Is there a cat person on your gift list?

Tags

cats, Christmas, raku, Val Webb

I have one remaining hand-carved raku kitty tile remaining in the studio. I love drawing (and carving) cats, because they are such expressive creatures…a plump and sleepy housecat is the perfect picture of contentment. This kitty was carved from a slab of raku clay, then glazed and fired, and is now ready to find a home. The tile measures 5 inches by 5 inches, and has hanging hardware fired into the back.   $30

Here’s the same tile in its early stages, freshly carved and unfired. Enjoy!

Blue? Green? Now you can have both

Tags

birds, ecology, raku

 

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has purchased a Brown Pelican raku tile to benefit Mobile Baykeeper’s ongoing work related to oil spill recovery on the Gulf coast. In addition to the original turquoise background with carved black “frame” border, I’ve introduced a contemporary design option featuring a background in a copper green glaze, with a minimalist white crackle border. More choices! That’s always a good thing.

Both versions of the limited edition tile are available for $50.  Local orders can be picked up at my studio in Mobile, Alabama, but I’m happy to pack and ship anywhere in the US for $8.  Email me for more info.

2010 Fall Workshops & Studio Classes

Tags

art, food, illustration, raku, watercolor, workshops

New this season: Hands-On Artisan Pasta Workshop with Mark Perez and my own Holiday Raku Retreat. Enjoy!

Val Webb’s Art Workshops

Sketching in Watercolor and Ink (Saturday, Oct. 9 from 10-4, hosted by Space 301, Centre for the Living Arts)   Use pen and ink with watercolor wash to create lively sketches of the world around you: people, buildings, trees… we’ll even sketch our lunch! I will demonstrate simple on-the-spot drawing techniques, as well as tricks for capturing light and texture in a few quick strokes. Experiment with new and different sketch tools including walnut ink and water brushes. Learn informal lettering, to add a literary touch to your sketchbook. No experience necessary! Students will need to bring: Moleskine 8.5×5.5 watercolor sketchbook (available at Alabama Art Supply), #4 round watercolor brush,  set of inexpensive dry watercolors in a plastic case. Other materials provided by the instructor.  $75   ($65 for CLA members). To register, call Space 301 at 251-208-5671.

Once Upon a Paintbrush: Getting Started in Illustration (Saturday, Oct. 30 from 1-4pm at Mobile Museum of Art)   This lively, informative workshop for aspiring authors and illustrators — or anyone who loves children’s books — covers current market trends, creative page layout and character design. Learn how to use images to move a story forward and receive practical advice about submission packages, copyright protection, publishing contracts and illustration portfolios. This workshop is interactive, with lots of questions and discussion. Participants will take home a generous amount of illustrated resource material. Reservations required, space is limited. Workshop is FREE with museum admission. To sign up, email Val at studio@valwebb.com.

Holiday Season Raku Retreat (two Saturdays, Nov. 6 & 13, 10am-5pm both days)  Handbuild, carve, glaze and fire… two full days of bas-relief handmade raku tile, from inspiration to completion. No experience necessary. 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 as a pair will receive a reduced rate. Raku Retreats are offered only twice each year, and space is very limited. $125   Email to reserve a spot: studio@valwebb.com.

 

Culinary Workshops with Mark Perez

Hands-On Artisan Pasta Workshop (Saturday, Oct. 2 from 10am-4pm, lunch provided)   Experience a memorable afternoon of pasta making — and eating — as you learn to make classic egg noodles, whole wheat fettucine and spinach or tomato-basil pasta. Enjoy a professionally prepared pasta lunch made with fresh, local ingredients. At the end of the day, take home all the fresh pasta you have made. Limited to 4 participants; there is a small deposit required to reserve a spot.   $85  Email studio@valwebb.com for information.

Cheesemaking Workshop: Mozzarella (Saturday, Oct. 3 from 1-4pm) Transform a gallon of milk into a pound of fresh mozzarella cheese. Mark will guide you through the process to make a delicious, gourmet-quality cheese. It takes less time than making a trip to the grocey store, but after you have made your own, you’ll never want store-bought mozzarella again. Bring a gallon of milk and take home the cheese you make. All supplies included. There will also be a demonstration of easy homemade Greek-style yogurt and yogurt cheese. $45 includes informal cheese tasting. To register, email Val at studio@valwebb.com.

 

Val Webb’s Studio Art Classes

Botanical Drawing – Tuesday Evening Class (6 weeks beginning Oct. 5, 6:30-8:30pm)  Botanical drawing is experiencing a renaissance today, and here in south Alabama we have an abundant supply of interesting subject matter: native coastal plants, tropical flowers, year-round gardens full of herbs and heirloom vegetables. We’ll use traditional scientific drawing methods to create realistic botanicals in pencil, ink, colored pencil and gouache. No experience necessary, all supplies provided.  $100     To register, email Val at studio@valwebb.com.

