How Commissions Happen

Have you ever wondered about the process of commissioning a piece of artwork?

Getting a 'custom made just for you' artwork is a very rewarding way to add to your art collection and brings a really special piece into your home. I do a lot of custom totem poles because people often have a specific place for a pole or want one created just for them. 

So how does it work? 

Meet and Agree on a Theme or Idea for the Pole

 

Usually we meet at my studio and look through my portfolio book ('Totems'- available on Etsy) so I can get a feel for what resonates with my clients. We look at shapes and colors, talk about the height and talk about any special things that should be in the pole. Often there is an animal or two requested.

We discuss where the pole will go - indoors or out? what's around it? and agree on a budget that works for everyone. By the end of the meeting we have a general agreement on what the pole will be.
 

 Send in Photos of Site or Pet Portrait

 

Next my client will send me photos of the place where the pole will go. Either the room in their house or the spot in the garden. If I can I like to see the site in person so I can get a good feel for the setting but photos work well too. 

If there is a pet portrait involved they send me photos of their pet. I do my best to capture the spirit of their dear friend with what I describe as a caricature of the animal.  

Down Payment to Start the Work

 

Once we are in agreement about the project a non-refundable down payment is made and work begins. I take a bit of time in the beginning to let everything percolate and then make some decisions about what to build. This is the place where we all take a leap of faith that, given the freedom to create something wonderful, amazing things will happen. 

Progress Photos along the Way

 

Once things get underway I send progress photos as the pole develops. The client always has the freedom to ask me to replace an element that doesn't suit them for any reason. That doesn't happen very often but in the end we all need to love the piece. 

Color Selection and Glazing 

 

Once all of the pieces are made and the pole is assembled I make the final color selections and begin the glazing process. A few more progress photos go out and before we know it the pole is finished and ready for its new home. All in all it is usually a 3 to 6 month process.

Pick-up and Installation  

 

After final approval the pole is numbered, taken apart and packed for travel. To see the installation process click here.

I'd Like to Be...

With all of the preparations for our Progress Show of The Influence and Inspiration Project at The Pot Shop this Saturday, October 7th I've gotten behind on post my latest pieces. So just to give you another tempting preview of what you'll see this weekend... here's my latest.

Susan gave me this assemblage piece which came off of my mask (visit https://theinfluenceandinspirationproject.wordpress.com to see that pairing). In this piece I had the feeling of someone looking at me or some type of feeling of a reflection. I was also very taken with the octopus tendrils.

So, I decided to make an octopus looking in a mirror. The glaze came out looking really amazing and it might be my favorite piece so far in the series. 

I hope you can come this Saturday and see the show!

Please share this with your friends who will enjoy it and feel free to leave a comment.

The Spires 

Remember the heart I gave to Susan? It was sunny and bright marigold orange. (Go back to the post called the I and I Project for a photo of the heart) Well, here's her response. She was struck by the patchwork quality of the piece so she went with that as her theme:

Susan said this was a difficult piece for her to work out but I found it inspiring. I saw it as a landscape that I wanted to explore. I ended up making a spiral pathway with spires that I envisioned walking through like a walking maze. 

Somehow though I still wasn't satisfied that I'd really gotten at the spirit of a journey into the mind that I was going for so I ended up making a bonus piece. Enjoy!

This was a real departure for me and it is exactly the type of thing I hope to have happening along the way with this project.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The Juggler

When I gave my little bear on wheels to Susan she spent some time thinking about what the bear was looking at. When she delivered this painting to me she said it represented a tree full of bees and twinkling lights...

What I see is not a Bee Tree but a crazy juggling bear. So I made The Juggler.

The next piece goes way off of the bear theme. Wait till you see what's coming!

Round 4 - Bee Tree 

I gave Susan this little bear on wheels which I saw peeking out of her painting. I was very curious to see what it would inspire her to do. She got interested in thinking about what the bear was looking at and came back with this Bee Tree.

It is amazing to see where this trading process takes us. We hope you can join us on October 7th at The Pot Shop for the Progress Showing of the project to date.

More of Round 4 trades next time around. 

Please feel free to leave a comment and to share this post.

Thanks!

