You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'creativity' tag.
This is what I want to find in my stocking on Christmas morning: raku pottery garden markers from Sweet Paisley. Choose from a selection of herb names or request your own, all for $4.
I grow basil, mint, chives and oregano. (Hint, hint. )
My mom, the bravest person I know, was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer four months ago. About to have her sixth round of chemo — with surgery scheduled for early September – she is navigating this strange new landscape with her usual upbeat enthusiasm.
But watching her journey has made me more aware of the prevalence of this disease. And when Anne Leuck Feldhaus posted the following note on Facebook this week, I wanted to help somehow:
Anna Millea, a longtime Guild and Artful Home artist, is fighting breast cancer — again. The disease has returned aggressively and is now in her bones, requiring an extreme sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. She has no insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her “pre-existing condition.”
Artful Home will hold a 5-day online event, “Hearts for Anna”, August 12-16, 2009 in which miniature artworks, no larger than 5” x 7”, will be sold. The items will be sold first-come, first serve, with all items selling for $100 on Day 1, $75 on Days 2 – 4, and $50 on Day 5. All money will go to a fund that goes directly to Anna Millea to help pay for her medical bills.
Wonderful, original artworks from across the country have been donated for this special sale. You can see them all here.
The sale will take place at http://artfulhome.com starting Aug. 12.
Please consider making a purchase, and pass this message along to others who love beautiful handmade things. Thank you!
Here are the fall classes and workshops I will be offering in my own studio. All levels of art experience are welcome here – every class is taught in an atmosphere of relaxation, encouragement and discovery. To reserve a place or ask a question, you may call me anytime at 251-510-9615 or email studio@valwebb.com.
MONDAY NIGHT RAKU CLASS
Mondays 6:30-8:30pm, 8 weeks, starts 8/24/09
Learn to create handmade relief (carved) tile in the traditions of the Art Nouveau masters. Use slab construction to make raku cylinders and boxes. Fall in love with the magical firing process that combines earth, air, fire and water to dramatically transform your artwork. All tools, clay, glazes and firing included. $120
DRAWING THE NATURAL WORLD
Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm, 8 weeks, starts 8/27/09
Sharpen your powers of observation and see plants and animals in a whole new way. Learn to use pencil, ink and watercolor to bring your nature drawings vividly to life. Explore scientific illustration techniques – absolutely no previous drawing experience necessary. We will have at least one field drawing day at a location to be decided by the class. Bring a sketchbook – everything else is provided. $120
WORKSHOP: CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATION
Saturday, Sept. 19 from 1:30-5:30pm
This afternoon workshop covers page layout and book design, how to write query letters and put together a submission package, current publishing trends, copyright, how to use images to move a story forward, build an
illustration portfolio, negotiate an illustration contract and more. Includes refreshments and a folder full of take-home resource material. $45
FALL RAKU RETREAT
Two Saturdays: Oct. 3 and Oct. 10, 10am-5pm both days
Handbuild, carve, glaze and fire… two full days of slab-built raku pottery and handmade tile, from inspiration to completion. While you work, a gourmet meal will be professionally prepared for you using fresh ingredients from our organic garden. Indulge your creative spirit (and your appetite)! Couples, friends or family who register together will receive a reduced rate. $120
This week, Asiatic lilies sketched in April found their way onto a slab-built raku clay box. It will be fun to see how these big, bold blooms translate into raku pottery. Here’s the sketchbook page, drawn while sitting in the Perfect Man’s lovely cut-flower patch:
On the last day of the Raku Retreat, we fired the students’ tiles. Here are a few:
I love hosting Raku Retreats. They take place three times a year, in the little cottage that houses my clay studio. Students spend two consecutive Saturdays here, eating meals from our rambling organic garden and learning to make carved raku tiles. They go home with several finished pieces, lots of fresh ideas, and an assortment of herbs and seedlings from the garden.
So, yesterday was a day of glazing in the cottage, firing on the raku patio and mold-making under the trees. We took a midday break for a scrumptious lunch prepared and served by the Perfect Man (black bean soup with fresh green tomato salsa … just-harvested garden potatoes in dill … grilled chicken wraps … and then … bananas foster… mmm). A flaming dessert seemed like the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon of raku.
I can hardly wait until next time.
…I worked on a relief carving of a purple coneflower instead.
Happy drawing!
… in the garden shed is Beatrix, named for a certain beloved author/illustrator whose stories were often set in gardens. Thank you to everyone who suggested names for her!
The carved tile we’ll use in tonight’s pottery class moldmaking demo was inspired by a sweet little homeless cat who has taken up residence in our tool shed. We first saw her yesterday, curled up on a shelf next to the pruning shears. She’s a pretty little calico, very young and very skinny. She was shy at first, but a continuous supply of food and water has brought out her sociable side.
Any suggestions for a gardening-related name?
Just like our garden, some studio work is seasonal. Annual commissions return each year at their appointed dates, as predictably as hardy perennials. Every spring, for the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of designing and producing the race trophies for the Grandman Triathlon. In a feat of physical ability that makes me tired just to THINK about, 400+ athletes from across the nation come to coastal Alabama to swim 1/3 mile in Mobile Bay, bike 16.4 miles and run more than 3 miles — all in 85-degree weather with 90 percent humidity. Whew. The race benefits Mobile Baykeeper, a watchdog organization working to keep our region’s watershed healthy and viable.
Each raku tile trophy starts with a sketch. Here’s the one for this year:
It’s a little challenging to come up with a new design each year. The ideal art features the triathlon events and includes a reference to the Mobile Bay coastal ecology. The first year, the trophy ended up as a whimsical Art Deco homage to fleet-footed Mercury, with a bicycle wheel and water:
The following year, the design evolved into a heron — but the bike wheel lingered:
In 2007, the tile design headed off in a simpler direction — a relief carving of a pelican in flight. This is my favorite of all the trophy tiles, so far:
Last year, art students at Spring Hill College designed a logo for the event. Naturally, the 2008 race trophy was based on that…
…which brings us up to this year’s trophy again. Ideas for 2010, anyone?
