Lynn Wood Cup Workshop

I'm on the right with a fellow workshop attendee and studio member on the left.

Lynn Wood aka The Pottery Texture Queen http://potterytexturequeen.com is passionate about texture in her ceramic work. I took a workshop from her about a year ago and it greatly influenced my work.

Today I took another workshop from her called Cups, Cups, Cups! As you might have guessed from the name, the workshop focused on what makes a good cup. We explored this idea with demonstrations and hands-on opportunities to try her techniques for ourselves. With soft slabs we made cups and many types of handles. We left with helpful tips and templates to try in our own work. I am looking forward to trying what I learned today in the near future and sharing it  with you.

Today's workshop also means that another one of my 50 challenges (see my second Blog entry) is complete...#19 make a cup. I maybe shouldn't count it until it is glazed but I am doing it anyway!

Lynn is such a great teacher, a fabulous artist, and a lot of fun. I would recommend taking a workshop from her if you get the chance.  I hope she will start a blog of her own soon.

Lynn Wood aka The Pottery Texture Queen

I got a handle on it!

Examples to inspire us!

The mugs I made

100 Fish Sketching Challenge is complete! On to the next creative challenge!

One of my 50 challenges from my list is completed. I thought that sketching 100 fish would be simple as this is a motif I love to work with. Honestly it took longer than I expected and I struggled with continuing. I ended up getting some help from Google images to move faster as my brain wasn't giving me the variety I needed. Here is the collage of my sketchbook pages. This gives you a glimpse of the good, the bad and the ugly of my quick fish!

Visiting Sharon Virtue

Sharon Virtue in her studio and her ceramic goddesses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little over a year ago I took a workshop with Sharon Virtue http://virtuevision.org/ at Clay Creations in Pacifica www.claycreationspacifica.com  all about surface decoration on clay. Sharon was welcoming and informative. I love to illustrate on clay, and I am a printmaker too so I found the workshop to be very relevant and applicable to what I do with my art. She made such a great impression on me that I have been a fan ever since.

50 Creative Challenges:

Setting goals for drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, and more!

To keep myself focused (a bit), I made a challenge list in my sketchbook. I combined a 30 Day Drawing Challenge page I found on Pinterest, with this great book I found at the library called, Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists, by Carla Sonheim, and a few of my own creative wants. Below is the list I came up with.

*Kristina’s Creative Challenges:

1.       Blog

2.       A place I want to go

3.       A turning point in my life

4.       Create 30 octopus paintings/illustrations

5.       Draw 100 different fish quickly in your sketchbook

6.       Create a work of art inspired by 1 or all 100 fish

7.       Draw my feet

8.       Draw my left hand

9.       Draw myself

10.   Family pictures

11.   Favorite fairy tale

12.   Favorite food

13.   Favorite plant or flower

14.   Favorite TV show or movie

15.   Favorite word

16.   Lift writing and draw it

17.   Make a book

18.   Make a butter dish

19.   Make a cup

20.   Make a large tile and paint a scene on it

21.   Make a spoon

22.   Make a vase

23.   Make an oil painting

24.   Make three large platters over 12”

25.   Most recent accomplishment

26.   Paint on a page of writing and us e the text in the creation

27.   Print something 9x12 or bigger

28.   Sculpt  or mosaic something

29.   Someone you love

30.   Someone you miss

31.   Something orange

32.   Title/Create a piece inspired by the word “Wishing”

33.   Go to a zoo or aquarium and draw in your sketchbook (Lab # 4-5)

34.   At the coffee shop (Lab # 10)

35.   Your Eyes (Lab # 12)

36.   100 faces (Lab # 16)

37.   Inspiration from another artist (Lab 17-23)

38.   Imaginary creature or monster (Lab # 26)

39.   Collaborate with a kid – drawing (Lab # 28)

40.   Nature – bird

41.   Number game (Lab #34)

42.   Random Pick Drawing (Lab # 37)

43.   Take photos of sidewalk cracks and draw what you see (like seeing images in clouds) (Lab # 38)

44.   Nature – bug (Lab # 40)

45.   The office (Lab # 47)

46.   Travel drawing (Lab # 48)

47.   Go to the park and draw in nature sketchbook (Lab # 41)

48.   Make a poster (Lab # 50)

49.   Story board a scene from a fairy tale (Lab # 51)

50.   When this list is completed, write a reflection, create a photo collage and share it with others!

*(#33-49 are from, modified, or inspired by Drawing Lab Book)

Our local art center has the 50/50 Show. The show is 50 works of art created in 50 days. I am not ready to enter this year so this is my own version of the 50/50 show…it is 50 challengers and there is no time limit. This is for personal growth as an artist. My list of 50 includes goals creatively, with ceramics, drawing, painting, career, and printmaking. Feel free to follow my list with me or make your own.  I am not going to necessarily work them in order. I look forward to sharing. Thanks for following me.

It is time to Blog!

 

The Peninsula Arts Council (www.peninsulaartscouncil.org)  presented an Artist’s Workshop last Tuesday evening on harnessing the power of social media for artists. The speaker was a printmaker named Jamie Watson (http://www.pineappleluv.com). She was very helpful and shared her knowledge on how to get one’s art more visible through social media such as Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, Flicker, Twitter, Blogging, and more. I already use Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, and have a webpage for Pufferfish Press (www.pufferfishpress.com). However, I do not blog. Today that changes. This is my attempt at creative karma. I will share my creativity and experiences in the hopes of it coming back to me. I have some Florence and the Machine playing and I have the house to myself on a sunny Saturday evening…it is perfect. It is time to start.