Gentle Eggs

As promised, we'll bring the second line of our project up to speed. I made my little 'fish' piece inspired by Susan's painting and here's what she made from that:

After spending some time looking at Susan's painting I was inspired by the movement in the spheres at the very top of the painting as well as the globe type pieces which she made with collaged map pieces. From these elements I decided to try making a sphere within a sphere. Then I would cut away part of the outer sphere to reveal the sphere inside. In choosing my glazes I wanted to have the outer 'shell' appear to be very strong and the inner sphere to appear fragile and egg-like. Here's the result!

Please feel free to leave a comment below and to pass along the post!

Thanks

The I and I Project Round 2

After our first round of work inspired by each other's work, Susan and I traded projects again. We both got very excited by the first round so were curious to see where this would go next. Here's the result!

Line 1 

Originally I made the little bird sculpture from last post and Susan responded with this painting representing the feeling of a bird in a tree. Now it was my turn to respond to her painting. As I looked at it I saw a little bear in the lower right corner. It just seemed to want to come out of the painting so here's what I made.

Line 2:

We'll catch you up on this one next time around.

Line 3:

This line started with the sort of sun/sunflower piece I made and Susan responded with this bright and lively painting. As I looked at it I saw a heart shape coming through. I've made a lot of hearts in the past year as part of my 'Hearts Full of Love' fundraiser project so maybe I've got hearts on the brain. Anyway, I decided to made a freestanding heart based on what I saw in Susan's painting. Here's what I came up with:

Save the Date:

Mark your calendars for October 7th and come to our Progress Show of the whole project to date. It will be the first time Susan and I have seen the pieces all together. The show will be at my studio, The Pot Shop, in Philo, CA. We'll be holding talks / Q and A at 11 and 1 o'clock about the project.

The show is part of Mendocino County Celebrates American Craft Week. For a full listing of all the shows and events visit www.MendocinoCraftWeek.com

Please feel free to leave a comment below and share the blog with anyone you think would enjoy following the project.

Thanks!

Influence and Inspiration

My artist friend, Susan Spencer, and I have been working on a project we call 'Influence and Inspiration'. It's kind of like a game of telephone where we pass a message back and forth and watch it change except in this case we are passing artwork to each other. 

Susan is a mixed media artist so her works come to me as 'paintings' although they have collaged elements incorporated so one has to look closely to really appreciate all that is going on in each piece. So when I get one of Susan's works I spend some time with it and then when inspiration moves me I make a response piece which is a sculpture of some sort. Once my piece is finished I send it back to Susan and she goes through her process of letting my piece inspire a new one from her. This back and forth continues and it is fascinating and exciting for both of us to see where these pieces take us.

We have 3 'lines' of work going and I'll try and figure out the best way to share them with you. 

Line 1 started with my little bird sculpture which inspired Susan's painting 

Line 2 started with Susan's painting which inspired my 'fish' sculpture

Line 3 also started from Susan's painting as I got so inspired that I made 2 pieces from her work and she got inspired from both of mine... Well you can see how this is going to progress.

Mendocino County Celebrates American Craft Week

October 4-13, 2013

Call to Participate

It’s time to start planning for the third annual Mendocino County Celebrates American Craft Week. This year’s national celebration will be held the week of October 4-13 and we are working hard to make this a great event.

Event Overview:

Galleries, wineries and lodgings will host craft-focused events such as sales, demonstrations, lectures, or exhibits by local craft artists. Artists will join the celebration by showing and/or demonstrating their craft at their studio or a local business.

Last year we had 42 hosting sites throughout Mendocino County who hosted 100 artists. Each host invites one or more artist to come and show their work. This can be a special show set up just for Craft Week or a reception/meet the artist for someone you regularly show.

How it Works

·      A brochure/map will list every event and give a brief description and contact information for the hosting business.

·      All events can go for the whole week (or longer) but for ease of publicity and organization we will focus events in each area on one of the two weekends. Here is the tentative line-up:

Fort Bragg and Ukiah area events will be held the first weekend to coincide with First Friday.

Mendocino/ Little River and Anderson Valley will be second weekend for Second Saturday.

Elk, Point Arena and Gualala, the first weekend.

·      Each hosting site will prominently display a raffle entry box that encourages visitors to go to more shows. It also helps us collect visitor contact information for our mailing list. (If you would like to donate a prize let us know).

