Artist of the Day – Nora Jean

by | Dec 3, 2009 | Uncategorized

Oh I’m loving me a bit of texture! Check out these gorgeous pieces by Nora Jean:


and in her own words:
With thoughts of fabric in my head I use thin slabs of clay to build objects of function that are textured with patterns of nature. Referencing a material that we live in everyday I hope to bring a feeling of life to my work. I love objects in particular cups because of there ability to bring ones daily experience and art together.


Do take some time to checkout her website full of images (i particularly love the whiskey bottles)
norajeanceramics.com

Artist of the Day – Rachelle Chinnery

by | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized

Oh I’m just brimming with excitement, it’s going to be such a beautiful month here at musing with all of these amazing artists I’m going to share with you over the upcoming weeks. Thanks so much to everyone that’s sent in images and info so far, I couldn’t do it without you. There are still a few spots open so keep those entries coming!

To start it all off is the incredibly talented Rachelle Chinnery:


In her words:
I started out in Linguistics, went to Japan to teach for a year, gave up on Linguistics and stayed in Japan for four years. That was the beginning of the training with reluctant Japanese men and the end of my future career as an academic. I came back to Canada, went to Sheridan for a year, then Emily Carr for a year, and realized art school wasn’t really for me either. It’s been a bit of a solo road in the studio since 1995.

Three years ago my husband and I moved to Hornby Island in BC, and just this month my studio is nearing the end of completion. I have been making pots in a trailer for 3 years. Nobody deserves a new studio like I deserve a new studio.

For the past ten years or so I’ve been focusing on a line of carved porcelain. I use a mid-fire body that is translucent where thin, and it rings just like a high-fire porcelain body. In 2007 my work was selected for the British Columbia Achievement Award for Creativity. I was the first ceramist to be a recipient of the award. This bottle and cups set was accepted into the Croatian Post-Modern Ceramics Exhibition in Varazdin in 2009. A lidded jar of mine made it to the finals in the NICHE awards in 2009, and this year this same bottle and cup set also made it to the NICHE finalists list. I was unable to fly to Philadelphia in 2009, so I wasn’t able to attend the awards ceremony – you have to be there to win anything. But this year – I’m going for gold…. (local Olympic rhetoric creeping in there ).

I hope to develop a new body of work in my shiny new studio and return to making larger sculptural pieces – too challenging to make in the trailer.

rachellechinnery.blogspot.com
www.rachellechinnery.ca

Clay on Etsy.

by | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized

Recently the oh so awesome and amazing Vicki Hardin of Clay Art Web compiled a guide to great Clay art on Etsy. You know I love Etsy, I’m an addict for sure, but sometimes it is like going to a flea market where you are bound to find that treasure that you just have to take home with you, but it takes a while of sifting through junk to find it. That’s why lists like Vicki’s are so helpful to cut through some of the (sorry, i’m going to say it, forgive me and know that I don’t speak of any of you fine readers that’s for sure!) crap.

So in light of this wonderful list – which I encourage you to go and check out and get your name added to if you’ve got an Etsy shop – I thought I share with you some of my recently lovely Etsy finds which are on my Christmas wish list.

Oh and a small reminder (okay major reminder – come on people!!!) that I’m still looking for artists for December’s Artist of the Day Profiles! What don’t you guys like FREE stuff? Or maybe it’s my free stuff you’re just not that interested in. LOL. Check out the original post here.

Right now onto the images:

Bray Pottery



Stepanka



Laura B. Cooper Ceramics

Radasch Redware


Inna Olshansky