Burnish Studio Blog and Pottery News
All the updates that you are somewhat interested in knowing.
Soda Firing
As you can see above, another successful cone 10 soda fire came out at the end of November, and here we are, December, and another load is about to go in and fire to cone 6. Our new system is working well. The team has been working hard, (and it is hard work), to tighten the screws and cut the loose ends so that the soda system is less hard work and more smart work. Thank you to all who have helped out, we are looking ahead to 2024 and anticipating another successful year of soda firing.
OPEN CLASSES
While all the beginning and all level classes are full, the Throwing for Soda firing and Skill Refinement classes still have a few spots open in them. Jump on these now if you want to improve your pottery game. In addition, there are also spots left in the kids class, age 6-11. Always a great time, those classes, and so many amazing creations come out of them. If you are interested in more information, just follow this link.
Holiday Events.
Two great events are coming up. The first is an invitational, put on by Burnished Clay Artist Collective. It will take place at Evolve Chocolate + Cafe in Fairhaven at the top of Village books. The pop-up is from 11-4 on December 9th, and will feature these fine artists’ work: Alina Holmes, Barb Lerch, Carol Yoon & Emiko May, Dylan Atteberry, Finley Rick, Heather Hitt, Jennifer Nerad, Sara Young, Stephanie Ellis, and Will Abraham. The work will include several collaborations between many of these artists, truly one-of-a-kind pieces, so come on down and join us. Evolve is even donating 15% of their sales during the pop-up to the fund.
The next event is an all-studio ice cream social and sale at Mallard Ice Cream on Railroad street in Bellingham. The event will take place on December 16 from 1-4 pm. Everyone who works/learns/plays at Burnish clay studio is welcome to participate, either by selling or by attending the event. If you want to sell at the event, bring one or two pieces in to Burnish on December 11 from 11am to 4pm or December 12 from 10am to 2pm and fill out paperwork with Sara Young. The work should be free of flaws, (chips, cracks, shivers, dents, nicks, etc), and be of good quality. Sara will help to price the work, and when the show is over, if your work sells, you will receive 50% of the sale price (standard), and the other 50% will go to the Burnish studio grant fund and Burnished Clay Artists Collective. If you want to donate, simply bring in your work to drop off and 100% of the price of the work will go to the fund. While ice cream bowls and cups are encouraged, any type of work, even sculptural, is welcome and appreciated.
If you don’t want to sell pieces, do join us at Mallard. It is sure to be a fun event, and a chance to eat ice cream with cool people who love to play with clay.
Artist Spotlight: Marrah Williams
This month’s artist is Burnish’s own Marrah Williams. If you have worked in the studio, you might have seen her work (and Marrah herself) moving through; fishes, clocks, and birds are just a few of the things she creates in clay. She was generous enough to answer a few questions for us about her work, too.
How long have you been working with clay?
I took my first ceramic course about 7 years ago during my sophomore year of college. From that point on, I always had a sculpture class on my schedule and eventually a decided to get my BFA in Sculpture and ceramics.
What about clay is inspiring for you?
Clay has the ability to transform into nearly anything and that has always been exciting to me. I also find it to be a forgiving material, you can remove and replace material to create any form. Unlike sculpting with other materials like wood or granite. Difficult attachments that don’t seem to hold one day magically stick the next day after rehydrating or drying out the clay. Cracks that appear in my clocks after the glaze kiln will get filled with epoxy and covered in gold leaf. Forms that felt hodgepodge early in the process will introduce me to a new form or texture combo.
How did working with clay change your perception of yourself/the world?
I realized that I had quite a talent for making marine sculptures. My dad is a marine biologist, so his distinct understanding of marine mammals and the subtle differences between species started to rub off on me. I no longer was just sculpting a generic fish or a seal, it was a Northern fur seal pup or Yellow-eyed rockfish. Growing up in Alaska I would see these animals in person, which gave me direct knowledge of the details to make accurate representations. Then I learned that pictures from a variety of angles helped show those real-life details that are important. The shapes and textures of the animals became very interesting to me so I started to sculpt them. However, that didn’t feel like enough so one of my first major projects focused on marine debris and its effect on marine life. With that I realized art could be a
useful educator, both something beautiful to look at and to learn from.
What are some of your professional goals?
I want to learn the operation of kilns and the application of heat to the clay and glaze. Right now I make the forms and hope for the best with glazing. Truly understanding how the different firing methods and temperatures effects clay and glazes would allow me more control over my pieces.
When did you decide to make clay and art your life's work?
Clay isn’t quite my life's work yet, however I find I’m moving in that direction as I am able to sell more pieces. I do have a part- time job that allows me to purchase clay,
glaze and tools. Like many people with a hobby they are passionate about, if I were doing it full time maybe it would feel like a job rather than projects I look forward to spending time on after my normal work day.
What would you say to people just starting out in clay/art?
Keep at it! My first pieces were the building blocks that allowed me to continue to develop skills. You’ll only get better if you keep creating, making “happy” mistakes, and starting again after failure. I also like to experiment, that is making functional art like a clock inspires me differently than sculpting an animal or educating through art.
Weekly Tip!
The best way to improve your throwing skills, no matter what level you’re at, is practice. But, there are ways to practice that will help you improve more quickly than others. Here are some things to do the next time you sit down at the wheel:
Have a plan. When you sit down, know what you are there to do. Is it a cup? A bowl? A Vase? Pick one. Imagine it in your mind. Maybe even make a sketch. Then, work toward that form.
Don’t save all your work. Make ten balls, throw them all, but after you have them all on your ware board, save the best one or two. Wedge the rest of them back up to throw another day.
Throwing for 20 minutes every day will help you improve faster than 2 hours a week. So, get in practice frequently, even if you can’t spend a ton of time. 3 times a week for 30 minutes is better than once at 2 hours. Do the math, then, do the work.
Opportunities
December is a time to plan. Mostly because most places are busy with other things and not taking applications. So…I challenge you. Research galleries and shops in December and January. Make a list of 100/70/50/25 galleries that suit your work (this is the research part). Create a query packet, (Images, artist statement, bio, CV/Resume). On February 1st, send out your queries.