Holding on to those moments

There are so many moments that make me want to hold onto summer for just a little longer.  This year we managed to find a totally new swimming spot in Vernon (we've been holidaying here with our friends for about 10 years- thought we had all the good spots dialed!), spending 2 full days of our holiday enjoying the view, the little beach hut, and the cool water.  I'm not a real sun-bather and get pretty worried about the possibility of skin cancer creeping up on my fair and freckled skin.  Sometimes this clouds my ability to really enjoy beach days as I'm constantly re-applying sun-screen or seeking out shade for the boys and myself.  My Mr. is of the belief that sunscreen causes cancer- even though we use the paba-free kind and, of course, he rarely gets burned so that's easy for him to say.

The boys start school tomorrow and the fall kicks off with a bang on the studio front.  I have shop orders coming out the wazoo these days, all of which I already feel behind on, even though it's only September 3rd.  It's the month I start thinking about my holiday shows, so I'm doing a whole lot of planning and organizing to hopefully be prepared.  This summer was all about the new studio and trying to come up with a strategy for how to grow or change some of the things that feel as though they are holding me back as a maker.  Attending the Forage Symposium at the end of our 2 week holiday felt a little like plunging into a cold lake on a hot day.  The symposium included panel discussions and guest speakers from a variety of creative practices and businesses and I learned so much.  As a way to process this, I've been writing a number of blog posts, hoping to wade through the sometimes murky waters of this self-employed creative life.  I appreciate feedback on this blog and with these posts, will appreciate it more then ever.  As much as it's to process my own thoughts, I also hope that it creates a dialogue in the process.

hello again!

Hi everyone!  I'm back at home with the boys, looking over my photos from the last month and marveling how many wonderful people and places were part of our holiday time.  I'm looking forward to sharing some highlights on the blog with little snippets of some of the sweet spots we found, but with the long weekend coming up I'll save it for when the boys are back in school (ack- tuesday already??).

See you next week with some exciting news on the dahlhaus front too! And if you are needing to kick-start your inspiration this fall, don't forget to check out Stephanie Levy's Creative Courage course- the bios of her 'Soul Sister's' are up here!
Have a great last injection of summer!

dahlhaus wedding registry new shop and feed-back

I just finished a wedding registry from this past year (there was the wedding and then the after-wedding a number of months later, so the registry took a little longer then most) and have another registry on the go so I thought I would  create a special shop that can be exclusively for a registry.  It's always special to work with people who really understand all the time and effort that goes into my work, but also it's a real privilege to be able to create work with them and their life in mind.  Recently I received some really wonderful feed-back and thought I would share it here on my blog- just the names were changed  (to... for privacy) otherwise, this is coming straight from them and it means so much!

"We love, love, LOVE our Dahlhaus collection. It has been such a great pleasure and privilege working with you over the past year to collect the pieces we wanted all together, and we have been blessed with lovely friends and family who wanted to help us to do that. We now have a unique and lifelong reminder of our wedding, the love of our family and friends, and a daily representation of our life together, all channeled through your artistry and talent.

When we embarked on the planning for our wedding and celebrations, I didn't really 'get' the whole wedding registry thing, or see why people often signed up for a dinner service or glassware etc. Perhaps most of the time, I just found their choices a bit too fancy or staid or conservative for my taste. But in any case, I didn't 'get' that it could mean a lot to have this special set of ceramic ware that every time you looked at it, took it out, used it, enjoyed it, that it would actually symbolize something greater than it's intrinsic loveliness.

Thank you so much for being an important part of creating ... memories of a truly wonderful year. We will raise a teacup or two to you on our 1st anniversary in October, and every anniversary after that, not to mention all the occasions in between, when your work will be pressed into service in our home and shared with our friends and family."

