Seeking Studiomate!

We're looking for a studio mate in my ceramics studio. Please contact me if interested or pass on if you know someone that may be looking in the Minneapolis area.

From Inspiration to Decoration

I get a lot of questions about how I get my ideas and develop my ceramic designs. While I get a lot of my source material for the illustrations from vintage quilts and textiles, I am always looking for bits and pieces of inspiration everywhere. I like to take little visual treasures that strike me and reinterpret to be fresh and new while still speaking to the original material. I thought I'd share my creative process on a new plate design from inspiration to final fired art piece. A while back I picked up an old coffee table book on trees at the thrift store and loved some of the illustrations showing the tree bare and with full leaves.

I spend some time sketching to come up with a design that I'm happy with and then draw a final sketch at the scale I need for the piece I'm planning to put it on.

Then I make a pattern using a piece of clear vinyl shower curtain liner. This way I can see through the pattern to place it on the piece and can reuse it over and over without it wearing out.

Once I've transferred the design, I "stitch" it onto the plate while the clay is still leatherhard and add slip dots for texture. Each stitch and dot is applied individually, by hand. I don't use any kind of roller or transfer or stamp like many people assume.

After drying, I then paint on underglazes, bisque fire, stain and wash, glaze and fire again. My process is time intensive and has MANY steps to achieve the result I want.

The final plate after firing in my electric kiln. I'm calling this design "Winter into Spring". I think I may apply it to some tile designs and it's also making me feel inspired to create a four seasons series in the future.

Hope this helps show the work that goes into making a piece of my handmade pottery. It is a lot of work, but it is a labor of love and it's worth it when the first fired pot comes out of the kiln.

You can find them for sale here in my etsy shop!

Or, visit my studio for First Thursday in the Northrup King Building, studio 394 this upcoming Thursday, June 2 from 5-9 pm. Check out the new sculpure garden outside the building and enjoy a Root Beer Float courtesy of the building. Then come in and enjoy looking at some great art.

May Giveaway - Win a Berry Bowl Set!

I am doing my first ever giveaway this month! How do you use my pottery/tiles in your home and daily life? Customers are always telling me about that favorite mug that they fight over, or how that vase looks just perfect in their living room, but I rarely get a chance to see it. I'm hoping to put together an album that I can pull out when I get that perpetual art fair question, "Well, I just love it, but what would I do with it?" Send me a digital picture showing my work in your home, on your table, or otherwise in use, and get entered in my May giveaway. You will be entered once for each image submitted. Submit as many as you like. By sending me your photos, you are agreeing that I may use them on my blog, facebook page, website or in-studio (of course, anonymously, without your name or other personal information listed.) Include your name and contact information in the email so I know where to find you if you are the winner, and also any other story or note about how you use my work. I will be taking submissions through the end of May and will be drawing the winner on Friday, June 1, 2011. Email submissions to: emily@emilydyer.com. Or, you can also drop off prints or a cd at my studio or mail them to me at: Emily Dyer; Northrup King Building; 1500 Jackson St. NE, Studio 394; Minneapolis, MN 55413. I can't wait to see them!!!

And Now They are Fired...

A couple of blog posts ago, I shared some sketches that I discovered in my ongoing studio cleanout. The finished plates just came out of the kiln and I'm really happy with them. I think they successfully reference the folk art quilt themes that inspire me but with a fresh, more contemporary twist and in my own illustrative "language." I read somewhere once, that you should never trace anything when creating illustrations but always redraw it free hand while referencing the source. This way it will always be translated through your own eye and hand, making it unique and special. This stuck with me and I always use this technique when creating my designs. The first batch of plates is available for sale here. 

Top Ten Pitfalls of the Pregnant Potter - Part 1

I've come across other articles and blog entries about parenting and pottery, how to balance family and work, the challenges of finding studio time with young kids, etc. But, I don't know if I've actually seen anyone address the reality of pregnancy while making pottery. It seems like maybe it's time. So, here is a partial list of the unexpected challenges pregnancy brings to the studio.

1. Not being able to reach the bottom level of the kiln anymore because your stomach is in the way and having to go begging artists down the hall for help.

2. Sticking your stomach into the side of a large bowl or platter while throwing it. I guess this could be a benefit if you go for the "mark of the artist" in your work. In my case, it just ruins the peice.

3. Crushing the rim of a freshly thrown pot with your newly burgeoning bosom. Again, could be a new decorative technique.

4. Can't get your elbow to your hipbone to brace yourself when trying to center a large lump of clay. I know it's back there somewhere!

5. Can't lift a box of clay. My doctor recommended not lifting more than 25#. You've got to be kidding me! Again, the embarrassing need to go soliciting help.

And, I'm just in my fourth month...it only gets better! I'll post the rest of the list later on in my pregnancy. Of course, by then maybe I'll be in that "serene" segment of my pregnancy with a "peaceful sense of wellbeing" and "radiant glow" (never happened with my first kid!) and won't feel like complaining anymore. Or, maybe I'll come up with the other 5 points in the middle of July when I'm standing outside in the heat and humidity doing art fairs in my 7th month. If you have personal experience, please feel free to add your comments if you feel I've missed anything important!