·      A beautiful poster for the event as well as other advertising will be in windows throughout the county. We will again have our event program on-line at www.visitmendocino.com

·      Each hosting site will receive window signage designating them as an official participant in the Craft Week event.

·      Cost: $45 to register as a hosting site. $10 to register as an artist.

·      Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact us if you’d like to be featured in our advertising as a sponsor. (We already have sponsorships from Savings Bank of Mendocino County, MCLA and The Little River Inn)

To be part of Mendocino County Celebrates American Craft Week please sign up by June 30, 2013 to give our graphic designer time to put together the brochure and poster and have them printed and distributed. We will once again be available to connect artists to display spaces so let us know if you need any help putting your event together.

To sign up please print and return the attached entry form. There are two forms one for Artists and one for Hosting Sites. Please send in the appropriate form ASAP even if you don’t have your event fully planned so we know you’ll be joining the event.

For more information contact: Alexis at potshop@saber.net or Katie at katieg@pacific.net           

The American Craft Week Celebration, October 4-13, 2013, will bring together individuals, small businesses and organizations from all fifty states in recognition of the countless ways handmade objects enrich our daily lives and contribute to our national aesthetic and economy. We hope this countywide event will raise awareness of the vibrant art scene in our county and bring both local and out of town visitors into our businesses and boost fall sales of local arts and crafts.

Please pass this along to anyone you know who might be interested in participating.

Thank you and we look forward to promoting your event!

Alexis Moyer

Katie Gibbs

Christmas is Almost Here

With the holidays fast approaching I have my last pre-Christmas kiln of special orders firing and hopefully everything will have been shipped out and safely tucked under trees by Christmas morning!

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. I'm working on some exciting new products for 2012 and can't wait to share them with you over the next few months. I'm especially excited about a new olive serving bowl I'm working on as well as several new Christmas ornaments.

Davis Art Center Holiday Sale

I'll be at my favorite fair of the year this weekend. It's a charming fair at the Davis Art Center Friday through Sunday. They have a really wonderful selection of artists who show their work at the show - including yours truly- great soups for lunch and a kids shopping area to entertain the young set.

Please stop by if you're in the area. It will really put you in the holiday spirit!

Christmas Ornaments

I can't believe the Christmas season is upon us already. I still have my pumpkin from Halloween which is turning into a science experiment as it decomposes - maybe it's time for it to go! Anyway, I just got a beautiful batch of Christmas ornaments out of the kiln and ready to ship out. There are 30+ styles - I'll make a complete list and add it in the next post.The ornaments are $7.50 each plus shipping. Please contact me if you'd like to purchase some.

I started making these ornaments when my girls were little because I wanted them to be able to help decorate the tree without the worry of broken ornaments. While not indestructable, they are high fired stoneware and can take quite a bit of rough handling.

New Greeting Cards!

Introducing my newest product - greeting cards with photos of my work! Currently there are two sets: Animal Sculptures and Totem Poles. They come in boxed sets with 2 each of 4 designs on the Totem Poles and 2 each of 5 designs of Animals. They are in stock and ready for shipping. The Animal set is $15 and the Totem Pole set is $12 plus tax and $5.20 shipping. Call or e-mail to place your order.

Summer Fruit Recipe Contest

Here is a new entry to the Summer Fruit Recipe Contest on The Pot Shop's Facebook page. I baked mine with peaches and a few blueberries and it was delicious! I baked it for about 50 minutes and maybe could have left it another 5 as it was still very juicy. If you have a great recipe using fruit please post it on my Facebook or e-mail it to me at potshop@saber.net

Fruit Kuchen with Rosemary

½ cup butter or olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder
5-6 cups fruit, such as sliced nectarines, peaches, prune plums, figs, apricots, or blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. Or mix them up!
Juice of 1 lemon

Turbinado sugar (or other raw, course grain sugar)

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary.

Preheat oven to 350. · Grease 12” ceramic cake or pie pan with butter or olive oil, and coat with breadcrumbs or flour.

· Cream the butter / olive oil.

· Add sugar while mixer is running.

· Add eggs one at a time, beating until mixed.

· Mix baking powder into cup of flour and add that slowly to the batter while mixing, until just incorporated - don't over mix!