Creative Courage course by Stephanie Levy

Stephanie Levy is an illustrator, artist, blogger, and mom to 2 beautiful girls living in Berlin who I've been able to connect with online over the last couple of years!  She has been offering an online course called 'Creative Courage' which is meant to inspire you on your creative journey in life!  The early-bird registration for her latest course is online here, where you will notice a new line-up of artists and makers that she'll be interviewing as part of the course.  I'm honoured to be included, alongside some of my favourite designers, makers and bloggers like Heather Moore, Arounna Khounnoraj, Victoria Smith and Alicia Paulson, just to name a few.  Along with these exclusive interviews, Stephanie will be generously sharing from her own wealth of experience, encouraging you on your own creative endeavors while connecting you to a broader creative community! It's an amazing opportunity to grow and pursue your own creative dreams- I know I'm looking forward to it!

Heading out on the open road & Forage

Just popping in to let you know that I'll be heading out on a road-trip Boler-style with the family for a last hurray to Summer! On our way we'll be traveling in the mountains past Whistler all the way down into the Okanagan, heading south and then west again over to Vancouver Island.  It's beautiful country and you can follow along on my instagram if you like, otherwise, come on back in September for some highlights!

While on the Island I'll be heading to Gabriola for a conference called Forage where I'm looking forward to meet some amazing ceramic people along with other makers, designers and artists from Western Canada.  It's a great group and we'll be pounding the pavement on so many issues and topics concerning creating sustainable practices as makers.  It should be a really great time!

See you in a couple of weeks! Have a great last few weeks of summer!

As summer slips along...

Sometimes it feels easier just to take my phone out and snap a quick shot of something that is inspiring me or to save a moment- instagram is just the thing, heh?  So the studio is slowly coming together- I hope to show some more photos soon, in the meantime, I've added a few things to make it feel more at home while I try to finish up my orders for the summer!  I have been on my own with the kids for a few weeks now- during the week Dean has had to work or been away at his camp, so my days have been busy with keeping the boys happy.  Not always an easy task, but an ice cream cone, a hike to Bridal Falls goes a long way!  And the Turquoise Boler- just my colour!  We haven't had time to take our family Boler out on the road this summer yet- hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will take it out with us on the road!  It's too bad our Boler really only sleeps 3, but oh well- we do have a tent and the boys are still keen to sleep in tents;)!  

Hope your summer is going swimmingly!

Making time to make

 I'm a bit of a goal-setting kind of girl.  Nothing official, just a good little mental list of things I'd like to do.  This year being my 5th year of being a full-time maker, I figured I would include a few new goals to the list.  One of these goals included taking a workshop just for fun.  You know- some kind of making workshop that didn't break the bank, wasn't going to take up a ton of time, but something that just gave me a reason to make something different for a change. 
Last weekend was the Gather Pop-Up Shop and they offered a bunch of workshops by some really talented people- one of them being the brains behind the blog: The Jealous Curator- which is a really amazing blog to find great artists.  Danielle Krysa, aka the jealous curator, is a graphic designer, a collage artist, a mom, and a blogger.  Sometimes its just so great to connect a face to a blog you've admired!
So anyways I had some fun making something I don't usually make, with materials I don't often think about using, painting with colours I don't often choose.  We did a little drilling, a little embroidering, a little painting, a little cutting, glueing, and some photo transferring- super fun!  It wasn't about the out-come and that was kind of refreshing. 

Farewell Aunt Nettie

We received the news this past weekend that my great-aunt Nettie passed away. My great-aunt was a potter for many years who inspired me to keep at it in the ceramics department when I was in college.  She lived in Ontario and wasn't able to visit too often, but when she did, she was such fun, had such energy and her passion for clay was huge.  She would phone me to talk about pottery and she found a way to ship a wheel, books, and supplies to me before my final year at Art school.   Her passion for pottery was contagious as I began to think about how I could make a career out of clay.

