show musing about mud a little love (cuz musing loves you alot!)

by | Oct 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

you may notice a new little image on the right hand side of the blog. it’s that rectangle over there that says donate/support/musing. let’s try not to talk about it too much, but it does need to be mentioned.

so i’ve been running this blog since 2007 and throughout the years the debate has raged regarding adding ads to the blog. sigh. i feel so awkward even talking about it…. personally i’ve never wanted ads. i’m kind of opposed to them. but there is a reality that needs to be addressed and that is that this blog – which i love and am passionate about continuing – is taxing on my time. the blog could be so much more i know. i’d love to see it grow and develop over the upcoming years, and i believe that it has grown substantially since 2007. but to do this i will have to put in more time. time that takes me away from my own artistic practice.

so i’d like to propose a different option rather than advertising on the blog. it’s simple really and you can either ignore it or you can contribute. up to you completely. if you so kindly would like to contribute to musing and all the work that goes on to keep the blog up to date, then all you have to do is click on that DONATE image and you’ll be redirected to paypal where you can send a contribution to [email protected]

i’m not asking for a lot. i know we are all broke and struggling as artists. but if everyone that read the blog gave a couple bucks a year it would be a huge difference.

i also am open to contributions of awesome art for my collection….but that’s another thing : )

okay, i’m sorry.
let’s be done with this awkwardness and go back to our lovely lives.

thanks for your time and all the ways in which you contribute to our clay community and to musing.

hugs,
carole

* it’s a simple process but a bit confusing. since i can’t just add a paypal donation button to the blog (must be a registered charity) this DONATE image will take you to a paypal page where you enter your email, my email ([email protected]) and a dollar amount you’d like to contribute. again many thanks.

Medalta International Cup Show – the results are out!

by | Jul 16, 2013 | Uncategorized

I’ve been wanting to say a few words regarding the Medalta International Cup show and the jurying process for a while now, but between being gone and figuring out exactly what I wanted to say it’s been hard.

But I do want to say a few things.

To start with – wow.
That was truly a difficult task.
A super fun task, but a difficult one.

As you can imagine, I spend most of my days looking at amazing ceramic art from around the world – guilty as charged, uber ceramic geek and addicted to the internet.  And there I was jurying this show and finding myself completely floored by the variety of works that were submitted. The quality, aesthetic uniqueness, and technical prowess of the applications was truly inspiring. We received applications from over 160 artists, most with 3 submissions to chose from. So basically I had to narrow the selections down to about a third of what was submitted.

I don’t say this to be discouraging. I don’t want you to take this info and think to yourself; well why should I apply for these things if its so competitive? It is competitive. I had hard choices to make and lots of great work wasn’t let into the show. It’s how it goes. And a different juror might have made very different choices. Maybe not. You’ll get to be the judge once the exhibition is up and I’d love to hear your thoughts about what got into the show.

I guess what I really should be saying here though is thank you.
Thank you to Medalta for inviting me to participate in this exhibition in this manner. It has been a great honor. I’m very excited to see this annual exhibition grow and evolve over future years into one of the best international juried shows. It’s about time Canada had one like this to call it’s own. Good on yah Medalta!

Thank you to all the artists that submitted work. It was a pleasure and honor to see and study your work.

And thank you all for all the support that you all give this blog on a daily basis. From humble beginnings back in 2007, this blog has grown in a manner I could have never imagined. And I look forward to many more years as a part of this incredible, growing online community.

As the Medalta Cup show gets closer you’ll get more updates here and i’ll be taking you behind the scenes of the exhibition when I head out to Medalta in early Sept for the opening. If you are at all able to attend this exhibition and event I highly encourage you to come and join us in celebration of the selected artists in the exhibition who showcase some incredible skills and artistic vision.

I’ll leave you now with a excert from the letter that went out to the artists who submitted work regarding my thoughts on the submissions.

xoxoxo
Carole

“Well personally I couldn’t have been more thrilled to have
been asked to jury Medalta’s 1st International Cup Show, but I
honestly had no idea of the challenge that this jurying would present. The
ceramic cup is such a small object, yet so packed with meaning and reference.
The cup can often be the defining piece within a potter’s collection and one
that succinctly presents the artist’s aesthetic choices and technical
strengths.
There was not one entry that didn’t present a level of skill
and aesthetic rendering. Not one that didn’t have craftsmanship and vision. In
the end the chosen pieces for the exhibition were ones that stood out as having
a clearer voice of the artist, a more refined skill set, and a uniqueness that
made them stand out.
I’m grateful to all of the artists that submitted work for
this exhibition. Even those whose work was not chosen should not be discouraged
as all of the entries confirmed my expectations that the contemporary artistic
climate of functional ceramics is solid, ever expanding, and relevant to
contemporary artistic discourses.”
medalta.org

Medalta Cup Show – Deadline May 30th!!!

by | May 9, 2013 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday

Alright guys it’s that time in which I start to get annoying by reminding you daily to get your applications in for the Medalta International Cup Show. So lets make it easy on everyone involved by having you all each just send in your applications, because it’ll get embarrassing for all concerned if I have to start calling each and everyone of you individually to remind you! : )

Show us your mugs (or cups, yunomis, steins, etc) and be a part of Medalta’s first annual International Cup Show!

This show – August 23 to September 28- is being juried by Musing About Mud blogger and Canadian ceramic rockstar, Carole Epp.

The submission deadline is Thursday, May 30 so if
you’re interested, have a look at the eligibility requirements,
important dates and other information on this page and fill out the
handy-dandy form below (along with payment). Thanks for your interest
and good luck!

JUROR

Carole Epp is likely best known for her work on Musing About Mud, (www.musingaboutmud.blogspot.com)
an online resource of ceramic related content. She is a graduate of the
Australian National University, produces two distinct lines of
functional and sculptural ceramics, exhibits internationally, and at the
end of the day is a mother to two charming young boys.

ELIGIBILITY

The exhibition is open to all international artists. Work can be
either functional or sculptural so long as it addresses the idea of “the
cup”. Please submit only original work that has been completed in the
last two years. All work must use at least 50% fired clay as the primary
medium.

Work must not exceed 2 feet in width.

All work must be properly prepared for exhibition, be durable enough
to survive shipping and display, and come with exhibition/assemblage
instructions if applicable. Medalta reserves the right to reject any
work that is not suitably prepared for exhibition or that differs from
the original submission.

Medalta reserves the right to use images and photographs of accepted
works for the purposes of promotional materials, including postcards,
calendars, local media as well as online promotion.

All entries must be for sale, (priced in Canadian Dollars).

IMPORTANT DATES

Applications Due May 30th

Email Notification Begins June 15th 2013

Accepted Work Due July 20th 2013

Show Dates August 23rd to September 28th 2013.

Opening reception TBA

All sold and unsold work shipped back October 2013

SHIPMENT OF WORK

All artwork must arrive at Medalta no later than July 20th. Artists
are responsible for all shipping and insurance costs to the gallery.

COMMISSION

All entries must be for sale, (priced in Canadian Dollars). Medalta will receive commission of 40% on all sales.

AWARDS

Several of the selected artists will be featured on the Musing About Mud blog.

And we’re wrangling more prizes as we speak!

Awards will be determined by the juror and announced at the opening reception. Artists do not need to be present to win.

Students, be sure to identify yourself as such on the submission form below to be eligible for special awards.

Find the online submission form here:

http://medalta.org/showusyourmugs