Enlighten: Curatorial Christmas

Stoneware Teacup in Pink and Yellow, $30

     Summer is over but we've been enjoying an Indian Summer here in Kentucky. As we prep for the colder weather, I'm prepping for upcoming wood firings. I'll be uploading as much of my wood-fired work as possible on my Etsy site after the firings so check out the shop over the next few weeks for updated items as you start to peruse the internet for your holiday shopping.

Porcelain teacup with blue roots, $30

     However, the variety and simple numbers of handmade items out there is overwhelming. There are many handmade portals on the internet but even searching on Etsy can be mind-numbing separating the cool, worthwhile stuff from the crap. I offer a couple of suggestions. My first is to let me (and others) curate for you! Etsy sellers (and buyers) have a link on their profiles called "Favorites." If you click on that link and the person has enabled it to public viewing, you can see items that they have already found on Etsy that they think are worthwhile and interesting. So instead of browsing through thousands and thousands of random items, you can narrow your browsing choices to people with similar taste to yours.

Hot flashes? Porcelain cream
and sugar set, Red Eruptions, $44 

Feel free to start at my shop! Be bold and buy that cup you've been wanting to give to your best friend, or to yourself! Then hit my "favorites" button and peruse items and whole shops that I think have some great hand made items.

Add your email to Frances' mailing list for regular updates!

     Maybe you want to get more involved, more in-depth. Maybe more than just handmade items, you're looking for some interesting art, interesting sounds, interesting ideas — not just now but at any time when you need to massage your creative appetite. Then let Frances Figart, curate for you! Frances has started a new email newsletter called "Coming UpArt". Frances, a writer who has focused mainly on sustainability and eco-tourism, describes the impetus for her venture:

"Artists are the least compensated members of the work force proportionate to the amount of joy they bring to human beings. Even in the face of difficulty, the inspiration of art, music, film, theatre or literary composition can make us feel that everything’s coming up roses."

 Amen to that! Frances has graciously included me and seven other talented artists — Nate Miller, Mike Coykendall, Patrick McNeese, Joe Lamirand, Kathleen Farago May, Paul Ramey and Hans Peter Jorgensen— in her inaugural newsletter. If you are interested in getting to know interesting artists and artisans, go to her site and add your email to her list by clicking on the link in the article to be a part of this newsletter!

http://francesfigart.wordpress.com
http://francesfigart.wordpress.com/coming-upart/
http://teahorsestudio.etsy.com
http://www.etsy.com/people/teahorsestudio/favorites

Enlighten: Nathaniel Miller, Botanical Photography

Phalaenopsis Orchid, © Nathaniel Miller 2011

     One of the things that inspires my work and informs it is the abundant nature around me. I remember several years ago when I rediscovered the joy of enjoying a flower: the color, the scent, the form. The cliché, "Stop and smell the roses" came floating to the forefront of my mind as I was soaking in seeing, really seeing, nature in front of me. When I go to my studio in the spring and early summer, I have these roses at the end of my walkway that are so pungent, so perfumed that when I close my eyes and breathe in, I can practically taste the scent in the back of my throat. In these moments, I know that material gadgets and things don't hold a candle to the environment we already inhabit—but we rarely take the time to become aware of it.

Yellow African Daisy, © Nathaniel Miller 2011

     Nathaniel Miller's botanical photography captures that richness of experience for me. The use of macro photography replaces our eyes but also aids our ability to get right up to the subject. He pours you into the middle of the flower's petals or the connection between blooms. His framing immerses us in the richness and luminescence of color, cropping out any distractions. You can almost drink in the perfume off the screen or paper.

Stargazer Lily pistil and stamen,  © Nathaniel Miller 2011

     My rediscovery of nature and my connection to it reaffirmed the fundamental message of life on the planet: we exist to reproduce. Nothing pares this down as well as the flower and it does so in such a beautiful package. We forget that the purpose of the flower is all about the reproduction and in parallel, we forget that about our own humanity. That simple realization is what keeps me coming back to issues of sexuality, maturity, relationships in the human experience in my own work and how, it seems, we often intellectually remove ourselves from our own basic nature. It seems Miller also has come to this epiphany and celebrates it with his lens. I think that's why I love Miller's images so much. In his compositions are great balance, beautiful detail, color, richness of floral beauty and inescapable sexuality. Awesome.

