Sarah
The Mercurial Gallery
This weekend my friend and I went to The Mercurial Gallery in Danbury CT
for the opening reception of their Staff Show.
We also stopped by Erin Walrath's studio, which is right next door to the Mercurial.
Although I'm always meeting different artists, there isn't a huge art scene in Western Connecticut, so I am happy to see the Mercurial Gallery doing well, and I hope this means that more will follow.
♥ Jessica
I Heart Tucson
Matt and I ventured down to Tucson for a celebration of Matt's birthday and our anniversary. We both love Tucson and always have a great time. We visited a great gallery in the Tucson train station.Obsidian Gallery
The gallery has a nice layout. The remodel of the train station is amazing. They kept many of the old features: doors and windows. Tucson really knows how to restore old buildings. I love the tiny details of the past mixed with the present.
I love how playful Max's ceramic pieces are. They are fun creatures with bright colors. They always make me so happy to look at them. Check out his website Max Lehman's
Matt really enjoyed this ceramic artist. I was impressed with his craftsmanship. I like how his work looks intricate, mechanical and delicate. Gerard Ferrari
Goodbye Tucson, we love you!!!!! See you soon.
Sarah
Inspiration
One of my inspiration for my ceramic's is my husband's drawings. He is always making drawings for everyone and I thought I would try to translate them onto clay. This is my first attempt and I had a little success.
This is a drawing of a moon boy.
One of our favorite activities to do is to ride our bikes.
Monkey Love.
It's Friday Bust a Move.
This is project is still a work in progress and I need to refine my skills on colored slips and what clay bodies to use to get the best results. I still wanted to share my progress and see what people thought. I enjoyed the process, but the end result was not what I wanted. Back to the potter's wheel I go.
Sarah
A Visit to MADE
Today I was looking for a birthday present for a friend and I thought of MADE. I have been selling at MADE since it opened in 2005. It is a great store in downtown Phoenix that sells handmade items made mostly by local artist, but also carries artists from far away. One of these far away artists is Jessica.
Here are some of my berry bowls on display. I love how the staff displays each item with special care. It is a fun store to browse for any holiday.
The store is located in a house. I enjoy how some of the house elements are still in place including a fireplace and kitchen area. It gives the store a warm inviting feel.
Here is one of my bowls. I love that there is a tie in it. MADE supports many different types of artists which makes finding a gift for anyone easy.
Here is Jessica's journals on display in a basket. I like her creativity of using a recycled Mike and Ike container as a cover to one of her journals.
Lastly, here is another one of Jessica's journals on display.
If you live in the area check it out next time you are downtown. If you do not live in the area check out there website MADE
Sarah
Film Review
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| Karen Karnes Karen Karnes is one of my all time favorite clay artist. She is an inspiration to me and how I approach clay. She has worked in clay for over 80 years and recently came out with a movie called Don't Know We'll See.Purchase the movie It is a great documentary of her exploration in the magic of clay. She has showed me how to slow down and appreciate nature and how it intertwines with the art material of clay. Sarah |
Craft and Folk Art Museum
This past week I got the chance to get out of the heat of Arizona and stay a whole week in California with some good friends and husband. When the weather was not good at the beach we headed to Los Angeles for the day. We visited the Craft and Folk Art Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. It is a small cute fun museum. There was two exhibits on display and a fabulous gift shop. We also had the opportunity to craft with Mark Montano who wrote The Big A** Book of Crafts 1 and 2.Purchase Mark's Book
Ehren Tool: Production or Destruction was a great ceramic show. Ehren Tool creates ceramics pieces to bring awareness to war. On each one of his one of kind pieces he uses images of war to convey his message about war. It was a very powerful exhibit.
The fabulous gift shop had a fabulous employee who told me about her experience with clay. It was nice to talk to her and she recommended a great place to eat called Yuko Kitchen. The gift shop had some nice affordable ceramics.
Etsy Craft Night: Zip Tie Accessories led by Mark Montano was a fun event that we just happened to stumble upon. Mark is a fun teacher and we each made three bracelets to remember are adventure to Los Angeles.
Sarah
Re-Binding
So... I thought I took some "Before" pictures of this old Hoyle book before I re-bound it. Oops.
As I mentioned in my Interview, I have always wanted to learn to rescue old books. So, this is my first attempt.
The book was published in the 1940s, and in the intervening years, the cover had become a bit worn, and the spine had gone all wonky. I deconstructed it, leaving the signatures sewed and glued together. I re-shaped the spine and reinforced it. I then sewed headbands, added a bookmark, and attached a new cover with decorative endpapers.
I decided to do a simple embroidered title on a cloth cover.
For those of you who don't know, Hoyle books contain all the rules to card games, so although this book is old, it is still a great resource because the rules to most card games don't change much.
♥ Jessica
Coptic Bound Art Journal
Books with exposed spines aren't my favorite because I think they look unfinished, but I will admit they serve a purpose. A coptic bound journal with an exposed spine lays flat, which makes it ideal for Art Journals.
The first step in making this journal was making the "signatures." I tore large sheets of Canson watercolor paper down to size. I like the deckled-edge look of torn paper. They were then folded in half along the paper's grain.
Paper grain direction is very important in bookbinding. If you would like more information, check out this tutorial over at My Handbound Books (my favorite bookbinding blog).
Once my signatures were folded, I cut two pieces of cardboard to the right shape.
Since I would be sewing the covers right to the signatures, I covered them with paper and punched holes in them.
Next, I punch holes in the signatures using an awl.
Then I sew everything together. I also glue the spine with clear flexible bookbinding glue. This step isn't necessary, but I like to reinforce the spine.
Done!
I hope you enjoyed my little show and tell!
♥ Jessica
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