After caring for her husband who died of cancer, my aunt fell very ill.  Uncharacteristically, she couldn't get out of bed and was unable to move and speak without her speech being slurred.  It was as though she had had a stroke, although doctors were saying that it was a type of Parkinsons disease that had come on suddenly.  After many years it became apparent that she wasn't going to recover so she was put in the care of a very good home.  My dad's cousin and wife (she never had children, but 'adopted' her nephew's family as her kids) cared for her, visited her, helped her write and publish part of her life story, connected her with her potter's guild friends, and even helped make plans for me to visit her last year.  We knew she was getting close to the end of her life- she was 89 turning 90 next week, so her passing wasn't a surprise.  Her life will be remembered on Friday but her legacy in clay will remain and live on -hopefully in a way through me, but also through the many people she mentored and encouraged at the Waterloo Potter's Workshop, where she had many friends and colleagues in clay. 

I spent a few hours co-ordinating flights for my Aunt Tina and my grandma (Nettie's sisters) who will be going with my dad to the memorial.  With Dean away this week I wasn't able to attend- but I'm sure it will be a meaningful time. 

hello espresso!

I am not an espresso drinker- I'm more of a latte lover, where as Dean (my guy) loves his espresso.  A number of years ago I started working on espresso cups and saucers for Dean's sake coming up with more non-floral glaze ideas for my espresso cups that suited him more then myself. 
This latest set that I pulled out of the kiln recently was a special request for a wedding gift.  The glaze combination was one I hadn't attempted yet and I think it's really quite sweet!  Dean gave his nod of approval on the size, shape, and handle combo- he's kind of my espresso cup and saucer critique go-to.  At least he certainly has his share of opinions;)!  Here are some of my other attempts at espresso cups in years gone by...

Espresso but no saucers and too small handles 2009

 an attempt at espresso, but apparently way too big- this is more of a latte... (2010)

these were made for my recent blue & white show- I say espresso, he says cappuccino (2012)

Apparently a true espresso cup needs to be white on the inside.  I, however, prefer the palest blue- not only do I know this glaze well enough that it shouldn't craze over time, but I think pure white looks a little cold or maybe would look too manufactured or something.
 Also handles are kind of tricky on such a short and small shape that has to nestle on top of a saucer.  Clearly there needs to be enough room between the handle and the saucer, but also there needs to be enough room (I think) for a finger to get in the hole.  I have small hands, so my fingers fit in a lot of handles that Dean's don't.
And then there is the shape of the mug part.  Retaining heat is important.  So not too wide at the top.  At the same time, someone needs to be able to drink out of the opening. Super small openings don't lend themselves well to drinking out of.  So I always get a bit torn with how wide to leave the opening. 
One day I will hopefully get all the elements right- creating the quintessential espresso cup and saucer! In the meantime, I'm always glad for the opportunity to get back to the drawing board, making a very few at a time and seeing what true espresso lovers think.  It's a good challenge, trying to make the most particular espresso drinker enjoy their espresso that much more!

Hope you have a great weekend! It's been great to have everyone comment and share on my blog recently- I'm so thrilled when a good multi-sided conversation can exist around the business and practice of making art full-time.  It's also great to have people from all over the world pipe in and share their experiences from their own country. Clearly the medium that joins us is a love of clay- this translates in any language and culture!  So thank you for being part of this place!

Gnomes in the neighbour's yard

 I imagine these little guys looking up at my elderly neighbour on the balcony, cheering her on!  She fell a few weeks ago and mildly chipped a hip bone- thank goodness it was a soft grassy landing. 

***

 Thank you for the feedback on my previous post on Craft Fairs!  Maybe it's just me, but I wonder whether there's been a bit of over-saturation in the 'craft show' department.  From my perspective, craft show organizers jumped on the band-wagon and just let nearly everything and anything into their shows over the past few years, not really doing the kind of curating that perhaps really needed to be done to make sure that everything in the show represented the best of. 

Perhaps too, the larger craft shows that have existed for a few decades have started to feel like a mall for those of us who are used to going to more intimate, smaller shows.  This was one of the reasons I had decided not to participate in the One of a Kind Show at Christmas- I just felt as though it was over-whelming people- this massive trade show style building with no natural light and no character.  It hardly seems in line with the slow craft movement.