Botanical Drawing – Thursday Afternoon Class (6 weeks beginning Oct. 7, from 2-5pm)  This class is very similar to the Evening class, but provides six additional hours of instruction due to the longer, three-hour class sessions.    $120    Email studio@valwebb.com to register.

Drawing the Details – Wednesday Evening Class (6 weeks beginning Oct. 6, from 6:30-8:30pm)  This fun and relaxed class covers a wide range of handy skills and techniques in basic drawing practice. Develop your ability to use graphite and ink as we draw subjects ranging from local landscapes to people and animals. Suitable for all levels of art experience. You’ll be amazed by what you create!  Supplies provided.   $100   Email studio@valwebb.com to register.

The iris and the swallowtail

Tags

botanical art, butterflies, flowers, pottery, raku, Val Webb

Remember the Lousiana iris I was carving into a slab of raku clay a while back? It’s all finished now… just in time to make its public debut at the opening of the Entre’ Arts studio/cafe/gallery tomorrow night.

Brown Pelican raku art to benefit Baykeeper

Tags

birds, ecology, raku

I’m very proud to be working with Gulf Coast environmental organization, Mobile Baykeeper, to help raise funds for ongoing conservation and recovery work related to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

My limited edition 7×7 Brown Pelican tiles are handmade, individually glazed and raku fired one at a time so that each is a unique artwork. I have signed and numbered each one, and a nichrome wire hanger is fired into the back so that can be hung indoors or out. Net proceeds for every sale go directly to Mobile Baykeeper. The cost to purchase a tile is $50. (Shipping in the US is $8.)

Check, money order or PayPal are welcome. Email studio@valwebb.com to place your order. 

In the studio: Koi garden

Tags

bellingrath gardens, raku, Val Webb

My favorite spot in all 63 acres of Bellingrath Gardens is the tranquil, otherworldly Asian Garden. I spent a misty morning there last fall, on a field sketching day with my “Drawing the Natural World” class. We sat along a footpath at the water’s edge, watching lazy koi slide past us beneath the surface of the lotus pond. Now I’m carving some raku wall panels inspired by those sketches. Here is the first of them, 36 inches tall, drying out so that it can go into the bisque kiln next week. I use a needle tool to sketch the rough drawing on the slab, then begin carving to create a three-dimensional effect.

If you ever find yourself passing through coastal Alabama on Interstate 10, take a detour south into Theodore and spend an afternoon exploring Bellingrath Gardens. There’s something for every horticultural taste: a conservatory stuffed with mature tropicals, a formal rose garden, a towering bamboo forest, woodland pocket gardens alive with brilliant butterflies. People flock into the area to see the annual profusion of azaleas in late spring, but I like the softer colors and textures of decades-old plantings that slowly evolve as the years pass. Time seems to slow down on the grassy bank of a lotus pond, a place made for relaxing with a sketchbook. The longer you look, in a spot like the Asian garden, the more you’ll see.

An especially grand Grandman

Tags

birds, ecology, raku

Here’s a riddle for you.

Q: When does a vegetarian clay artist smell like a smoked ham? A: When she has been raku firing 40 carved tiles (cough, cough).

Another Grandman Triathlon has come and gone, and this year I based the trophy design on a variation of host organization Mobile Baykeeper’s distinctive heron logo. The result was simple and clean; I think it might be my favorite of the past five years’ raku race tiles. What do you think?

Due to the Gulf oil spill (and the fact that Mobile Baykeeper’s mission is to protect our coastal watershed) this year’s race was especially poignant. And especially newsworthy, apparently: it was covered in the New York Times.

For the special herb gardener in your life

Tags

art, creativity, gardening, gifts, raku

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. )

Raku egret panel: All fired up!

Tags

art, birds, botanical art, flowers, pottery, raku, Val Webb

Hooray! All the tiles survived the rigors of raku firing and now the panel is ready to be permanently affixed to its backing.

My favorite part of this project: carving the wing feathers.

I love the way botanical subjects look in raku. It’s such a great technique for subjects drawn from nature — and sometimes you get a nice little gift from the fire: an unexpected flash of pure copper, pulled from the glaze during the oxygen-starved reduction stage.  I bury the hot tiles under mounds of fresh wood shavings, where they smolder for a minute or two before being quenched in a cool water bath. I think the copper that appeared in the background sets off the canna leaf quite nicely!

This 44×22 panel will be auctioned off tomorrow night at Phantasy for the Arts, a fundraising event for the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation.

Raku egret: Carving completed…

Tags

art, birds, botanical art, flowers, pottery, raku, Val Webb

…and now begins 5 or 6 days of slow, careful drying. After the moisture has evaporated from the clay, the panel will be an inch shorter and the tiles will be ready for their first firing to 1825 degrees.