Snapdragon Flower Buds,  © Nathaniel Miller 2011

     Miller uses a Canon Powershot SX IS5 with a macro lens for his images. He's been taking botanical images, starting with his love of gardening in his backyard, for about 10 years. You can learn more about Miller and view additional images or even order prints here on his blog. Miller has made some select images available on various items such as organic t-shirts, phone cases, laptops skins and more prints available for purchase at his Cafe Press site here. [All images on this post © Nathaniel Miller 2011]

Enlighten: Article to Read: Why The Arts Matter

Blog by Mashrabiyya on Word Press. 

From the blog, Mashrabiyya, many articles worth reading.

Go here and read this.

Artist as Career Choice

Control Freak, Cynthia Cusick; [detail] Comfort in Discomfort, Crimson Duvall;  All Is Not Lost, Lyndsey Fryman

My co-conspirator, friend and colleague, Crimson Duvall, graduated a few years before me from the EKU program and then went on to receive her MFA from UK. She, Lyndsey Fryman (whom I'll be featuring a bit later) and I collaborate on group shows, selling work and mostly keeping ourselves focused on our careers. We have become a little coven of three, meeting and plotting our next moves, exchanging information and generally, keeping each other on track. One of the big roadblocks to a successful art career, however you choose to measure it, is that without that supportive network that a school atmosphere readily provides, it's very easy to let the whole thing drop by the way side and watch your artistic vision wither on the vine. Classes create discipline and structure and also provide opportunities for intense feedback in critiques. Once you're out, there is this vacuum of external context and you, yourself, have to make up the difference by motivating yourself, critiquing yourself, raising the expectations on yourself. It's hard to make that switch, often because the biggest failing of art schools and art programs is the total lack of practical professional preparation they provide. No information is given about tax issues, how to approach galleries, how to market your work or even the importance of marketing your work. No discussion is held about losing direction and motivation once you graduate. Often, the only viable career option discussed regularly as you work your way through college classes, is not to produce art but to teach art. Get your MFA! There's an opening for an adjunct professor at ________! And so on.
     There is certainly nothing wrong with the option of teaching art, in fact, I think in today's culture in the US, more art, and particularly, art appreciation, needs to be taught, not less. However, for every one who goes on to become an art professor, there are those of us, Crimson, Lyndsey, myself, who need to become an artist, to make art, to pursue it as a career choice, to inspire others, simply by doing the work every day, watching us produce, think, execute, fail, and get up again. And let's not box art in by insisting that it must be college educated. There are many, many, many self-taught artists making extraordinary work. Suddenly finding meaning in a piece that initially intrigued and moved you simply because you found out the artist holds an MFA from a university that you think is prestigious means, to me, that you didn't really understand what you felt in the first place. But that's another posting....
     As I have a blog, my friend, Crimson launched her blog. I suggest you check it out. Understanding the artist sometimes fleshes out our understanding of the work.

Enlighten: Brilliant Mistakes

Wanna be in the movies? Here's your chance. Follow my bouncing thoughts...

I wrote a small essay a while back about the beauty of handmade things. Particularly in today's world, I think appreciating and investing in handmade is important. When I say "handmade" though, it means more than placing your hands on a physical object and making something new and original, it can also mean producing an original vision and experience. In the arts, things like music, dance and theatre fall into this category. You can add other subsections of these: opera, film, performance art, and so on. Original compositions of these aspects are also "handmade" in that they start with a vision or an idea and become a final piece, no less worthy or difficult than the mug produced by a potter. For each artist, in whatever capacity they express themselves, gives a bit of themselves over for public scrutiny, adds a bit of themselves in the finished work for all to see. For me, making art on any level, is an expression of living life and a contribution to the human experience on an incremental scale.

