Margo's Pottery in Buffalo features Courtney Murphy's terra cotta pottery June 7-Aug. 11

Terra cotta pottery by Courtney Murphy, Helena, Mont.
Top: Nesting Set in Yellow; bottom: Yellowboat.

This summer, Margo’s Pottery and Fine Crafts in Buffalo is featuring the terra cotta pottery of Helena, Montana, artist Courtney Murphy. Murphy began working with clay when she lived in Brooklyn, New York. She spent several years working for potters in the city, and then decided to get a degree in ceramics, so went across the country to Portland, Oregon where she attended the Oregon School of Art and Crafts. After receiving the degree, she spent three and a half months doing a working residency in Denmark. “The clean influence of Danish design is obvious in her work, along with her own playful sensibility,” says Margo Brown, who is hosting the show. Her designs are influenced by simplified abstractions of nature, children’s artwork, folk art and mid-century modern forms and shapes. All of her work is functional, and on some of the pieces, she makes a rounded base, so that the pieces can be in motion even while working to serve food. This is one way the playful nature of her work becomes part of our lives.

Last May, Courtney Murphy, was featured in the magazine Ceramics Monthly, and also her work was shown in the article on the Archie Bray Foundation that appeared in American Craft. Along with her show at Margo’s Pottery and Fine Crafts, Courtney will have pieces in the Covet-Teapots show in the famed Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield Massachusetts. Also in 2012, her work has and will be shown in galleries in Iowa, Missouri, Texas, New Hampshire, Indiana and Washington. And in 2011, she was in fifteen shows across the US. She is currently in Red Lodge, Montana, doing a residency at the Red Lodge Clay Center.

“I enjoy the process of scratching into the clay to draw my images. Because of this process, each piece created is unique, and there is a slight variation in each drawing. I am compelled by the variation found in handmade objects; a slight change in the profile or image on a cup decides whether a person will be drawn to one cup over another. I also like to create functional work because these handmade objects leave my studio to become a part of somebody else’s daily routine. I am interested in the personal connection that handmade objects help to create,” says Courtney Murphy.

Margo's Pottery and Fine Crafts will hold an opening for the artist on Thursday, June 7, from 5-7 p.m., at the gallery at 1 North Main Street in Buffalo. The show will continue through August 11, 2012. Margo's Pottery is open from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday (beginning Memorial Day weekend). For more information, call Margo or Carey at 307-684-9406.

Call for entries: "Across the Divide" at Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, AZ

Across the Divide will encompass the vast array of contemporary ceramics in the sculptural and installation genres. This exhibit uses the Continental Divide as a metaphor for the artist working in clay that has separated them from traditional techniques and stereotypes within the medium. Artists are encouraged to submit work that pushes traditional boundaries of the ceramic medium in its treatment of material and subject.

This exhibit is open to all artists, national and international. All forms of ceramic sculpture, installation and new media work are eligible. Works should have some ceramic component and can range in scale from hand held to monumental.

Juror Steven Schaeffer is a ceramic sculptor whose work has been shown nationally as well as internationally including the Florence Biennale and the Ceramic Biennial International Competition in Korea. Steve teaches Ceramics at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

A prize will be awarded for best of show ($500).

A $35 Entry fee covers the submission of up to 3 works of art. Work will be juried from digital images, two images per work may be submitted. Wall mounted works must not be taller than 127". Sculptural work must fit through a doorway that is 80” high x 85” wide. Weight limit of suspended pieces 15 lbs.

Postmark Deadline for submissions: April 6, 2012
Notification of acceptance: April 19, 2012
Delivery of artwork: May 14-17, 2012
Exhibit opens: June 2, 2012
Exhibit closes: July 28, 2012

Download the Call for Entries Application (.pdf)

Questions can be directed to:
Robin Cadigan
Gallery Director
Coconino Center for the Arts &
Flagstaff Cultural Partners
(928) 779-2300 x 104
rcadigan@culturalpartners.org

Photos: top Christine Golden, bottom Steven Schaeffer 

"Mug Shots" opens tonight at Old Town Coffee in Lander

"Mug Shots" is a collaboration between potter Jenny Reeves-Johnson and photographer Juan Laden. This is a show of mugs by Jenny and portraits by Juan. Opening reception will be held at Old Town Coffee, 3rd and Main, Lander, 7-9 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 4. The show will continue through to the end of November.