It's also interesting to hear a little feedback on pricing.   There are a lot of great articles for craft/art people on how to price one's work.  Personally, I have always felt that the assumed value of ceramics was low compared to other art mediums.  Factor in the time spent to learn the craft of ceramics (years in school + workshops + community center courses + years of professional practice- for me this adds up to 18 years), include the time it takes me to turn around a full kiln-load of new work (2 weeks to make the wet work, 1 week to dry out and bisque, 1 week to glaze/glaze fire), plus add the cost of supplies, the cost of renting a studio, the cost of hiring occasional help to up-date the website/photograph the work/be a summer studio intern/make my production molds, plus the cost of the kilns, the cost of doing shows/travel to do shows, plus the biggest cost of all: wholesale, where the shop takes 50% of the retail price and now my $40 mug is actually only a $20 mug that I have to pay all those things with.  Not to mention bank/internet fees, business licenses and shipping/packaging costs, which always seem to ring in a little more then what I charge.  Did I mention that I like to pay myself sometimes?  Interestingly enough, I very rarely have extra stock- especially mugs in the studio- they sell out faster then I can make them.

No summer shows for me

Summer Market at Eugene Choo 2010

 Renegade Craft Fair, San Fransisco, 2011

Truth be told, there are these pangs of guilt I tend to feel when I open my facebook these days- every potter/artist I seem to know seems to be packing up for some summer show or farmer's market on the weekends.  I keep feeling like maybe I should have signed up for one, just to give it another try- were they really that bad? Yes.  Yes, they were that bad.

Here are some recent blog posts that remind me that I've made the right decision for myself.  I'm sure there are some tried and true summer art fairs out there, where the weather is balmy (not too hot, not too windy, but for sure sunny) and people attend in droves, generously supporting artists, understanding their price-points- not hesitating to buy a $40 mug because they know they will adore using this mug every day and that it's value will long outlast any of those cheap mass-produced mugs they bought at Ikea.  Perhaps there is a magical art show out there in the world that is a guaranteed sure-sell, making the booth cost of $400 for the weekend, along with travel and shipping expenses totally worth all the effort of standing in a booth for 2 long days.  But where this magical and perfect craft fair is, I know not. 

It may seem with all the photos online and the organizer's who boast of 'best attended show yet!' or 'sales were up 25% from last year', that those shows do exist out there in the world.  I'd love to hear about it, but generally speaking, I find most artist a little short about how the show went for them, as they are scrambling to pack up their work so they can get in the line up with their car to pack up the tent and all their stuff to be-line it for home.  Probably, like me, they just want to get home, crack open a bottle of wine, pour themselves a bath and shed a few tears, promising themselves that this kind of humiliation doesn't have to happen next summer.  That, yes, next summer will be different and the 'no shows this summer' will apply to them too. 

And for those who do frequent summer craft fairs- be kind.  Try to ask intelligent questions that can create an encouraging kind of conversation for an artist.  Craft shows are not for the faint of heart- they require such a lot of time and energy- when the show doesn't go well, it can be such a disheartening and frustrating venture. 

As for me, I'm hanging out with the boys for most of the rest of the summer.  It's just too much stress for me to manage shows and family right now and I'm happy to give myself a break.  I'll be making work for shops that hopefully will have good sales this summer.  And my online shop is always open- no wind to blow my work over, no 'I can make this at a fraction of the cost' comments, no 'where do you sell your work?' (answer: 'Here.  Right here and now!! Please buy from me now!!).  Just a nice little online shop with work that ships to your front door!

