held in the studio located at 1833 Santa Fe Place in Monrovia behind Aamco and Troy’s Donuts.
Just after that we will be part of the ongoing “Gazebo Artists” of Sierra Madre Community Nursery School located at 701 E. Sierra Madre Boulevard. This continuing artisan display & sale will feature 2 – 4 revolving artists (twice monthly) in the charming gazebo located in the front garden of the school. Tracy and I will set-up shop there on Dec 6 and 7, (Tues and Wed).
More details to follow as we get closer to December.
Happy November! We love this slight change in the weather, don’t you?!
–box of cookies
We just loaded (and unloaded) a kiln full of goodies this week.
I couldn’t help but photograph this box of Tracy’s freshly baked goods. This wonderfully cheerful box is full of her little tiles–all about 2 – 3 inches in size. Instead of chocolate chips, they are loaded with funny images of cats, dogs, frogs and other stuff. The best part?…they are very low in calories, and you can have lots more than one!
I thought I would try something a bit different with our photos. I thought I might turn them into a slideshow instead (at the bottom of this entry).
So…you’ll see our kiln shelves loaded with glazed tile in the raw, (unfired), followed by a view of each just-fired-layer as it is revealed to us during the unloading process.
And, just for fun, I’ve included a photo of the many boxes of tile all lined up in the car to take to the kiln. The actual location of the kiln is only about a half-mile away from Ramona Paloma Studios, but we still have to get all these little precious clay chunks of our labor over to Lori’s place for firing. It’s like driving around with nitro-glycerin strapped to our belts–well almost.
so here goes…
[slideshow]
–here a frame, there a frame
Striking a fine balance within all the many tasks involved with making art is something we are often in pursuit of. (wow, I really have to catch my breath after that sentence…).
Recently, we allotted the time for a bit of woodwork again.
***
We-kicked-Tracy-out of the ceramics studio and set her aloft in the wood shop. She got very busy with her power tools to make a few frames for us.
Then-I-provided back-up by staining wood and handling the screwdriver. I’d like to be a big shot and say I used the nice power tools too…but alas, I used my forearm power tool only.
However, I am happy to report that I really “powered” that little screw into the back of those wood frames. I may have even produced a drop of sweat on my brow. You would have been proud.
Actually I am extremely proud of Tracy and her Kung-Fu skills in the woodshop.
You rock tile-twin
–Francois makes a statement
Tracy and her rabbits…
When she went through her “bunny phase” (it happens to all of us…eventually), she made these wonderfully silly and delightful rabbits, set in a variety of scenes where their rabbit-ness was très coy and subtle. These early designs are some of my favorite.
The first hare of this kind was hiding in tall grass, wearing a grass hat…this modest little fellow went on to become a sailor and a mermaid (mermale?) as well as Francois, who charmingly had a head full of bubbles. Francois hoped to make his permanent home in a bubble bath.
When looking at Francois, one couldn’t help speaking in a silly-fake-french-accent. (Tracy and I need very little prodding to be silly while making tile).
Well, a short while ago, we bid adieu to Francois as he flew the coop. He has taken up new residence as an installation in a shower/tub wall. He now feels like King of the castle–overseeing and inspiring bubble-filled frolic in the tub from here on.
Au revoir Francois.
Don’t forget to write.
–recent tile from Soozee
Soozee here, once again.
Tracy and I (using our keen tile-twin-powers…) like to divvy up the workload or shall I say?…activity-load. I am the keeper of the pen (the blog) and she is the keeper of the power tools (wood frames). In doing so, we work within our strengths, yet quietly develop our weaknesses through the other’s hand.
In other words, I love to get my hands on the power tools…I press the trigger full blast and wield them above my head like the chainsaw-massacre guy while Tracy gently says…now Soozee, that’s not how we handle our tools…is it? Mmm? And as far as the writing goes…I can’t say that that’s a weakness for Tracy. She’s a good writer, however she likes to write things that make her giggle and the more of a tangent she goes off on, the funnier it becomes to her…pretty soon, she is left weak and defenseless from her guffaw fest and cannot go on. So, for simplicity’s sake…I do our writing.
(Speaking of tangents…I’m supposed to be showing you my new glaze work…).
Thanks for being patient. Here are a few new pieces from me (Soozee)–
–newest work from Tracy
Soozee here…to introduce some new ideas from Tracy.
I love her recent imagery–so full of allegory and wit.
I also appreciate how our styles are a little different but complimentary to one another. Using the same process and sharing a color palette allows our work to stand together well, I think.
…here’s Tracy–
–late summer work
We recently filled the kiln with a fresh load of bisque ware (from wet clay to a hard, fired piece that has a high “tink” when you flick it). We quickly followed that up with a glaze-load brimming with new designs, along with some previous favorites. We like to send the newbies into the kiln with the stand-by, more “experienced” designs…the old guys escort the young-uns through the “sauna” as we like to call it.
We’ve introduced some new fable-like pieces that tell a wee story (left to the imagination…) along with a few tile full of whimsy and warmth. In the kiln shelf photos below, you’ll see some of our old friends too–little birds and dogs.
(p.s. forgive the flash on the photos–we were working late that day…)
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