–cool display, Batman
Okay, I admit it. I grew up watching Batman and Robin (the 60’s version with the big POW and WHAM words that were splashed over the tv screen). So please forgive the reference.
I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but I (Soozee) do most of the writing here. So, I want to take a moment to mention two things:
first, I want to say hello and thanks to some of the nice people we met at the Garden Tour which includes Susie, Christina, Carol, Roberta, Kathy, Jill, Jan, Eva, Sharon, Dale (and company), Barbara, Clare, Deidra, Maurial, Betty, Meagan, Ligia, and Anita. And thanks to our friends Wendy and Todd for their constant support and excellent feedback. We also enjoyed meeting a few people that we never got the names of…Happy Easter to all!
secondly, I want to gush and make a fuss about Tracy’s mad, Kung-Fu woodworking skills.
We sit down together for our every-other-weekly-meetings… and brainstorm. One of the aspects of showing tile that challenges our little brains is…display. I think all artists struggle with the best way to show their work. The totally cool part for me is that Tracy and I think it up, then she goes into her workshop and…zip-zing…conjures up frames and display pieces! It’s miraculous!
Last weekend, we were invited to show at the “Art of the Garden” tour. We were given very specific measurements that our whole display (and our selves) had to fit within. We saw right away that our previous set-up would not allow us to show very many tile in this tight configuration…hence the lengthy design and re-design on paper, that birthed the pieces below. (We were ready to bring only one chair which we would have to take turns sitting in…since there was no room for 2 seats–the other idea was to place the chairs in a front and back position–like sitting on a bus–really, I’m not kidding. Art comes first!)
I digress…back to Tracy. She had some cedar fence posts that had been hanging out by the garage for a few years. They were perfectly “seasoned” for our needs. She whipped up these little numbers in no time and they were perfect and very stable. Tracy–you rock!
–let it rip at cone 6
Recently, when we opened the kiln to this glaze load, we had some unexpected results–not bad or good necessarily…just different. In an electric kiln, it feels like it should be similar results each time but then you have the magical mystery tour of glaze interaction that is so hard to predict. Perhaps we put some glazes next to each other that have never played together before. I think they’ll work out their relationships eventually. We’re not too worried. In fact, I think we love the conundrum of it all. ( I just love a sentence where I can use the word conundrum–it’s one of those weird words that’s spelled exactly how it sounds…)
Next show will be at The Wheelhouse in Monrovia on April 29 and 30. Stay tuned for more info.
–Tracy, you’ve been busy!
Please enjoy a brief stroll through the latest tile work of Tracy Chamberlin.
Tracy here. Just wanted to share a few new tile with all y’alls. It’s a bit of a smorgasbord…minus the pickled herring of course, which if you’ve never tried it you should, it’s quite tasty and full of Omega 3’s! I digress. Some of these tile are new designs like the flying hearts, little birds in trees and the flowers. The others are some classics with new colors and a little extra border around them. It helped their self esteem, they feel bigger and more important now 😉
Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy the sights.
–latest work from Soozee
Soozee here…
This recent group of tile seems to favor the flora and fauna of the world. I guess I can’t help but be influenced by the stuff I see around me every day–birds, cats, flowers, etc. Except for my oddly-shaped (half-roundish) bluey-greenish hanging tile with amoeba shapes from the sea—to me that looks like my granny’s old tapestry handbag…in a good way.
Perhaps there’s a new series percolating under there somewhere. We’ll see.
Speaking of bags…May I interest you in a sight-seeing tour of some recent tile?
–Art of the Garden
Tracy and I are delighted to say that we will be participating in a special garden tour this weekend. We will be showing our latest work, along with 8 other artists, in a gorgeous Italian-inspired private garden near the Huntington Gardens in San Marino.
Creative Arts Group Presents
Art of the Garden
Sunday, April 17, 2011. 10:30 – 4:30pm
This self-guided tour will take you to 4 spectacular gardens in San Marino and Pasadena. Tickets are available through Creative Arts Group located at 108 N. Baldwin Ave in Sierra Madre Please contact them at 626/355-8350 or creativeartsgroup.org for more information.
Stay tuned for more info. re: The Wheelhouse Ceramics Sale, April 29 & 30 in Monrovia.
–framed and ready to hang
The framing business has been booming. Who knew?
Making ceramic tile gives us so many options, once again. One could look at it as a one-dimensional art form but we see it as having endless possibilities–not only in the process part (which is incredibly varied in opportunities), but also in the final presentation. And, right now we’re taking our tiles on the frame train!
Framing a simple piece changes it’s whole personality…in a delightfully surprising way. Working with wood has it’s pleasurable side benefits as well. Wood smells good, it’s rich in visual texture, it’s a bit more predictable (than clay) and can provide immediate gratification… and when sanded, it is as smooth as a baby’s behind…sort of.