Am I suggesting that those of us who don't produce art are somehow less human and can't participate in that which is handmade because we work at office jobs, financial jobs, teaching jobs, retail jobs, dirty jobs? Not at all. For each of us who can contribute our vision, we need those of us who can support that vision by investing in it. When you buy a mug, you invest in an artist. When you purchase a CD from a new indie band, you invest in an artist. Even if you don't "make" the art, you still participate in the celebration of human expression. You, too, can be an investor and here's your chance...

Paul Brighton

My friend, Paul Brighton, is an extremely talented individual. I met him years ago when he was making music, playing drums in a band. He was a musician and I was in awe of his talent, along with the talent of the other members of the band. Not only was he talented, he was ruthless in his pursuit of making things sound better. Hours and hours of practice, over an over again until he got it right, even the smallest bits. In the end, at concerts, it paid off in performances that total strangers responded to and loved. That experience taught me a lesson in perseverance and tenacity and how important it is to keep learning from your mistakes until you get the result you're looking for. Respect for your own work.

Years later after going our own ways and then getting back in touch recently, I paid a visit to his place and saw all these beautiful paintings on his walls. Paintings that he did! Who knew? I thought he was just a musician! But that's the beuaty about creative minds. Because he is a creative person first and foremost, he creates, where ever and when ever and when he does, he does an excellent job. Now, Paul is on a new adventure. He's about to fulfill a lifelong dream and passion for making movies. After several projects in entertainment, Paul is gathering his energy, ideas, people and props for an independent movie and that's where you, the arts investor, come in. If you ever wanted to be in a movie or help out with a movie or say you were part of a movie, Paul can use your help. If you go to the links provided on this page, they take you to IndieGoGo where Paul has uploaded his pitch for his vision, his film, Brilliant Mistakes. He tells you all about it and then you can choose how much you'd like to chip in, from $25 to $75K. At each level, you get perks and that's the great part! Depending on your investment, you get a copy of the movie and then, can go from a chance to be an extra in the film to the red carpet at the premier to having your name in the credits, permanently, for all to see, from this point forward. Paul is driven and this will happen and you can be a part of it. I've chipped in my chunk of change, get on the bandwagon and help make this happen!

Enlighten: Jessica Armstrong

     This is an introduction to and heads-up about my friend and former classmate from EKU, Jessica Armstrong. It will be redundant to say Jessica is "a little out there" as frankly, all my art friends and associates are like that. Let's say that Jessica is energetic, physically expressive and has a great sense of humor. What she also has is a wicked vision of metal in jewelry. Currently, she's working on her MFA in metalsmithing at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. Not to be stopped, she also works in 2D in photography.

Here is a link to more images of her work. 

     Much of the work I was familiar with at EKU when were were in class under Felicia Szorad involved body wear and jewelry that was purposefully restrictive and uncomfortable. If you read her statement on the front page, it pretty much wraps up where she's coming from right now. After she gets out of school, she tells me she has plans for a blog to keep people updated on her work and possibly an Etsy site but right now, grad school is where she is focusing all her energy. Keep an eye out for her work in the coming years. Cheers to Jessica and continued great work in the future.

Enlighten: The Beauty of Hand-Made

Thank god for modern inventions. I cannot imagine the cost and availability of everyday objects we use without modern manufacturing. Yes, there is an industrial cost to our environment and to our health in many instances, but really try to imagine what it would be like if everything you needed to enjoy your modern 2011 life, was hand-made. How much would that coffee-maker cost? Would it operate the same or would you be hand-grinding the beans? There are minuses to our modern manufacturing world, no doubt, but I, for one, appreciate the plusses that make mundane, daily life easier than the generation before us here in the Western World.

     Beyond the cost of environmental stress from modern manufacturing, what other minuses are we talking about? I think we lose the connection to our humanity because we become detached from the actual process, energy and effort it takes to make an object. We lose the experience of how complicated making any one thing can be. We become more and more separate from our beginning nature of homo sapien, and the basic tool making needed just to survive. In losing that, we lose our connection to nature, and the environment from which we evolved. Am I suggesting that we all ditch our cappuccino makers, grab a stone and rock and grind our own coffee beans to make our morning joe? Or carve out a hollow in some wood so we have a mug to drink it from? Not at all.

