New Happenings
The last few months seem to have gone by in a blur of stress and excitement. I found myself amidst a marathon of making, speaking, demonstrating, and travelling last semester.
First, I had two person show in Oak Park just outside Chicago at Terra Incognito with my friend Jim Gotusso. The show was accompanied by a two day workshop in the studio. I brought some leather-hard pots with me so that I could easily show the attendees the full process of building my work, from throwing to trimming to assembly. I managed to get these four made. As usual, I greatly overestimated the amount of ground I would be able to cover in two days, but feel that everyone got a pretty good sense of what I do, and all the hidden challenges of getting my work to survive. I always enjoy these smaller workshops for the chance to get to know people. A couple of the people travelled from out of state to attend, making this workshop extra special.
On the way to Chicago for this, I was invited to do a mini three hour workshop at Harper College in Palatine. I was astounded by the size and equipment of the studio.
Upon my return from that, it was a mad race to finish a lot of work for a round of shows. I have been thinking lately that it I have been taking on too many projects, but the opportunities that have come my way were too good to pass up. At times it felt like I was on the verge of burning out. I was putting in long hours whether or not I felt like making work on a particular day. Pots crowded all flat surfaces of the studio as I assembled as many as 25 pieces a day.
The most recent show to go up was my Solo Exhibition at Lillstreet Studios in Chicago. I delivered 57 pieces of varying colors, shapes, and sizes. I was not able to make the opening, but that just happened on Saturday.
Today I find myself at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena Montana as a summer resident. I am beginning to install a grouping of work for our Resident Artist Exhibition, which opens on Thursday.
More on the Archie Bray Foundation soon!
Sounds like a lot has been happening. This is Good!
I’ve still got the idea of owning one of your pieces on my wish list. I will have to wait, a bit, it seems, but eventually.
Keep it up and congratulations on all the success!
Hello Jeff,
I just wanted to post a quick note to tell you that the RSS feed for this blog has been added to the Potters and Ceramic Artists Blog Feed at Pottery Making Info. Thanks for all the hard work with your clay and your blog!