This is in a sense a celebration of Jenny's opening of her "Sweetwater Studio, about clay", at 135 North Second Street, Lander. You can contact her at sweetwaterstudioclay@gmail.com.

Juan's photos are diptych silver gelatin print photos of locals and various other characters in Lander, one a frontal and one a profile. This has become a larger project than the show is an ongoing work. 

Juan is also located in Lander and can be reached at juantontomatoe@gmail.com and other work seen at http://www.juanladenphotography.com

WY ceramic artists Connie Norman and Jenny Dowd featured in NCECA exhibit at Arvada Center

www.arvadacenter.org

Fellowship curator hits the road. First stops at Alpine & Jackson

Wyomingarts is on the road with Nancy Bowen, the Wyoming Arts Council's curator for the 2011 biennial fellowship exhibit.

First stop was Jenny Dowd's home studio in Alpine. Alpine is just down the road from Jackson on Hwy. 89, the site of the road-clogging avalanche in the spring. Quite a few Jackson commuters have moved to Lincoln County, which is served by Teton County's START Bus system. They had to take the long road to work via Idaho and Teton Pass during avalanche season.

Jenny's upstairs studio features samples of the work that led to a 2011 visual arts fellowship from the WAC. In the studio are ceramic tiles which make up furniture groupings. Over the her bedroom are the life-size sculptures of furniture complete with rows of ceramic teeth. Also on display are Jenny's fanciful "Tooth Fairy" ceramics that harken back to those childhood days when we all wondered what the Tooth Fairy did with all of those darn teeth, anyhow. You can also ask Jenny about her obsession with cicadas.

Back in Jackson, Jenny showed us around the Arts Center Gallery where the show will debut on Nov. 4. Right now the gallery is exhibiting "Sweatermen," the work of Mark Newport, fiber artist and super-hero. Here's a short description of Mark's work: "Batman, Iron Man, Spiderman and the Rawhide Kid. These characters are childhood memories of the ultimate man – the Dad every boy wants, the man every boy wants to grow up to be. Mark Newport’s hand knit acrylic re-creations of these heroes’ costumes combine their heroic, protective, ultra masculine, yet vulnerable personas with the protective gestures of his mother. The costumes are life-size, wearable objects that hang limply on hangers challenging the standard muscular form of the hero and offering the space for the viewer to imagine themselves wearing the costume, becoming the hero. Artist and educator Mark Newport is the Artist-in-Residence and Head of Fiber at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan."

The WAC fellowship exhibit will be on display at the Art Association's main gallery at the Arts Center Nov. 4 through the end of December. As always, the Arts Center was abuzz with a number of summer workshops for children and adults.

We then drove out to Factory Studios to view the work of Abbie Miller. Abbie, a Jackson native who went off to UW and returned home to practice her art -- and make a living at it -- has a studio at the Factory. She makes big sculptures incorporating fabric and zippers. She also designs a distinctive fashion line, showcasing her fashion at a July 8 event at The Factory (see poster below).

When touring the Factory, Wyomingarts picked up waves of creative vibes from the many artists and artisans and sculptors and filmmakers who have found a home there. The big building once manufactured wooden skis (remember them?) and had fallen on some hard times before local young trailblazers moved in. Much of the equipment in the studios was donated by local organizations and businesses. The artists have put in some sweat equity to install walls for offices and studios. Plumbing, too. A repair crew was patching the roof.

While we were there, Travis said he had just heard that the Teton ArtLab, sponsor of Factory Studios,  received its WAC Operating Support Grant. He seemed visibly relieved by the news. Congrats, Travis.

While Factory Studios is in an old building in Jackson's industrial district south of town, it seems to be the epicenter for exciting work by young artists who are determined to make their mark on the Jackson art scene.

Act locally, create locally, live locally.

Think big!

Photos (top to bottom):
1. Jenny Dowd shows off some of her "Tooth Fairy" ceramics to fellowship biennial curator Nancy Bowen of Brooklyn, N.Y.
2. Travis Walker (left), Teton ArtLab, Abbie Miller (center) and Nancy Bowen pose for a shot in one of the studios at The Factory in Jackson.
3. Poster for The Factory Festival held July 8 in Jackson.

Young artist from Afton blends the arts of ceramics and gardening

Kira Call is a young artist from Afton and is spending summer break from Utah State University working at Afton's Hi Mountain Floral. Some of her recent artwork blends her interests in ceramics and growing fruits and veggies. You can see her work on her Facebook page. I would post samples here but Blogger is not letting me post photos today. What gives, Blogger?