We’ve chosen to make some of the framed pieces have function (with hooks for keys and leashes and things…after all–we are practical women) and others are simply surrounded in warm wood… because they can be. I like the way they look from the back as well. I love our recent discovery of using round flat discs to hold the tile in place–feels like the feminine touch.
Most of our pieces can be framed in one of two ways. One style has the tile mounted on a wood backing then framed it as if it were floating. A second method pressure fits it directly into it’s woodwork, held in place by round metal discs with the tile back open and visible.
Take a ride on the frame train…
–fundraiser
Last Saturday night, we donated an architectural portrait of Sierra Madre School for their annual fundraiser–offered up for the silent auction.
I’m not sure if there is such a phrase as “architectural portrait”, but I like saying it… it sounds like I know what I’m talking about.
To capture this image, I used some existing photographs of the school as well as took a lot of my own to interpret the building in tile. Drawing onto bisque tile with wax does not really allow perfection and detailed rendering, but it does show the hand in the work.
Speaking of phrases…this is one of our favorite phrases these days…seeing the hand in the work. Our tile work is often about embracing the uncontrollable. There are elemental forces at work with clay, glazes, firing…and the human hand–all tend have a mind of their own.
The finished tile was mounted in a wood frame making it about 12.5 inches and ready to hang on the wall. A bit of the process is shown below.
We also got a wee bit of press from an online newspaper called the Patch. It shows some photos of the fundraiser for Sierra Madre School and our tile made the cut. We were also involved with the student-made mosaic stepping stones (shown).
–the almost festival
We had an “interesting” day at the Wisteria Festival. It was the little festival that couldn’t. The rain just kept coming and coming, punctuated by a bit of thunder and lightning.
Joined by our fellow artists early Sunday morning, we optimistically set up our awnings in the rain. We schooled ourselves in the creative use of plastic tarping, out of necessity. The storm’s personality was quite fickle–it dumped a lot of water, then the clouds would break and look like it was clearing, then back to big wet drops, then it stopped again…this went on most of the early morning. Around 10/11am, the sky opened up and it rained pretty heavy from there on. There were rumors that the police were encouraging artists and vendors to clear out in case of a mud slide. The town was on alert due to the heavy rains.
What are you gonna do?
In the long run, we were pretty happy with how our set-up and display turned out, (especially with those subtle hints of plastic sheeting). Then, upon it’s completion, we sat in our soggy chairs to admire it and took some photos. After a 5 minute respite, we began the pack job. Fortunately, Tracy and I have a very positive attitude when we’re together. We decided if we had been alone with the whole “set-up and take-down within a few hours, in the rain” gig, it may have been a lot more difficult to find the silver lining.
Instead, we were able to enjoy the irony of it all, and (most importantly) we met some very nice people. We were also visited by some delightful friends of Ramona Paloma Tile–Wendy and Todd came out in their Wellies, with bumper shoots fully engaged to see our latest. How lovely!
What a day!
–fresh pickins’ from the kiln
WARNING…corny dialogue imminent (think…Leave it to Beaver)
Tracy–Golly Jeepers, Soozee. You’ve been very chatty with the blog, lately.
Soozee–Well gosh, I sure have been Tracy.
Tracy–Why so much to say, all of a sudden?
Soozee–Gee Tracy, we’ve been trying some swell new stuff in recent weeks.
Tracy–Like what?
Soozee–Well golly, we have some swell new glaze colors, and nifty wood frames that we made with our own two hands
Tracy–Jeepers, that’s keen!
Soozee–it sure is!
Tracy–Golly Jee Willakers Soozee, whatcha waiting for? Just show the folks back home our new stuff!
Soozee–that’s a swell idea, Tracy.
–Wisteria Festival in Sierra Madre
Every year around this time, the town of Sierra Madre, California has a splendid festival celebrating the largest flowering plant in the world. This little Wisteria vine has made it into Guinness Book as well as being one of the Botanical Natural Wonders of the World.
The main intersection in town (Baldwin Ave at Sierra Madre Boulevard) overflows with food, music, and artists for the day. Go half a block east on Montecito to find us!
A new volunteer organization supporting the arts in Sierra Madre (Friends of the Arts) has reserved a large area located at 123 E. Montecito Ave as a venue to highlight local artists during the festival. Tracy and Soozee will be showing their tiles along with 30 other artists in this reserved area deemed Art Alley. We will have musicians playing most of the day, a lemonade stand and a variety of artistic expressions to fill the eye.
So come out to see new tiles from Ramona Paloma Studios at Art Alley–
located at 123 E. Montecito Ave this Sunday only, March 20 from 9am-4pm.
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