La Mesa @ NCECA

This postcard image just showed up in my inbox from Santa Fe Clay. Below are the 3 faces of the vase that I sent for this show.

NCECA @ Craftsman House Gallery

This year’s National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts is just about a week away. Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida will be overrun with clay artists, teachers, and enthusiasts. I am lucky to have work in several shows and locations in the area, though I won’t be there myself. One of them is The Art of Function at the Craftsman House Gallery.

Above is a poster for 2 shows hosted by Craftsman House in St. Pete, The Art of Function and Contemporary Traditions in Art Pottery. These posters, rolled in a mailing tube, made their way around the country from potter to potter. Each person represented on the poster has autographed each poster, re-rolled the stack and sent it to the next person on the list. If you’re in town for the conference, stop by to see the show and pick up a poster that traveled many miles in a circuitous route to make it back to Craftsman House.

Handmade for Japan Auction

Everyone is feeling compassion for the devastation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. Many of us in the clay field have been heavily influenced by Japanese pottery that dates back to 10,000 BCE. We have been seeing pictures from our Japanese friends on Facebook of damaged or crumbling kilns and storefronts with broken windows and pots. The catastrophe effected what many of us, including myself, consider hallowed ground, Shoji Hamada’s studio and museum in Mashiko .

Handmade for Japan is an online auction of unique, handmade art donated by concerned, invited artists. One hundred percent of all net proceeds collected via the auction will be donated to the relief efforts in Japan.

Click on the image above to link to the ebay auction. Bidding will take place between 8PM Thursday March 24th – Sunday, March 27th. Click here for more information and to see the items for auction on Facebook.

If you are a pottery enthusiast, now is the time to buy from a distinguished group of potters…And bid HIGH.

For the Table

This is a view of the exhibition, For the Table: Dinnerware, at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. It opened March 4 and runs through April 10. It is a show of place settings by potters from around the country. There are some fantastic plates, bowls, mugs, tumblers, cups and saucers that can all be viewed and purchased online by clicking here.

The participating artists in the show are: Albion Stafford, Andrew Gilliatt, Brenda Quinn, Daniel Ricardo Teran, David Eichelberger, Frank Martin, Gail Kendall, Gwendolynn Yoppolo, Hiroe Hanazono, Jana Evans, Jennifer Martin, Joseph Pintz, Kristine Morich, Kyla Toomey, Martha Grover, Marty Fielding, Matt Hyleck, Meredith Host, Paul Donnelly, Ursula Hargens, Victoria Christen, Ingrid Bathe, Bryan Hopkins, Alec Karros, and Brenda Quinn.

Going Back to Ohio

After moving away from Columbus for nearly 6 years ago, I surprisingly haven’t managed get back to Ohio for a visit. Next month I’ll be making my first trip back. I’ll be one of 3 presenters at the Functional Ceramics Workshop in Wooster. This is a 3-day regional conference complete with an invitational exhibition, demonstrations, slideshows, 200+ pottery enthusiasts, and a chicken roast.

The event has been organized for 35 years by Phyllis Blair Clark. This year, the presenters will be Charity Davis-Woodward, Jan McKeachie Johnston and myself.

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I’m excited and honored to be a part of the workshop and thrilled to get back to see some good friends.

Baltimore or Bust

So, I’m in the home stretch in preparations for the American Craft Council show in Baltimore. I’ll be hanging out, talking shop, & selling work in the Baltimore Convention Center from 2/22 – 2/26. Tuesday and Wednesday are open to gallery owners/managers/buyers and Thursday – Sunday are open to the public. Whichever your affiliation, stop by and see me in booth #2408.

Here are a few shots of the ware rack last night as glazing is underway. The first of 2 kilns is nearly ready to load and fire and the second will be warming up on Friday.

This is some dinnerware that was painted with a white terra sigillata and panels or circles in black slip. The first step after the bisque firing is applying a black wash over the entire piece and sponging it off. The surface is textured and the stain stays in the low areas. These fine black lines should be clear when you enlarge the image. These will have either red or turquoise accents. The red is applied under the clear glaze and the turquoise works best over the glaze.  When they are fired they should look similar to these cups.

In addition to these plates and bowls, there are pitchers, teapots-round and square, oil bottles, vases, and serving dishes, and lots of cups in the works. If you’re in the B’more vicinity, please stop by and say hello.

New Pots in the Webstore

Since the chocolate fiesta last weekend, I’ve been shooting photos of pots from every angle, cropping and resizing them, and posting them on my etsy page. Here is a slide show  preview of the brand new pottery available at martyfielding.etsy.com.

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