The Kindred in Blue & White Show

The show is up!
Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the opening night- it was so lovely to meet you all. The work all looked so beautiful together at Bookhou! The best part was unpacking everything and both Krystal and I being so excited about each others' work.  I couldn't have been more pleased with how it all came together.  Since the show is all about a shared kindred spirit, we displayed it just this way- with a bit of Krystal's work, and then a bit of my work- side by side in small groupings.  It all looked so pretty together- I'm really glad we were able to take the opportunity to create this show.

These photos were taken by Arounna at Bookhou.  Arounna and John have such a fabulous shop and home- their work is so stunning too.  I managed to bring home some pieces I had been admiring for quite some time, although it was hard to choose.  They are really such a talented pair.  And of course, their children are absolutely beautiful!

There was a bit of talk about some 'Kindred' work being available online, but we will be sure to post this if it is going to happen.  There are a few more photos on my blog if you are interested!

A blue and white preview

 From the most subtle blues to the darker blues and just about everything in between, I think I've managed to fall in love with blue in a whole new way.  As is always the case when making new work, I had a few glaze issues that rose up out of the wood-work for me.  It's a good reminder that after 18 years I still haven't managed to master the medium.  The mere act of working in clay keeps me humble.  That said, there was lots that did turn out- beautifully too! 

The best part about this show will be seeing it all come together at the opening.  I can't wait!

Don't forget- the opening is Thursday from 6-9pm! See you then!

happy making mode

Part of my preparation for kindred included moving to a new studio. I'd advise against doing this before a show if at all possible, however I had no choice. And I found myself a great new home. Ceramics always seems to involve problem solving at every pass, doesn't it? I bisqued all my pots prior to the move and packed them in bubble to transport them just a few blocks down the street to the new space, which I love. There's lots of natural light and we're in a building that is full of other creative types & my new studio mates are fantastic. My shelves are filling up with pots ready for glazing. I know Heather is about to shift into glaze mode, too -- I can't wait to see our work together in June!

Officially Invited

shades of blue

My favourite colour since as long as I can remember has been blue.  In grade school periwinkle blue stole my heart as the perfect blue, then it was Robin's Egg blue in High School, then a bright cobalt blue in the 90's.  It's hard to find a blue I don't like, but I've taken searching for the perfect blue quite seriously for the Kindred in Blue show.  The painter in me feels the need to pull out all the stops, so above you see my most thorough selection of blue stains currently in my studio.  Yeah, I have a bit of an obsession.
A little bit of clay geekery for you- the little bits of powder above are nearly all commercial stains- (mostly Mason Stains) used for ceramics to colour glazes, slips, and underglazes.  The cobalt you see up there is Cobalt Carbonate, which is the milder form of Cobalt oxide, which turns an incredibly deep blue when fired to high temperatures.  It may look rather mild- all pinky purple, but don't doubt for a minute that even a small smudge of this  stain on a pot will show up as blue. 
So what I've been doing is creating glazes either from just one of those stains, or a mixture of 2 of these with my 2 base glazes (one shiny and one semi-matt).  I've come up with some pretty shades of blue so far, but of course, there will be a few more that I'll reveal in my next glaze firing. 

Hello and welcome!

As this first blog post gets started we are pretty much 1 month away from the 'kindred' show at bookhou.  It is a show that has been just over a 1 year in the making, although the real work towards it, along with the actual pieces that will be exhibited are being made now.  This blog will be a place to document this process- the work leading up to the show, the inspiration behind the show, and some sneak peeks of the actual work that will be exhibited.

Krystal and I (Heather here) have both have had a really busy spring, but always in the back of our minds was our show and how we were going to link our work together in a cohesive way.  Both of us had been thinking about blue and white on our own, separately for a while, when it became a little more obvious that it could be a larger theme for our show.  An exhibit is often a good excuse to make new work, develop new ideas and processes along the way.  Some of the work we hope to exhibit will be similar to our usual work, others will be a departure from the usual.  We are almost ready to launch our promo and press for the show, which is really exciting.  Here is a glimpse of inspiration with some familiar work (my striped bottle vases) with some exciting new blue glazes on the way.