30 Days Project Part II: Day 2: Inniswood garden, apple pie

Wondering what this project is all about? Check out my first post for Day 1 to get the back story.

It must be fall in Ohio.

The leaves are changing colors.

Digging in the dirt.

Apple pie, yogurt, and cheese.

All in a days time.

Today was the first Saturday in four weeks that I did not have a commitment. Needless to say it has made for a busy month so today I decided to have a slow day. I went to the farmers market my usual Saturday morning activity and then decided to take a drive out to Inniswood MetroGarden. The garden had been suggested to me as they have an herb garden that includes a section of medicinal herbs. It was a pleasant morning to have a walk through the gardens. I will defiantly be back when they are in full bloom but maybe with Forrest! At the market I picked up some garlic that needed to be planted TODAY. So I headed back to the studio to tame the garden, harvest some treats, and plant the garlic.

Morning routine.

Breakfast smoothy.

Fall colors.

I found a healthy blooming Echinacea!

Garden getting a little out of control.

Garlic planting.

A little space to breath.

I have to be honest I started to get a little self conscious today about posting everything I am eating. But here it goes. I will tell you now I have a smoothie for breakfast almost everyday, not very exciting but it is very yummy. I made my cup extra big to account for shrinkage in the kiln and because with the intent to use the same cup for the whole month it needed to fit the max amount of liquid. Well now I am beginning to think that might be a little unreasonable. The cup it so big its hard to hold, I guess a smaller cup might be in order. I have plans to make a straw with Jon Capps my friend in the glass department tomorrow and maybe my wine glass will be ready.

Lunch.

Dinner: garden pesto pasta, with a few baby carrots,
and apple cider.

Homemade apple pie, yum.

30 Days Project Part II: Day 1: bubble tea

30 Days Project Part II: Day 1 Bubble Tea

Last year, I did a "30 Days Project" where I took time each day to explore the human body through movement, balance, energy, and more. Coming into graduate school I knew with 100% certainty that I was interested in the human body but I was trying to make a connection between the body and the ceramic vessel that I so enjoyed making. I was feeling at a loss and I decided to take some time to develop my work conceptually and explore the movement aspect of the body. I believe the "30 Days Project" stemmed from my frustration with the expectations of graduate school and the lack of studio time it allowed for. By taking my work outside of the studio and into my daily life I was able to create even on days that did not allow me to access the studio. And during my first year that was many days. I was happy with the project but in the end I did not find any resolution in my work, I was even more confused on what I wanted to make... what my committee wanted me to make... what I wanted to make... what my committee wanted me to make... you get the idea. Going into spring semester I got sick in my joints again, it was a flare up from the arthritis that began back in 2009. It made for a slow semesters but it gave me time to think and think I did. At the end of the term, I knew I needed to make vessels. In February, my roommates cat jumped on the table and my 'only' plate that also happen to be my favorite fell off the table, you can read about it here. I was devastated and decided I was not going to eat off any plates and for a time I used paper towels that is until my mom talked some sense into me! Silly I know, but it really got me, I love that plate for a few reasons: Forrest gave it to me as a gift, I really like Andy the maker of the plate, and I didn't realize until after the plate was gone that it had started to be more then a plate to me. I had a connection with this plate. I used it for every single meal I ate at home. This plate got me thinking about the importance of the handmade vessels.

So here we are November 1, 2013 and I am starting 30 Days Project Part II. (Oddly I started part I on November 5th, 2012.) For part II, I made a set of dishes and this set of dishes is going to travel with me and is going to be used for every meal and everything I eat and drink unless it does not require a vessel in eating an apple for example. I have also decided that as I progress through this project I will make extra pieces for the set as need be. Today, I realized that I needed a wine glass (who doesn't!) and so with the help of my friend Zac in glass I should have one out of the kiln in a few days.

I unloaded the dish set from the kiln yesterday and officially started the 30 days today. To back track a little on how this idea evolved over the summer I started and herb garden and began thinking about my interest in the human body in a different way. My interest in movement steamed from the experience with arthritis and my bodies lack of movement that created an interest and appreciation that had not been there before. Recently my interested shifted in that I became focused on what we put inside our bodies that allows for good health and in my case MOVEMENT! So the exploring began and and I have been focusing my most recent research on medicinal herbs. This project came from the broken plate and the summer garden. The plate triggered back my interest in the vessel, my garden help me see my deep connection with plants that had not been clear before, and I also found my self overly frustrated by the influx of waste on campus especially on game day and the lack of concern for trash vs. recycling or lack there of.