· Spread into pan. Pile on the fruit, or arrange in a spiral pattern. Try to avoid getting fruit right up to the edge. Press the fruit lightly into batter.

· Sprinkle first with juice of one juicy lemon, then turbinado sugar and then chopped rosemary. (Don't be shy with lemon and sugar.)

· Bake in oven until the middle is set and it takes on a nice golden brown color.

· Let it cool and serve out of the pan.

Mendocino Art Center Craft Fair

I finished this cake stand just in time for a friend's birthday this week!

Visit me this weekend at the Mendocino Art Center's Craft Fair and next weekend on Saturday only at the Mendocino Street Fair. Both fairs are 10 to 5 and will have lots of handcrafted items on display. Pottery is always my favorite but there will be beautiful jewelry, paintings, woodworking and lots more to see as well.

Here's a heads-up for Mendocino County's celebration of American Craft Week October 7 - 16 as well. I'm coordinating the event for the Arts Council of Mendocino County so I'll keep you updated on the special events that will be happening.

Pic of the Week

Here is my Pic of the Week. It is titled "Armored Vehicle" and is the most recent of my animal sculptures. The porcupine has over 350 handpainted quills! The overall dimensions are 22" x 22" x 21" . I'm very happy that it has already found a good home.

I saw a website recently that featured an 'art in action' section where people have sent in photos of that potter's pottery being used and I thought that was a great idea. So... any of you out there who want to send me a photo of how you are using one of my pieces please do. You can e-mail it to me or post it on my Facebook wall - The Pot Shop. It would love to see where my work goes when it leaves my studio and how it gets incorporated into people's lives.

Appetizer Recipe Contest

The Pot Shop is sponsoring an easy contest to share great recipes. For each round of the contest one lucky person will win a piece of pottery from The Pot Shop. The first round is the appetizer round so bring out your best appetizer recipes for a chance to win a Leaf Serving Dish with Spoon made by yours truly.

Everyone is eligible to enter and win. (Shipped free within the US)

First Round Prize: A handmade ceramic Leaf Dish with Wood Spoon. (Shipped anywhere in the US)

Entry Rules: Go to Facebook and post a favorite appetizer recipe on The Pot Shop wall. Have your friends “Like” The Pot Shop and then “Like” your recipe.

Finalists will be the recipes earning the most “Like” votes. The winner will be chosen from the finalists.

By entering the contest you agree to give The Pot Shop permission to reprint your recipe for promotional purposes. Since this is the trial run round of the contest some revision of how the game works may happen – gotta love the learning curve!

Enjoy, thanks for entering and Bon Appetite!

You can also purchase a Leaf Dish with spoon and have it sent to you anywhere in the US by sending a check for $45 along with your shipping address to:

The Pot Shop

P.O. Box 216

Philo, CA 95466

You can also enter by posting your recipe as a comment here. All recipes will be archived in the comment section below for easy reference. Check out the entries so far - yum!

Feats of Clay XXIV

I just got back from the openings of the California Clay Competition at The Artery Gallery in Davis, CA and Feats of Clay at Gladding McBean Clay Factory in Lincoln, CA. I am so honored to be included in both shows.

The gala opening for Feats of Clay was especially fun. A clay factory is a marvelous place to hold a huge party! The factory produces clay pipe and terra cotta tiles and sculptures for architectural uses. The building houses a group of beehive kilns, one of which has been converted into a gallery and houses half of the show. The other half of the show is upstairs in a work area. They have a 100 year old elevator that takes patrons up to see the show.

There is a tour of both the factory and the show that runs through the month of May. It is really interesting to see the molds and work areas that produce the facades of buildings all over the country. You need a reservation for the tour www.lincolnarts.org or 916 645-9713

Platters and Totems Show Opens

The show, Totems and Platters, opens this Saturday April 16th from 5 to 7pm at the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville, CA. I've seen the show and it is fantastic! It runs through May. A 'must see' if you are in the area. My piece "Flamingo in Paradise" is there along with over 100 others. The opening is open to everyone so come join us if you can.

California Clay Competition

More exciting news! I have also had a piece accepted into the California Clay Competition in Davis, CA. The show opens on April 29th at the Artery Gallery in Davis, CA. The show runs for the month of April. Please stop by and see it if you're in the area.