by Carole Epp | Jun 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
Well i guess i can’t delay the sad news anymore, even though i’d like to believe this isn’t actually happening….
I’m deeply disappointed and sorry to announce that I’ve had to cancel my workshops in Australia at the Canberra Potters’ Society and Slow Clay. Sadly I will also be missing the Stepping Up: 14th Australian Ceramics Triennale 2015 coming up in a few weeks.
I’m okay, but due to illness I’m no longer able to travel overseas until I undergo surgery. Basically since ending
up in the ER last friday I no longer have any medical insurance to
cover my trip. Pre-existing condition now, blah blah blah…And with the
potential of needing emergency surgery while out of country I just
can’t risk the financial bankruptcy that such a situation would cause. I
also can’t put my health in jeopardy. My family and our health is
priority.
I’m heartbroken
to not be returning to Australia. It’s been too long and I miss my
friends and the ceramics community over there terribly. I had been
looking forward to meeting up with many new friends as well, and the
opportunity to present at the Australian Triennale, and the two
workshops alongside
Benjamin Carter were going to be such wonderful professional learning experiences for me.
I’m grateful to everyone that supported this trip and helped to
organize things over the last year. To all the participants who had
signed up for the workshops I’m deeply sorry to not be able to be there.
Ben Carter will be going ahead with the workshops solo and to be honest
he’s so talented and generous, with insight into so many of the amazing
artists that play a part of our community, that I would have likely
just gotten in the way. Now you have the wonderful opportunity to hear
and work with Ben without me interrupting with my crazy cat lady stories
: )
And well the slight silver lining on all of this? I stupidly
didn’t get cancellation insurance for my flight, so once all of this
health silliness gets sorted I’ll still have a ticket back to Australia
waiting for me.
Everything for a reason right?
xoxoxo
c
by Carole Epp | May 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
I’ve got a busy few months ahead of me,
and I’d love to see you out at these events if they are in your part of the world.
I’ll be demonstrating alongside some amazing artists.
I can’t wait to learn as well : )
SURFING the SURFACE:
Ceramic workshop with Ben Carter (US) and Carole Epp (Canada)
@ Slow Clay Centre
Globe-trotting contemporary ceramic artists Ben Carter and Carole Epp
deliver a one-day workshop that will inform you of the rich variety of
surface decoration approaches that they use in their individual
practises. Whilst demonstrating their techniques they will also discuss
their different blogs (Musing about Mud) and podcasts (Tales of the Red
Clay Rambler) and the way they utitlise the possibilities of the
internet and social media to engage new audiences.
This workshop will inspire you to approach your surfaces with rich
variety and also be inspired to see the inherent possibilities of the
internet and social media to expand your reach thereby making your
practice more sustainable.
Content will cover: Each artist will give a presentation about the
development of their work and career, discussing their achievements and
their use of blogs, podcasts and social media. They will then
demonstrate their unique surface techniques which will include
variations of slip and engobe deocration, sgraffito, underglaze colour,
burnishing and Ben and Carole’s individual developments in the surfaces
they use. There will be scope for deep discussion and enagagment with
these two well-known and highly respected artists. All welcome!
When: Sunday 19 July, 2015, 10am – 4pm
Where: Slow Clay Centre, 13 Keele St, Collingwood
Cost: $265 ($245 early-bird price until 1 June) Bookings are essential due to limited places.
Find out more or sign up here!
Winter
School 13-15 July
Form and
Surface with Carole Epp and Ben Carter
@ Canberra Potters Society
Focus will be on developing rich surfaces for both
functional and sculptural ceramics. Participants
will learn a variety of surface-design methods
including slip decorating, sgraffito, underglaze
painting, resist painting, mishima, and layering
stains. During the workshop we will discuss
aesthetic issues (i.e. proportions, color theory,
etc.), making strong functional pottery forms, using
metaphor and story telling as a basis for sculpture,
and creative problem solving in the studio.
Additional discussions of marketing, social media
and the changing landscape of contemporary craft
will leave the workshop attendees recharged,
rejuvenated and ready to grow in their own studio
practice.
Here’s the details: www.canberrapotters.com.au/c_workshops.html
NORTHERN BC CLAYFEST
with Brendan Tang, Cathi Jefferson,
Bill Reddick and Carole Epp
August 7th-9th, 2015
Join us in Prince George for our fourth Northern BC Clayfest! This
exciting event will offer you the opportunity to learn about advanced
clay techniques. You will have the opportunity to network with your
fellow artists, and meet our exciting workshop presenters. We are
hosting four nationally acclaimed clay artists who will present two days
of techniques. Presenters will also provide a 45 minute slide or video
along with their hands-on techniques for the benefit of the
participants.