Yarrow days

I spent my teen years in a town about 1.5-2 hours (depending on traffic) from Vancouver called Yarrow.  It's a pretty little town with Vedder Mountain on one side and the Vedder river on the other.  My parents still live in the same house so this place holds lots of memories for me. Most of my summers as a teenager were spent at camp, babysitting, working at an apple farm picking apples, 'studying' for music theory exams by the river with my very good friend Kathleen, or tubing down the river with friends (and almost drowning a few times).
Last week my boys spent the week with my parents in Yarrow, going to a kids morning camp in town, taking  horseback riding lessons for the first time and going swimming.  They had a great time while I worked hard in the studio trying to finish up some orders.  My birthday was last week so I managed to have a low-key day at home while the kiln was cooling and then we had a little cake with family when we picked up the boys on Friday.  I'm slowly creeping towards 40 and must admit that I almost forget how old I am sometimes... is it 36 turning 37? or 37 turning 38? 
It's crazy to think that this is now the view from the backyard of my parent's place now.  That field used to be filled with hazelnut trees that fell ill to disease and were recently cut down.  Such a shame...here's a photo from this past spring where you can see how big the trees were.

summer porch suppers

 Made what I'm calling 'kaleslaw' with the abundance of kale that's growing in the garden.  It was a hit, so I'll probably be making it again.  

And I don't take that many photos these days... Dean likes to tease me about blogging every time I set the table nicely for friends to come over.  Phoey on him, I say. 

***

I moved into the new studio this week and am starting to get settled! Feels like a luxury with 40 extra sq. feet AND a space for storage!!  And the light from the window has been glorious.  Lots of studio friends from upstairs just pop their head in the window now to say hello- been thinking I should have  get the boys to run a popsicle or lemonade stand out there.  Anyways, thank you to those who have patiently been waiting on orders- I should be settled in and glazing work by next week. 

Have a great weekend!

From the vault: ceramic sculpture 2001

So this is the last bit of old work that was photographed in May by Curtis Hildebrand- ceramic sculptures from my Emily Carr grad.  The last year I was at Art school I decided to let go of functional ceramics to pursue painting and sculpture in a stronger way. 

My paintings at the time were approached very fresh and intuitively- I would make a wack load of canvases, choose about 2-3 colours plus black and white and then would just paint, without a lot of planning.  Over the course of several canvases, ideas would emerge in the form of shape, line, foreground and background, with marks that referenced the process by which I had painted them.  These circular organic shapes were part of this swirl of a thick brush that came back around- the motion of my hand twisting the paint around in a circle.  This circular motion for me became meaningful, eventually working it's way into the concept of connection- the connections between people, of friends, random connections and encounters on the street with people I had known.

With the significance of this idea of connection creating meaning within these abstract paintings, I decided to make these ceramic sculptures that pulled these shapes into the 3 dimensional realm.  Using a wooden template that I had cut out with a skill saw I made these slump molds that fresh slabs of a black clay body were stretched across.  This method creates volume as you flip around the template and create a slab using the other side (put to sides together and you have a pod-like shape).  Instead of using glaze- I left these pods un-glazed but burnished stripes in them, playing with the subtle glossy and matt reflected in the paintings.   For my final grad piece I hung it all on the wall together, playing around with how the paintings were connecting to each other and the sculpture was connecting to the painting.

In that cyclical way ideas come around, these shapes re-emerged in my early dahlhaus work (and then morphed into to the poppy design). 

Before and nearly after...

Ok, I'm not gonna lie.  When I got into the space last week without the previous tenants, I thought to myself- what have I done?  Did I make a huge mistake taking this studio on??? Because, let me tell you, it was pretty grim.  And grimy and gross.  It's been a silver jewelry studio for the past 7-9 years with multiple jewelers and layers of rouge (a polishing compound that gives the cement floor that reddish tone) that hadn't been cleaned up...ever.   The colours made the studio feel dark and dismal even though this studio has tons of natural light. 
Anyways, here is a sneek peak after 1 week (!!) of work- painted top to bottom, left to right, some drywall fixing up, the new floor/baseboards and the door getting painted.  Unbelievable!   A big thank you to my brother-in law and Dean for the painting, Morley and Colin for the floor and baseboards- couldn't have done it without these guys' help.   So this week it's a bit more painting, along with moving in with the big reveal over the next couple of weeks.  Gonna be a great new space for me to call home for a while...