Here's Kira's artist's statement from Facebook:

Art is my life. I honestly have no idea where I would be without it. I love drawing, CERAMICS, painting, sculpting, and pretty much anything else that I can get my hands on. I love to play guitar-- but more specifically, I can get lost in the world of classical guitar music. I love the intricacy and emotion in it. I have become literally obsessed with ceramics... and making teapots, to be more specific-- I don't think my first teapots look too terrible. The best way to learn is to keep challenging myself to go further ;) I believe in doing things for my own reasons. I enjoy walking alone in the forest, drinking tea, bike riding, and surprising people. I dare you to try and find someone just like me ;)

Ceramist Connie Norman celebrates the holiday season(ing)

Cheyenne ceramist Connie Norman posted this photo on Facebook, saying that these new salt and pepper shakers were right out of the kiln and she'd post better pictures later. But this is already a pretty good photo. Please pass the salt and pepper in Connie's artful containers. This gravy needs seasoning.

Art Association sponsors "Art for the Soul, Soup for the Bowl" Nov. 19 in Jackson

In the Center for the Arts Theater Lobby, 265 S. Cache Street, Jackson

ONE NIGHT ONLY! November 19, 2010, 5:30 p.m.

SUPPORTS THE ART ASSOCIATION'S EDUCATION PROGRAMMING

Back by popular demand, Art for the Soul, Soup for the Bowl happens this November! Proceeds support the Art Association's community arts education programming. $25 gives you your choice of a hand thrown ceramic bowl created by the ceramics artists of the Art Association, a buffet of soups from local restaurants, beer, Open Mic entertainment and more!

Contributing Ceramics Artists: Shannon & Rudy Borrego, Ginger Burley, Sue Colligan, Jenny Dowd, Sam Dowd, Peggy Mathiesen, Linda MacGregor, Dawn McKibbon, Janet Monahan, Sue Morriss, Dean Stayner, Cynthia Guild Stoetzer and Matt Tosi.

Soup provided by: Cafe Genevieve, Trio, Rustic Inn, Pearl St. Meat & Fish Co., Wild Sage Restaurant, Jackson Whole Grocer, Rendezvous Bistro, Cadillac Grille, 43 North, Nani’s, and Bubba’s Bread provided by: Wild Flour Bakery, Great Harvest Bread Company and Atelier Ortega

Beer from: Snake River Brewery

Sound Engineering provided by: James Booth

Attention ceramic artists: HANDBUILDING conference set for May 28-30 in Atlanta

Ceramic Arts Daily featured this:

The HANDBUILDING conference May 28-30 in Atlanta will bring together a diverse group of ceramic artists to demonstrate, share and answer any questions you have. Each presentation will involve all steps of the process, from the type of clay, to forming, finishing and firing.

This conference will help you build upon your existing skills and learn new techniques that will take your work to the next level.

Space is Limited.

Register today at https://www.pubservice.com/pr/PQConference/handbuilding.aspx?

Deadline to SAVE $75 ON REGISTRATION ends March 21, 2010.

Deadline to Reserve your Hotel for a discounted rate, ends Wednesday, April 28, 2010
　
What you will learn:
* Learn how to make colored clay patterns,and how to use it in several different ways.
* Develop these techniques to add to your resume: utilize thrown & altered elements, coils, slabs, incising, sgraffito, ‘poor man’s Mishima,’ slip-trailing & inlay, carving, press-molding, texturing, tearing, slumping and bumping.
* Participants will learn the innovative, straightforward
*Patz Process Ceramic Technique* which is a method of connecting clay forms to make creative animal sculptures or figures in clay. Attendees will also learn how this technique is used to attach clay appendages to traditional pottery such as; pinch pots, slab work, coil built pieces and wheel thrown pottery.
* Learn the broomstick technique that shows how colored clays and textures can be added to the form while the clay is taking shape.
* Learn how to hand build functional pots which have good form, function well, and have a sensitivity to the human touch as well as other senses.
* Understand how to apply texture to soft slabs using found objects, cut out inlaid shapes, clay stamps and bisque molds of textured surfaces which the clay is rolled on, producing a full
slab of texture.
* Learn how to make various pottery forms starting from a basic cylinder of clay, which is altered by cutting darts or pinching, and pushing out the clay to round out the form. Alternate ways of treating the bottom of a pot with regard to added feet or foot rings will be included, as well as various types of handles made from slabs and coils.
　
Host is Spruill Center for the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30338
Phone: (770) 394-3447
Website: http://www.spruillarts.org/

FOR WYOMING CERAMIC ARTISTS: The Wyoming Arts Council provides Individual Artist Professional Development grants to help defray costs of conference registration, travel and lodging. For more information, go to http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/ and find IAPD category under the "Grants" link on the left sidebar.