     I had a Krups cappucino maker for years that I’ve carted around with me but it’s been gathering dust because I broke the glass carafe that the coffee drips into which is also the measuring cup for the right amount of water. I left it in the back room, gathering dust because I just couldn’t bear to chuck something that was otherwise, fully functional but I also didn’t have the energy to hunt down the Krups site and find the right replacement carafe. So it sat. And I went cappucino-less for decades. But then some time, a few weeks ago, I thought, surely I can find the right vessel to use with the machine! And I did, a hand-made mug, thrown, carved, glazed and fired by a single person, just the right height to fit under the spout and just the right opening to fit the old carafe top that keeps the coffee from spitting out all over the place. Better yet, when the cappuccino is done, it’s already in the cup, no transferring from a carafe, no extra clean-up. And it’s a lovely cup. It’s become My Cappucino Mug.

Blue cereal bowl by me, My Cappucino Mug made by Melissa Zimmerman.

     One human being created this cup with her hands using basic principles that have existed for centuries. Using materials that come from the earth that we evolved from. In this one mug is the aptitude of an individual who had her hands on the clay, shaped it similar to, but not exactly like the next one she made. The form of this particular mug, the shape and placement of the handle, the carving motif, the glaze choices, the color palette, they all reflect on the individual person who created it. They are evidence of the spark that represents our connection to nature but also what makes us different from the rest of nature. Not just basic tool making and tool use, but sophisticated tool use without stepping into total machine manufacturing and thereby disconnecting us from nature. It’s not perfect, some lines are chunkier than others, some colors run into others. It shows variation and the mark of the hand which reminds us of our uniqueness.

     The beauty of hand-made items, whether they be mugs, body adornment like jewelry and accessories, furniture, art, sculpture, clothing, is that they can offer a connection to your fellow human being. They can offer an experience of human sophistication more directly connected to nature. They can offer a unique item that represents not just the individuality of the creator but also of the person who chose that item. They celebrate the ingenuity, effort and creativity, the spark of humanness.

     I encourage you to get out there are visit art fairs and craft fairs. If that’s not possible, there are a ton of internet venues to find hand-made items for sale. I use Etsy, based out of Brooklyn, and one of the first “hand-made-for-sale” sites. Many friends and associates of mine have also set up shop with Etsy like 

Starry Road Studio by Karen Totten , American Walkingstick by David Warner, and, previously mentioned, Lori Phillips Ceramics . But be warned, there are many items out there. A good way to get started hunting for cool things is to look through collections or curated lists called "treasuries" on Etsy, or, if you find work you like, check out who that artist likes on their favorite list.

     I'm surrounded in my home by manufactured goods and I love the standard of loving that comes with that, but I also appreciate the creativity and uniqueness represented by original, hand-made work. I hope you do, too.

Enlighten: Lori Phillips, Ceramic Artist

Adaptation Show, Richmond, KY -  2010 (Lori Phillips, artist)

It's all well and good to update what's going on around these parts and how work is progressing but sometimes it's more interesting to me and more fun to look at other people's work and some significant influences in the world around me. First up on the agenda is my fellow ceramic artist, Lori Phillips.

Lori Phillips is a warm, quirky, inquisitive, loving, talented and inspirational artist based in the Richmond, KY area. She also graduated from EKU with me from the Ceramics BFA program under Joe Molinaro, a semester ahead of me. We share a similar sensibility and source of inspiration from the world around us and you can see how our work feeds off of, and influences us. She has a beautiful feel for color and is adventurous with it and with the many textures she uses in her functional work and her sculptural work.

She and I collaborated on a group show we put together at the Irvinton House Museum in 2010 called Adaptation which I'll post about at a later date.

Lori has her own blog and her own Esty shop and I say to you: GO THERE NOW!

My "Enlighten:" moments are things or people that I think you should know about. Because their work is good, because their cause is good, because their influence is good.