Color to Dye For

As I said in my last post, I've been out in the studio just not yet into the clay this year.

I've been having a great time mixing up colors and then seeing them pop or fizzle as they either work - or not - next to each other. 

Working on fabric is so different from working on clay and yet there are many similarities. Unlike clay, the process is almost immediate. Like clay, the ideas flow like crazy and I can't keep up with what I want to do next... if I only had another frame/wheel ( or 6 ) I could work more ideas instead of impatiently waiting and scribbling and sketching in my note book. While working on the fabric I am exploring 2d and then once its complete it will be 3d as it wraps and drapes in use. Sometimes I have the urge to throw my brush aside and use my fingers to push and manipulate the dyes in the same way we work with clay, and I do... should have taken a shot of my hands. Oh well, once I get back into the clay my multi-colored fingers won't draw such attention in town .

Juicey color, sparkle and sheen ! Great therapy for dull winter days !

Best to Ya !

Happy New year to All !

small copper enameled hand made tree ornament
given to me (years ago)  by my Mom

I hope everyone reading this blog; family and friends old and new have enjoyed a lovely Christmas season and are revved up for this new year.
I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that we all enjoyed a quiet, restful break.
Things can get pretty hectic around here through harvest and then my christmas sales season overlaps and I have a difficult time getting the things done for my own family in time for Dec. 25th. But somehow it all works out and I have been pretty chill since then !

10 inch dinner plates finished in time for a good customer

Heres a picture I forgot to post last year... My friend Lillian traveled to England and dropped in at Muchelney Pottery and here's what she brought me ! Lillian and her husband met John Leach and the rest of his crew and had quite a good visit with them. I've been using this as a tumbler and have been throughly enjoying it as such although it could probably be a vase as well.

Lillian was also in California last year and brought me back some sourdough starter from a
( famous ? ) restaurant called The Cheeseboard.
      mmmmm !! lucky me !




So, recently, I have been out in the studio but haven't been into the clay yet. My friend Bonny http://www.bonnymacnab.com/ came over the other day for a studio play date. Going to her website you'll see that Bonny is an accomplished artist who has been painting with watercolor and oil for years. She has recently gotten into painting on silk. While in art collage I took several classes in the textile department and then did alot of surface design/painting on cotton and silk when my kids were really young. So Bonny came over to experiment with the many different dyes I have and I tried hard not to overwhelm her with technical data ! It was a very enjoyable day and now I'm playing around with bright colors and shorter work cycles - for awhile but not long - I love the immediacy of working with textiles and all the juicy colors but I am a potter at heart .

That's all for now. I hope some of you will post more to my blog this year. I really enjoy hearing from all.

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.
Benjamin Franklin