Cheyenne's Connie Norman makes "ceramics that speak to you"

Connie Norman's ceramics were featured in a cover story in the Great Lakes Airlines Peaks & Plains magazine. The story, "Ceramics That Speak to You," is by Kay Bjork.

Jim Brashear, Ceramics - Northwest College Galleries

An exhibit of pots by Alaskan ceramist Jim Brashear opens Tuesday, Oct. 20, with a 7:30 p.m. artist's reception in Northwest Gallery on the Northwest College campus.
"Jim Brashear: Ceramics" features current work by the artist, who has experimented most recently with forms and surfaces that are enhanced by the wood fire process. Brashear said he chooses to build pots primarily because "the vessel is timeless and universal."
His pots have been exhibited in 23 states from Alaska to Texas and California to Connecticut, most prominently in the permanent collection at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pa. Brashear has been featured in several ceramics journals and magazines, and photos of his work have been displayed on nationally distributed posters. He's won numerous national awards and received several grants, including an innovative teaching grant for kiln-building.
Brashear has taught art at the University of Alaska Fairbanks since 1997. He holds a master's degree from Louisiana State University and a bachelor's from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
"Jim Brashear: Ceramics" is displayed at Northwest Gallery through Friday, Nov. 13. Located in the Cabre Building, the gallery is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays. Admission is free.

Ceramic Show & Sale - Mugs, Bowls and Casseroles

Lincoln Center Galleries
417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, CO 80521

Ceramic Show & Sale
Thursday, October 29, 6pm-9pm
Fiday, October 30, noon-9pm
Saturday, October 31, 10am-9pm

Fifteen local and regional potters share their wares. Unique, handmade functional ceramic objects are for sale with proceeds benefitting the Visual Arts program at Lincoln Center.

Heather D. Bartmann
Neil Celani-Morrell
Sandy Charles
Pat Dietemann
Dave Ellis
Jan & Hideharu Igaki
Donna Inscho-Hynes
Jim Klingman
Luke Langholz
Elizabeth Lazarus
Sharon Morris
Connie Norman
Cindy O'Neill
Jude Varnum
Nancy Zoller

For more information
www.lctix.com or 970-416-2737

Sublette County likes WAC roster artists

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council has announced its fall 2009/winter 2010 schedule. On tap are two residencies by Wyoming Arts Council roster artists. Matt Daly (pictured at right) will travel from Jackson to conduct poetry and writing workshops at middle schools and high schools in Pinedale and Big Piney. Ceramist Steve Schrepferman will also conduct workshops in Pinedale and Big Piney. More details will be announced soon at http://www.pinedalefinearts.com/

But summer isn't over yet. Another WAC roster artist, musician Bryan Ragsdale of Green River, will be performing in concert on Thursday, August 27, 4 p.m. at American Legion Park in Pinedale. This is part of PFAC/Sublette Chamber of Commerce Mixer event. Free and open to the public.

Other upcoming PFAC events include a residency by Missoula Children's Theatre (Nov. 16-21), a theatre workshop with Jackson's Bob Berky (Feb. 22-26) and a workshop and performance by African-American storyteller Diane Ferlatte (March 1-5).

For more information on the PFAC, call 307-367-7322. For info about the artist's roster, go to WAC web page.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a "Wyoming Arts Community" profile of Pinedale in the August issue of the WAC Artscapes print newsletter. If you're not on our mailing list, call 307-777-7742.

Make some tiles

The Lander Art Center will have an Outdoor Tile Project Class on the weekend of August 14-16. This class will provide students with the basic techniques for creating a weather-resistant garden bench. The Class will create a bench cooperatively and each participant will leave with several tiles and (hopefully) the information to come back in September to create a bench of their own.

Where: Lander Art Center
When: Friday, August 14, 7-9 p.m., Saturday, August 15, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.,
Sunday, August 16, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructors: Deborah Britt and Pam Hockett, local ceramics artists
Learn a new technique and make a fabulous garden bench with concrete substrate
Fee: $55

FMI: Ph. (307)332-5772 or landerartcenter@bresnan.net