Arts (ceramic and otherwise) in season here in Western Mass

We have had a very sunny and mostly mild fall and the leaves and the light are so beautiful!

I am not such a big fan of the cooler temps but the natural beauty of New England autumn is always something to look forward to.

As far as this being a season for the arts, most people probably think of the Paradise City show that happens here in Northampton over the holiday weekend. I am not exhibiting this year, but am definitely planning to stop in.

So if you are coming out this weekend for that show, let me give you one more arts event that you should include in your trip (or make a trip for some other day): Art in the Orchard in Easthampton.

It's a beautiful setting and you walk through it at your own pace; there are around 20 pieces so you can see it all in about an hour or so. Some are by local artists and other artists are from across the country.

If you can get there on a non-weekend day you probably can have a lot of it to yourself. And you can also visit their pick-your-own orchards while you are there.

Art in the Orchard is open through October. If you are coming out to Western Mass for the Paradise City show, or if you are just looking for a reason to make a trip out here (or just for an outing if you are local) this is a fun way to feed the senses.

One last note -- this coming Friday is Arts Night Out in Northampton, and there is an opening reception for a show called Be Here Now at the Forbes Library. So if you were feeling really ambitious you could do an arts trifecta!

Castle hill workshop

I just finished teaching a workshop at Castle Hill center for the Arts this week. It was called "Layered Surfaces and Intuitive Form".  Who knew a week would go so quickly, we got through a lot of the surface techniques that I wanted to cover, but besides demonstrations students barely had time to get in to form. 

 

Pictures below are of  a demonstration that I gave for making my new flower arranging forms and the workshop attendees work. 

If you missed this week with me, come to this hands on workshop  and learn  about my surfaces at Odyssey Center for Craft in Ashville, North Carolina. 

Flower arrangement forms

New forms are exciting, but take a long time.
Teaching at Holyoke is over this week, so I'm looking forward to time in the studio and in the garden.

Bring along a friend and visit the Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail this spring!


9th Annual Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail

April 27 and 28, 2013

10 am - 5 pm
Check out the potters on the trail
Each potter will host a guest  potter.

Mary Barringer 

Molly Cantor 

Stephen Arp

Lucy Fagella

James Guggina 
Tiffany Hilton
Donna McGee
Francine Ozereko
Tom White

The Pottery Trail is a self-guided driving tour of clay studios in western Massachusetts.

This year, there will be 8 guests in addition to the 9 potters that will welcome visitors to their studios.

Work from Worcester Pottery Invitational

January workshop at Mudflat

 At Mudflat Studio  January 26 &27

"Create pots for your decoration, create decoration for your pots." In this workshop Adero Willard will present ways to bring together form and surface in a more personally intuitive way. The workshop will include hand-building and throwing demonstrations, along with an array of decoration techniques. Discussions may include idea generating, aesthetics, and studio practice methods. A short hands-on portion of the workshop will provide time to practice the techniques of making and decorating, including guided surface and form exercises. The goal of these clay explorations is to initiate play and to stimulate curiosity in order to generate new ways to work with form and surface. "My goal is that participants will come away inspired and with a host of fresh ideas and skills to bring to their own work."

Adero Willard Artist Statement:
One unifying thread in my work is the manipulation of surfaces. This is often inspired by designs on textiles—from quilts from American cultures to hand-sewn Indian wedding dresses. I play with surfaces in ways similar to the textile artist: overlap, camouflage, veiling, revealing, and decorating.
In my newest pieces, I started to become interested in a traditional sgraffitto technique, where imagery is carved into the top layer of the paint to reveal areas of the surface underneath. Using this technique I can work on the surface of a pot like a drawing.
I am still essentially intrigued with the surfaces I’ve been creating over the past few years that combine layering pattern, and color, with a wax resist technique to create surfaces, where some parts are hidden, some are revealed, and some are seen under the veil of a layer. These are surfaces I’ve developed technically, but are also a part of a narrative, and an expression of my personal story.
Working with clay offers a very personal challenge: it has been my means of exploring my identity as a women of mixed race heritage. While a fairly abstract concept for pots, it is deeply rooted in my work, manifested in my layered surfaces. To see examples of Adero’s work – www.aderowillard.com
Tuition: $300.00, members $150.00

Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27, 10 am - 4 pm both days

The crafted object : Adero Willard – ceramicist

Check it out! I've updated my aderowilllard.com website, and my Etsy Site. Read further for a special Etsy offer. 

What gets me through the holiday season, besides spending as much time as possible in the studio. Listening to podcasts and audiobooks. Comedy podcasts have been a big hit lately, and I have been enjoying listening to interviews, sketches, and riffs. My favorites right now are the Long Shot podcast, Cashing in with T.J. Miller, and You Made it Weird. I feel a connection to comedians. They have chosen a lifestyle, where they create something that we need but don't need, and they like to make people happy. I have also been listening to John le Carré's, Tinker Tailor Soldier, Spy on audio book, which I have also read before, watched on BBC, and whatever other versions available.

Check out a great blog, and read an article written by Julie Gibbons, creator of  the blog  contemporary craft, surface design, photography, and the stories behind the art. She just wrote and article about my work and influences as a potter. "The crafted object : Adero Willard – ceramicist"

Julie Gibbons writes a blog that discusses " contemporary craft, surface design, photography, and the stories behind the art". 
Also, I am on my way to the studio to glaze my last pots for Craft Boston Holiday. Here are a couple of teaser process pictures. I hope they make it through the next two kiln firings.

Come visit me at Craft Boston this weekend to see the finished pieces.

If you have read this far down. I also want to extend to you free shipping on my Etsy site. When you purchase something, just type in "AderoHoliday" ( without quotation marks).

Where to shop this year

Some great gift ideas for the holidays and beyond. More to come...


 

Check out Jeffrey Lipton's pots at jeffreyliptonpottery.com
Here is an excerpt from Jeffrey's artist statement. " Jeffrey Lipton combines illustration with utilitarian ceramics. His images are drawn from his life experience in rural New England. The scenes depict people at work and the tools of their trades. The characters are often farmers, lumberjacks, or carpenters in pursuit of good lives in a rural setting.  As a potter, Lipton creates ceramic forms that are dual purpose — functional and decorative — designed for everyday use and as a canvas for his drawings. Working with stoneware and wood firing process, the final result integrates form, function, and lifestyle."


From Tandem Glass at TandemGlass.com

Want to have the prettiest funnest glass ever? These make amazing gifts if you can actually part with them to give them away. I have eight of them of varying sizes use them every day, from water to wine.

Hand blown glass with unique colorful elements. These glasses have a sexy irregularity that speaks to the hand made process. Durable Beautiful Made in America by the Designer. Opulence for the irreverent!