Suzet's Studio Blog

I'm into Throwing Big Bowls

Lately, I have been on a bowl making kick. Not just cereal bowls, but larger. It started when I told my sister I'd make her another one because her dog jumped up on the counter and broke the one I had made for her years ago. Now, I am obsessed with making the perfect size, shape and thickness to match my mental image. I'm going to post the process as I get closer to the final one in the series. The image is the second one in the series. I am trimming the foot. Stay tuned for the evolution of the fruit bowls.

Who knows what I will go after next. 

I think it is super important to keep learning. Even if you have learned something before, there are a million ways people teach it that can make it new to you. It has been years since I threw on the wheel. Now that I am teaching ceramics again I thought I had better brush up on my skills. I'm taking a six week class from master potter Gary Gall. He is showing us how he throws off the hump. His specialty are these thrown goblets. Pretty cool, ah?

Using Wallpaper Sample Pages

Sometimes as an art teacher you have to create lessons backward. By that I mean you have to look at a pile of something you have acquired and make it work to help teach the masses without breaking the budget. 

Well, wallpaper sample books are my focus right now. They are taking up half the garage and I have more on the way, so it is crunch time. Last year we painted portraits on them with acrylic paints. That worked well for high school, but in middle school we only have tempera paint. That is a "no go" for sticking on the surface of wallpaper that is made to repel the gunk of everyday life. So I decided to try out the process of paper weaving using complementary colors. We can study Bridget Riley and Victor Vaserely and use the principle of rhythm. So, I made this video of my late night adventures of making a project with my wallpaper sample pages. I hope it helps you out if you r garage is full of the discarded books as well.

 

Making Life Size Figure Sculpture (Scarecrows)

To increase tourism in our little beach community the local Historical Society decided to try out a Scarecrow Festival in October three years ago. The first year there were a few dozen scarecrows around the Museum. It  was pretty sad, really. But Taylor Hilden did not give up. She had a vision and she would not stop until it took shape. 

She contacted me and my artis friend Jennifer Starr to help her get this Scarecrow thing going. We agreed to do a few workshops in the summer to help people feel confident enough to make something for the next festival. I also started working at the High School and figured it would be a great lessonplan to get the students involved in something that was connected to the community. Bingo. The second annual Scarecrow fest caught on. Everyone was enchanted by all of the scarecrows that popped up around town for a month. I think there were about 50.

This was the third year and boy was it a big deal! I think I spent most of last summer ether preparing for workshops or teaching them. I made a vidoe that highlights all the fun we had making scarecrows. And let me tell you these are not your standard Wizard of Oz scarecrows anymore! This time there were 200 plus adorning the town throughout October. You don't want to miss next year. It should be really amazing.

 

Well, with the close of the year comes goals and resolutions. I have several. Like most people I plan to eat healthier and exercise more. I also have several art goals for 2012. Here are a few:

■I am going to do more videos of short classroom lessons and projects. As you can guess, making videos and content for this site takes a lot of time and energy. Instead of trying to do this separate from my day job, I am going to try and make the videos while I have the stuff set up for my regular peeps. More How-To quick art lessons off the cuff.
■I am going to keep myself growing as an artist by attending as many different workshops and classes as I can to keep the flow of learning and teaching.
■I have to stay accountable for the growth, so I am also going to post more of my sketchbook pages and art I am working on. If you have had some gallery shows, you know that when you have a hard date that you have to meet, it lights a fire under your fanny. We are a lot like athletes that must have a game to stay motivated to practice. Art shows are like our games. I'm going to have to practice by producing and then have a show. First online and then find a location when it comes together.
■By the end of 2012 I am going to have a show of my work. There. I said it and wrote it down out loud to the world.

How about you? What's your art goal?