So today it started, included are a few pictures that follow my through my day.

Arrowmont Surface Workshop

Arrowmont Surface Workshop


Last weekend, I attended a surface design workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with the wonderful Chandra DeBuse! It was a weekend filled with lots of laughs, hard work, tea, and not much sleep...

Decal Demo with Chandra.

The workshop was focused on surface design we started the class making color studies and designing paper plates. It seems very low tech but it was a wonderful way to get ideas out onto forms. It also made for a little more excitement then using my sketchbook. I will be use this activity in my classroom in the future!

Decorated Paper Plates.

Group Conversation.

We Even Saw A Bear Outside the Window!

The next part of the workshop we used commercial plates to explore surface through color decals. Using the color studies and paper plate sketches as a guide. We also spent time talking about content in our work and how it surfaces (in color for example). I have long been interested in the human body but have been questioning how my new found interest in medicinal plants can merge with the body.

Decal Plates Fresh Out of the Kiln.

The Class Picture.

Arrowmont BFF's Emily, Me, Katie, Chris

Being Silly.

Plates, Plates, Plates.

Some of My Weekend Creations.

A big THANK YOU to Linda Arbuckle who designed this course and Chandra DeBuse who was willing to come in a fill the big shoes! If you ever get the chance I highly recommend you take a workshop with Chandra!

500 Teapots Volume 2

500 Teapots Volume 2 is finally here! I am excited to announce that you will find my work inside. My teapot is on page 104! I also noticed the teapot of a good friend Marah Gaiti, way to go!!

You can purchase a copy online, it was cheapest through Barnes and Noble.

John Glick

Studio Visit at Plum Tree Pottery with John Glick

Forrest & John inspecting work fresh out of the kiln!

The story starts with a visit to Schaller Gallery in St. Joseph, MI. We were leaving my hometown in west Michigan and headed to Detroit to spend the night with my sister. We had been trying to make a stop to see the gallery for a while and we decided it was the perfect time. So we took the scenic route down to St. Joseph. It was a pleasant visit with Anthony that ended in a Birdie Boone purchase and a surprise wedding present! 
Anthony facilitated a visit to John Glick's studio the following day. We had a wonderful visit with John and his studio assistant Julia Walther. John had spent a large portion of his career as a studio potter suffering from Sciatica. He has devised a setup for throwing standing up. He uses a modified Soldner professional model wheel with leg extensions. He designed a back brace that is attached to the wall. The brace can move up and down to adjust for people of different heights. He wrote two helpful articles in Studio Potter published in 1987/2001.  To Sciatica and Back, and From Herniation to Rupture Down the Spinal Canal. You can access them through his website or www.studiopotter.org. They are both quick but informative reads. If you are one of the many with pain anywhere in your body it is a helpful read to guide you through rethinking the physical demand of your studio practice. 

John with his wheel and back brace.

I was interested to see John's system in person and to stand against the back brace. What I found most interesting is that the brace is actually two pieces one that fits into your upper lumbar and another at the buttocks/sacrum. This forces you to have a proper upright posture. Thankfully I do not have Sciatica by the sounds of it, it is excruciatingly painful. But I do have arthritis and I am always trying to reduce the stress on my body. I have moved my wheel to a standing position but I have not built the back brace, that will come soon! I have noticed though after a throwing session that my feet hurt and they ache for days. I have a standing pad below but it might not be enough support. I guess we are always playing a game of give and take.

In his first article in To Sciatica and Back, John says "If I could give a lasting gift to all potters it would not be a wonderful glaze formula or a new tool. Instead I would give the gift of awareness about the wise use of our bodies." Thank you John, I appreciate your gift and I will take it with me and I hope those of you reading this will take time to read John's articles and think about your body as it relates to your studio practice.

The glaze lab where all the buckets are raised off the ground.

Thanks for reading,
-Forrest & Jeni
View John's work at www.johnglick.com

Summer 13 Student Work

Some work from my students this past summer term. I promise some of my own work will be posted soon! I might be a little bias but I feel like I have the most wonderful students every semester. They work hard and accomplish so much. This past summer terms was a little different trying to fit so much into a shorter period of time but the students surpassed all my expectations and created a great body of work! I am looking forward to a few even becoming majors!- jeni