4th & clay is here to stay

Hello Friends,

If you are in the area please be sure to stop by this weekend and give us a visit. We will be open Saturday and Sunday from 11a.m until 6:00 p.m.

There are so many wonderful things to behold (and to have)!

like this...

Work by Josie Jurczenia

and this...

Work by Rae Dunn

and this...

Work by Diana Fayt

we had an unexpected guest Artist visit us this past weekend and he left us with this...

thanks Mel!

This Friday is our grand opening party from 7 until 10p.m.
Come on by and help us celebrate the opening of this fabulous new gallery!

sculpture in front by John Schnick

See you there!

the posse gets glossy

December 2007 Sunset magazine feature

I just received a copy of this months Sunset Magazine with a stunning spread of current West Coast Pottery. Not only is the the feature beautiful (thanks Jess!) but my bowls are also surrounded by work made by my friends (whom I admire so much) from the West Coast Pottery "Posse" as Whitney likes to call us. (see Whitney's beautiful cake stands, Sara's gorgeous votive, Rae's sweet ornaments & Joanna's fabulous bud vase!). Thank you Sunset! You have been so good to me over the years and I am always very honored when my work makes it onto your glossy pages!

let the holidays begin!

Come and join Josie, Rae, Susannah, John and me in four weekends of Holiday sales at 4th & clay in Berkeley! Yes folks in between the solo shows and filling wholesale and special orders, I am participating in four weekends of Holiday sales at the new 4th & clay studio in Berkeley. Yippee!

There are plenty of weekends to come and see what I have been up to so no complaining about me only having a one day sale (which is my usual M.O.) and that you couldn't make it...The only excuse I might accept is that you live in another country and it was hard to get a flight. I will be selling the usual suspects and some unusual ones too (things never seen before!) But you'll have to come and see for yourself.

*Here are the details*

Holiday Studio Sale
4th & clay
2390 4th Street @ Channing
Berkeley, California

11 a.m to 6 p.m.

November 24th & 25th
December 1st & 2nd
December 8th & 9th
December 15th & 16th

P.S. The Grand Opening Party will be on Friday November 30th from 7 until 10 pm. There will be live music, fun & ceramics for all.

a quiet moment

porcelain tags on linen thread available here

I am not sure about you but I am still scratching my head wondering what the hell happened to October? Thanksgiving is already next week! I wish I could slip a couple of extra weeks back in before the Holiday season kicks in to full gear. Alas it is only a wish and I suppose I have to buck up and just go with it.

I was able to get a little down time (a day) after my show but I am now back in the studio daily, from here on out until Christmas. I have orders, man do I have orders to fill and I am wondering how I will ever manage to pull it all off. I have been having a lot of loss in the kiln lately which is anything but good. I have this order for a a set of twelve plates, a large platter and a large bowl. Half of the plates have peeling issues and the platter though it is perfect on the front and looks wonderful, on the backside, the glaze puckered and peeled. So I have to start at square one and remake all the work.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the feasibility or better yet the sensibility of making a living from my ceramic work. I know it looks as if I might be getting rich off of my work. My prices may seem to suggest it but the truth of the matter is that I lose so much of it and spend so much time remaking work that already takes a tremendous amount of time to produce the first time around, I am lucky if I am even breaking even. I feel as if I am constantly swimming against the current. There aren't any easy solutions or quick fixes. It is simply just the way it is.

So in a quiet moment I returned to making my porcelain tags (which I have been making on and off for years now). They are simple and straight forward, no glaze, just very thin porcelain, stamped with a lead letterpress stamp (I have a large collection of letterpress images) and hung on a simple thin thread of linen. Something that I don't have to struggle with and that gives me some immediate gratification with a medium that is anything but immediate.

I wanted to share the quiet moment with you. If you would like one for yourself they are available here.

Enjoy the weekend friends!

good times at the candystore

First things first a big thank you to everyone who came out to my show on Thursday evening. So many people had a difficult time finding parking and I so appreciate you all sticking it out to show your support. It was such a fun evening. The babushkas flew out the door. I can't wait to have my first random babushka sighting!

I did a lot of talking about my new work which felt a little strange as I have been so involved in the making of the drawings that my thoughts on what they are about haven't completely gelled yet. I woke up the next morning with a very scratchy voice.

I think the drawings were hung too high (though they look so nice where they are) and the lights were reflecting off of the glass so it was kind of hard to see them up close (especially for short people). Sorry about that. There are plans to move the drawings to a different location in the store so that they will be easier to see.

Friends and family showed up and also a lot of people whom I had not met before.
(It was so nice to meet you!)

Last but most definitely not least a big thank you to my buddy Lisa, who in the midst of her insanely busy schedule took time out to help me hang the show and was not only the most excellent photographer for the evening but also the most stylish in her folk inspired outfit!

come on down...

To the Candystore tonight!


It is finally here my friends and I am so happy to breath a sigh of relief, put on a nice outfit and spend some time seeing friends and meeting some new ones.

The opening is from 6:30 until 8:30
at the Candystore
3153 16th Street
San Francisco, CA

If you are in the area please stop by and if we haven't met yet please do introduce yourself. I would love to meet you!

And if you are interested in purchasing anything from the show please contact the Candystore directly.

*Hope to see you there*

babushka love

This one is going to be short friends. I have babushkas to press and pack. A wall painting to finish, drawings that need picture wire put on their frames and dress shopping to do. Whew...And I would love to squeeze a manicure and pedicure in between it all is well.

My pal Lisa is going to help me install the show tomorrow. So not only do I get her most fabulous company but her magic touch as well. I am a very lucky girl!

Okay, gotta get back to the ironing board.

xo

p.s. The babushkas will be available for sale via the Candystore as of November 8th.

if you would like to take a peek

...inside my home take a look here. I am the featured "house call" on today's Apartment Therapy SF. (thank you Ahn-Minh). And if this isn't enough, I got a double dose of happiness on Tuesday from Jan and Grace over at Poppytalk and design*sponge.

No wonder my stomach has been doing flip flops all week!