Profit Margin Curated by Derek Reeverts

January 9-29 @ Charlie Cummings Gallery

Profit Margin,
curated by Derek Reeverts is now online. This exhibition features
ceramic sculpture and vessels, printmaking, and poetry by national
artists.

Curator’s Statement

Profit Margin explores modern incarnations of class warfare.
Tension between socioeconomic classes exists in a variety of forms
because Fox News is wrong; class structure is not a singular identity.
It is something that exists in varying degrees depending on each
individual’s makeup -their region, gender, culture, education, etc.
There is no singular, universal group who has sole access to the means
of production, a Marxist term referring to society’s resources and
production facilities. In today’s world there are multiple means of
production -from physical factories to Wall Street, Academia, and Big
Oil -and thus “those who have access” are as varied in appearance,
though not in number, as those who do not.
 
The artists represented in Profit Margin hail from a variety
of geographies, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, and cultures.
Their pieces explore people and places marginalized by modern class
warfare. They work in mediums as diverse as ceramics, printmaking, and
poetry. The array of medium allows the viewer many avenues to approach
the complex processes of class. Whether the piece references the figure,
utilizes color and texture, or uses the familiarity of the human voice
to express experience, the pieces in Profit Margin allow the viewer a layered perspective into this otherwise cloudy machination.

Participating Artists

Blair Clemo, Tommy
Frank, Edith Garcia, Clayton Keyes, Benjamin Lambert, Sara
Morales-Morgan, Kyungmin Park, Kyle and Kelly Phelps, Gregory Pickett,
Alan Pocaro, Derek Reeverts, and Austin Wieland

Listen to Gregory Pickett’s poem Class Warfare here.
View the rest of Profit Margin here

Jenna Stanton – distil @ Esplanade


Ceramist
Jenna Stanton has salvaged and saved favourite domestic objects for as
long as she can remember. The forms and functions of these objects and
the nostalgic sentiments around them work their way into her
contemporary practice, into practical, clever and elegant designs for an
array of ceramic household vessels and accessories. The porcelain
desktop water decanters with silkscreened enamel decals and hand-painted
underglazes in her Pour Me series are inspired by vintage thermoses and
historic Medalta whiskey jugs, with patterns humorously referring to
the practice of self-medicating. Other works utilize 3D printing
processes in their design stages, while still others explore the
opportunities suggested by crystalline and fractal geometries translated
into dishware which can iterate and conjoin into infinity.

Stanton holds a BFA in Ceramics from the Alberta College of Art &
Design and a Masters in Ceramic Design from Staffordshire University in
‘the potteries’ of Stoke on Trent, England. She currently works out of
her studio in Medalta’s international artists in residence, exploring
ceramics that combine traditional craft with industrial processes and
new technologies. She is the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at
the historic Medalta Potteries, and a member of the board of directors
of the Alberta Craft Council. Her designs have been exhibited nationally
and internationally, most notably in FRESH, the 2011 British Ceramics
Biennial’s flagship exhibition of top 40 emerging UK graduates, the
London Design Festival 2015, and with FLUX at Maison Object Paris.

www.esplanade.ca
www.jennastantonceramics.com

musing is one of 2015’s Top Pottery Blogs (*blush*)

I never have adequate words to express my thanks for the community support that has allowed this blog to flourish and grow since 2008. I’m humbled by your lovely comments, emails, letters, in person hugs. I’m humbled that I get to play an active part of such an inspiring and rewarding community of artists, makers, galleries, organizations, curators, writers, etc, etc, etc, …

Here’s hoping you all stick with me for another year or more….

xoxox to each and everyone of you ~ and especially to Pottery Making Info for this incredible honor.

carole 

Florida Heat Surface

Florida
Heat Surface: February 18-22nd at the Morean Center For Clay. 

Demonstrating Artists are: Adam Field, Ben Carter, Nick Joerling, Steve
Godfrey, Deb Schwartzkopf, Jen Allen, Heesoo Lee and Kari Radasch. 

The
full workshop is $550 or you can pay per day for $150. 

Go to www.moreancenterforclay.org for the full schedule and for more information. — with Kari Radasch, Steven Godfrey, Matthew Schiemann, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Benjamin Carter, Jennifer Allen and 이희수.

Happy New Year

another year come and gone. another one already underway….
what’s the future for musing to hold? 
hopefully more of the same, but also hopefully something better. 
i’m always open to suggestions and ideas of how to make the blog better or more useful for folks. 
i’m also always open to submissions of content – calls for entry, exhibitions, and artists profiles for eye candy or emerging artists. 
this year i’m also looking for a few willing folks to take over some minor parts of the blog. 
think you might have the time, the inclination, the desire to get involved? 
drop me a line @ [email protected]
thank you
 as always to each and everyone of you that has helped to make musing what it is. 
i’m deeply touched by each and every email and lovely comment or shout out. 
you guys are the best. thanks for sticking with me for so long!
all the best for 2016
xoxox – carole 
***
*also a reminder that musing is brought to you by volunteer hours rather then paid advertisments. should you ever feel so inclined to donate to keeping the blog up and running you can send donations via paypal to [email protected]
 

Lisa Clague & Debra Fritts workshop

Lisa Clague & Debra Fritts
DREAMING IN CLAY: The Human Figure, Fantasy and the Subconscious
Barro.Co Clay Studio, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

September 3rd – 11th, 2016


The Reliquary Figure: a personal journey
San Miguel De Allende is rich with inspiration, cobblestone streets,
religious imagery, architecture, and endless surfaces that show the
passing of time. During this workshop we will allow our surroundings as
well as our own visions to inspire us as we create the human figure.
We will visit the Mask Museum in town and the Sanctuary of Atotonilco in
the countryside, which will help fill us with a vast display of
history, imagery and imagination. Debra and Lisa will demonstrate
daily, their individual building techniques. Incorporation of metal,
found objects and slip dipped fabrics will be introduced. Both
instructors will discuss color and surface texture using the numerous
engobes available at Barro.Co Clay Studio. Discussion will surround the
human form as a spiritual vehicle to embellish with ones own vision,
narrative or surreal. In addition, we will begin the day with a simple
meditative exercise in clay to generate our energy, and the objects will
be used as test tiles for finishes. We will combine our intuition,
personal experience and the influence of the city to discover new
possibilities in our work.

Lisa Clague: Lisa Clague Sculpture
Debra Fritts: http://debrafritts.net

San Miguel de Allende, a colonial treasure in the mountains of central
Mexico, stands still in time with its pastel-colored houses,
centuries-old churches, and cobblestone streets. A UNESCO World Heritage
Site that was recently rated by Condé Nast as the best city in the
world to live, San Miguel offers a favorable year-round climate, an
active arts community and a laid-back environment that stimulates
creativity.

You can read more about San Miguel at: http://www.visitmexico.com/en/san-miguel-de-allende

PRICE: $1695 U.S.*
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: If you register before February 1st 2015, you will receive a 10% discount.
TO REGISTER: A 30% deposit is required for registration.

*Price includes: 6 full days in the studio (see itinerary below) with
all necessary materials, as well as daily coffee, tea and snacks, all
lunches, welcome dinner, farewell dinner, all listed tours and
activities.
**Not included: Flight, accommodation, optional cooking
class, alcoholic beverages, optional firing and shipping of sculptures.