Dear Studio, I am sorry

Ernie has become a storage space:

So all the work for my upcoming drawing show and the residency applications I have been sending out has left me no time to work in my clay studio.  I feel guilty and sad for my lonely, neglected studio.  I wrote this letter:

Dear Clay Studio,

I am sorry that you have been neglected the past couple weeks.  Yes, I realize that bucket of reclaim is ready to be dried and wedged. And yes, vertebrae cup, I do care, and I do want to cast you. It’s just, you know, there’s another medium:  drawing.  Yes, I know it is not as fulfilling as you, but as soon as this show is over, we will continue on as if nothing every happened.  So be patient.  I will return soon. 

Forever yours,

  Lainey

Upcoming Show!!

I have been offered a solo of my drawing work at Lotus Arts in St. Louis on Cherokee (2608 Cherokee) Beautiful space! So very excited to show there!! I am working hard to get ready. Some of the drawings can be seen on my website.

 

The show, titled “Common Infinities” will be up from April 23^rd to June 3^rd.  The reception will be on May 6^th, from 7-10 pm.   There is another fantastic show happening that night at Mad Art. It is the MFA Thesis show of Dan Van Tassell (dvtceramics.com) and Brett Freund. 

After checking out the space I decided I wanted to make a couple smaller sized drawings.  As promised, here are some in progress pics:

I begin with white paper.  Basically the drawings are developed in the beginning by spraying ink and paint onto paper and allowing it to dry so that it creates beautiful filigree-like edges. 

This is the first stage of this set--looks like, well. yep.

    Drawings at various states in what I call the puddle-layering process.  (I know, so technical)

                                                                                                 

     
    This spot looked really nice, had some great qualities.  I especially enjoy the sheen on the blue--Bling!










    

    The same drawings further in the process, and a new baby in the middle...

      Thought the clay people may enjoy this-- The way the ink settled on the above drawing and detail at left looked really similar to the orange-peel affect you can achieve in atmosphere kilns--this one reminded me of some of my tea sets and vertebrae cups.

  




     This is what a drawing looks like when the puddle process is complete. I know it does not look like much at all, but once I work back into it with dry media, it changes quite a bit. Since this specific set was intended to be made into smaller drawings, I will find interesting areas and tear them down into smaller compositions. Below is another drawing that was just finished.

Anyway, come to the show!! Beautiful art, good food, and great company—what else is there to be desired!?

Hello Hello!!

        Hello all! thank you much for checking out my blog! This is the first post and I am learning as I go.  The purpose of this blog will be to follow my studio adventures in my home ceramics studio.  I recently graduated, and so I am undergoing the shift from school-studio to the new challenges of a private studio.  For your enjoyment, I will post images from my studio, images of others' work that I think is fantastic, and some of my own images.  If you are overcome with excitement, and would like to see images of my work now, the url is:

elainebuss.com

To kick off my blog, I thought it would be fun to post some studio images so you can get to know the environment in which I work:

Here is a view of my work table-I've recycled an old glass pane from an entertainment center to function as a dry-erase board for to-do lists.  Works amazingly!

This is my wheel, Ernie.  He is a Brent Model B.  Usually he stays much cleaner than this photo would leave one to believe.  We all have our bad days.

This is how I dry work faster in my basement level studio--works, make the studio smell good and adds to the ambience. What more could I require of my drying?

Ahh, the infamous vertebrae cup mold fail.  This is what it looks like when your mold walls fail.  Bad Day.



       And not to be forgotten, one of my favorite parts of my studio: my ipig, Gilbert.  His poor little ear does need some sort of stitches, butterflying, or minor surgery. But he is content and still makes my studio tunes happen for me.

    Thank you again for checking out my blog.  I hope to post often (as often as ceramics will allow--she is a jealous lover)    

         

                                Take care!