This year Prince George is celebrating its 100th birthday, and the
University of Northern BC is celebrating is 25th anniversary, so we will
helping to commemorate these special occasions with our events.
by Carole Epp | Apr 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
The Narrative Dish
Selected by ceramic artist and musing about
mud blog editor, Carole Epp; the exhibition The
Narrative Dish brings together a group Canadian ceramic makers whose work
makes significant investigations into the use of narrative and imagery on
functional tableware. Specifically, this is a group of six female artists whose
awareness and understanding of each other’s professional practices makes for
the perfect storm, or maelstrom if you will, of storytellers.
Fundamentally, what makes a good story…how
does one weave a good narrative and what is the best way to get that story to
stand the test of time? Of course there is the tradition of passing down
stories through oral legacies and by means of pen and paper. Storytelling
formats include everything from audio and videotape, book and newspaper and
currently all sorts of technological and virtual formats as introduced via the
computer times we now live in. Let us add to the list the realm of art…and more
specifically ceramics that has a far-reaching history of serving as a narrative
conduit. An indelible and permanent material, clay materials long outlive its
makers, stand all sorts of tests of time and by virtue serves as the one of the
most perfect vehicles for story telling.
The predominance of narrative imagery that
graces the functional ware of virtually every ceramic-producing culture throughout history has
long since depicted the people, values and culture. In effect, the practice of
placing and impressing imagery upon a material of such permanence has served as
a record keeper of sorts that continues to this day. It is the longstanding
lineage of such a practice that served as an inspiration for bringing together
contemporary artists for an investigation into contemporary Canadian portrayals
of social narrative.
As core values in society shift slowly but
noticeably towards a reaffirmation of the value of the handmade, these artists
represent a new generation of clay artists who are using their chosen medium to
depict our times in the most intriguing of ways. Some of the artists embrace
and employ their narrative ceramic practice through au so courant illustrative means
that are currently trending through “indie” design aesthetics while others opt
for a more humble retelling of contemporary narratives. Some retell and record
their stories with a sense of refined grace that has rubbed off on us via the
world of graphic design while others employ a visceral meat-and-potato approach
to aesthetics more akin to the worlds of folk art, comics and cartoons. Using
the concept of the narrative as a vehicle for their artistic endeavors, each of
the selected artists in this exhibition is well versed, and ergo, serve as
prime examples of how specific technical and aesthetic choices make for the
retelling of their stories in the most unique ways. These artists I believe have captured a feel for the culture and
interests that comprise contemporary Canadian society today.
While a diverse and broad range of ceramic
practitioners currently work within the genre; thus affording a large breadth
of artists to select from, these particular makers were selected to represent a
certain subsection within the genre. Each of the artists help to identify
either a specific female narrative; a generational narrative, a design based
aesthetic and even narratives of a geographical nature.
Participating artists:
Elizabeth Burritt, Jenn Demke Lange, Cathy
Terepocki, Mariko Paterson, Carole Epp, Aura Carney
Please check out the exhibition online
here.
by Carole Epp | Mar 24, 2015 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday
For studio artists, production potters, students, educators, and
hobbyists who love working with clay, this project-driven guide is an
unmatched teaching tool and a fount of information and inspiration.
Focusing on various surface processes, and encompassing skills ranging
from letterpress and printmaking to drawing and painting, it offers a
wealth of techniques for transferring images onto clay vessels. Graphic Clay
addresses such topics as staining sculptural work, glazing, brush
application, screenprinting patterns on pottery, and slip, drawing,
bisque, decal, stencils, and more. Question-and-answer sessions with top
artists show how they developed their signature method and personal
style-so that you can discover your own!
Buy it here! (pre-order to save money!)
Find out more about Jason Burnett here!
by Carole Epp | Feb 11, 2015 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday
More and more frequently lately i’ve been getting emails and instagram messages asking about how I achieve the thin drawing lines on my functional dishes. Hopefully without risking any and all future workshop invites I’m going to share the secret today. I draw the images in pencil on bone dry clay, cover that in wax and then use cheap dollar store sewing needles to carve the drawing through the wax in into the clay surface. I then use a black underglaze to fill in the lines.
When I posted this on instagram the lovely Grace DePledge mentioned she used sewing needles as well (albeit the other end) and suggested finding a mechanical pencil that would hold the needles to save my fingers. Brilliant! Thanks Grace!
