Clean and Crisp

Recently I attended an interior design show in Toronto. I really felt like a fish out of water while I was in the building. However there was a lot I got lot of the day. there were a lot of new materials that I learnt about and on one side of the hall artists had rented individual places to show their works. My old classmate Joon Hee Kim was by far my favorite, not just because I think shes awesome, but because her work is ahead of the times. The large booths were designed by companies with lots of investment in the current fashions of the time. I did notice that underpinning the crisp nature of the "rooms" were ornate decorations that worked very well in the pristine kitchens. 

 www.junniekim.com/artist-statement/

the thing before purgatory

Now that the first semester of school is finished and I've learnt a lot about what what I am doing is about, I'm proper excited to get on with the next. 

This work comes from a number of very personal places that I don't like to wright about, however they matter. 

When I'm putting these things together. I'm remembering what I was doing with my life before school took over. When I was 12 I began participating in a Medieval Re enactment group called the Society for Creative Anachronism SCA. I learnt about history, dedication, ownership and ethics. I chose to adopt a 13th century  Mongolian persona. I chose a name, Gajin Suren and I have made or acquired objects associated with it. 

This video was taken When I was 19 at an event in Pensilvania. I'm in the Yellow, at the end of a very hot and exhausting day of training.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UyPdAazv-U&t=122s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uonpDjbC4aE&t=206s

                                          

Mug shot.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Fa1B7cAGE

I'm beat and ready for a holiday. Last week we loaded and fired Scarlet our beloved wood kiln. I really like ceremony and I'm convinced that its required for a good firing. I always go to the wood kiln before, say a few words while I remember how the kiln fires and the sweet spots that will suit the pots. I think this is the best firing yet that I've led, we made ^10 in 18 hours and held there for a further 5 to really soak that temperature and drop ^11. The pots left with awesome colour development and lots of ash ion the first 1/4 of the shelf nearest the firebox.

It was Proper Cold loading Scarlet

Our kiln log

The door might just be the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while

My pots and the way I think about them.

Then again because I'm gluten for a punishment we loaded our first Salt Kiln of the year since its re build. Salty fired like a dime and I began to remember how to make it work. My biggest stress is now we have a temperature reading to tell us where we are. I got so annoyed because it was so easy and addicting to look at the temperature. I use to be able to fire that kiln by Sight, sound and smell and could accurately tell you where we were in a firing and what needed to happen. Now a computer is telling me if what I'm doing is working or not. bah humbug  Next time I'm going to cover that up because computers break and if I'm more focused on the numbers presented to me then I feel like I can't trust myself to make a decision based on the knowledge that I've worked so hard to Understand.

ah dang

Frack Ya! Salties Back

are pots about People

The Cremation of Sam McGee

We're loading our wood Kiln today, and I always like to begin the firing by reciting this poem. My first wood firing one of the students at the time recited it from Memory. Thats always stayed with me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhFNYll_mU

Another week in paradise. Now I'm back onto great things in my studio life, discussing challenging and making. Its been difficult outside though, my computer has gone the way of the Dodo so its less convenient now to do the extra. 

I've got so many ideas right now about what I'm doing for my thesis. The major overarching concept was to put together an installation of pottery like you'd see in a museum. I've always been interested in the way things are presented. But rather than it being called installation, the word Accumulation has come about from on high. Maybe thats a better way of describing what it is that I see.

Safety First

Edge of Chaos

Bottoms up

Hey, I learnt how to wright my name in Mandarin

Kiln tuckers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A

How the heck do you decorate a large Pot? the answer is simple. Make a lot and hope that you can figure that out at some point. 

So two things happened today. First, I was told that I should keep posting to Instagram because I'm so awesome... second, a good friend told me that my new hair cut was awesome. 

In the morning I'll be demonstrating how to throw large pieces to the first year class. But really I have no idea about what the heck I'm doing so I've had to get comfortable again with these bad boys so that I don't make too much a fool of myself. The process is in stages, bowl to coil throwing for the walls then finish with a nice rim for a lid. 

I've also been continuing my study on why those coin mould were so interesting to me. Some models have been made, I like to take my time on things like this. doing something, walk away and coming back to it later. letting myself stew on the process.

Seeds

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

Is is possible to miss someone you never met? My Grandpa Green died long before I was born. I keep his knife with me at all times, my mom gave it to me because she says that I'm exactly like him. I don't give a shit about the rules if they get in my way of enjoying myself the and I have a terrible sense of humour. Not to mention that I look exactly like him. Every time some sees me who knew him really well, well they always get gob smacked. Theres so many stories about the nonsense he did and the way he looked at the world. The knife followed him to Holland in the 40's, its a real special object. So the question is, do I miss him because the reminds me of him? What power do objects have?  

I'm just a potter. Theres really isn't anything special about me. But I love to do it. I grew up knowing what it meant to make things grow. My Grandparents bought our family home when they were young. They wanted a peaceful life of farming. I'm floored when I meet people who have no idea what it takes to get food. So I make Seed Jars. These are not useful today. But I hope that people stop to think about what food is.  

www.greensgrow.org/urban-farm/what-is-urban-farming/?gclid=CjwKCAiApJnRBRBlEiwAPTgmxJQk3KW_1Cl_r1du0Y48myYMVjekIeL9qAiB4EnIOzxtvT9nDCG0QxoCPz0QAvD_BwE

surface

I sometimes go back and forth about what "Stuff" is and my part in making more of it. George Carlin did a hilarious skit about "Stuff" www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac it also ties in with a personal belief that I have about how much stuff is wasted and used. Today I went dumpster diving and found great stuff that was being chucked out. I was thinking that the school should have a "room of stuff" for students to take and leave as needed. However I can live in mild comfort when I can tell my customers about the process of my stuff.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM 

I don't really enjoy sharing my process because I don't find it very interesting to talk about. Other peoples processes are so sweet. These are gas fired stoneware and porcelain pots all with the same glaze. But I was able to change its surface quality depending on how thick I applied it.