This is meant to give new artists and customers alike get a feel for the pleasant monotony of throwing 120 bowls for a project like this. Most people don’t realize that it takes over 70 hours of work to create the bowls for each years event. WoW!!!
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12″h by 7″w, handBuilt teapot assembled from slip cast parts, low fired
The sad thing is that I broke this piece right as I finished shooting these shots.
Sorry Bruce…
Special notice this time though is the inclusion of local ceramic artist and Associate Professor of Ceramics and Sculpture at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Trent Burkett.
Here’s the artist statement that was included in this exhibition…
Faceted Cylinder
My appreciation for functional objects ranges from the strictly everyday use of objects to the more eccentric and possibly sculptural aspects of experiencing objects. Their use can become obscured and inter-changed. My aesthetic incorporates the use of form and surface which employ organic/ gestural qualities as
Cut Neck Bottle
well as architectural / human invented forms. In this regard, I attempt to create a dynamic equilibrium between the sculptural aspects and the conventions of functionality. My experience with wood and salt-fired ceramics is important to my aesthetic goals. This process of firing with wood has solidified my understanding of the relationship between form, material, surface, and the traditions of firing. Currently, I dig and process most of my clay in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Working with more stubborn clays has challenged my working methods.
Wood Fired Faceted Bottle
The struggle to figure out a particular material and how it works is what holds my attention. Regularity in process and results rapidly creates boredom. Wood- firing is perfect for this very reason; it is for the most part unpredictable. However, with keen 
observation, one can build a palette out of the irregular and in a sense “casually mingle†with it to achieve desirable results. I also work with mixed-media to create singular objects as well as installations. The use of space as a medium in experiencing visual information is also a key element in my work.
Trent’s work can be found at
Trax Gallery, Berkeley,
Also view online at http://www.trentburkett.com
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me up.
If anybody is in town, her opening is 4- 7pm Saturday the 14th at the Goodwin gallery on the Miracle Mile in Stockton, CA. I’d love to see you there.
It’s that time of year again, the leaves are turning colors overnight, the fog is starting to roll in before everyone wakes up. I’m already boiling up water to set next to the throwing wheel. Seems a bit early this year. but, shruggs.A quick look over the fence and I see the local San Joaquin Potters Guild getting ready to host their 2 day sale at St Basil’s November the 20th & 21st. The guild has a few new members that are definitely worth the trip out of the house to meet. Head on over Friday night 5:00 to 7:00 for the artist reception and meet everyone.
This is pretty cool…I really enjoy sitting in on our local community college’s Art Club meetings. Not only is it good fun, but are they a great group of students and are smart enough to offer free pizza to everyone that attends too.Â
Ceramic artist and sculpture professor Gary Carlos is the lead for the club and they are looking to raise a spot of cash to keep the pizzas flowing. They gave it some thought and launched into a group collaboration project making a collection of cups to sell on the main quad of the campus. The project was to create 40 cups using slabs and coils. The outer surface was brushed coated using a black slip that the students scratched designs through to the white body. This was a thematic project, so on one side we carved, a death’s head (the more festive the better), and on the other, a saying of one sort or another.
Postscript… the students sold every single cup and raised over $250! Congratulations and I’m putting in a vote for pepperoni and mushroom!
I have to admit, earth shaking personal growth just doesn’t seem to happen as often as I would like any more, (honestly, I’m trying to get a grip on personal growth in any case, it’s way to distracting). It was through the kindness of the local University of the Pacific ceramics professor, Trent Burkett that I got to enjoy this wonderful treat.
Adam was very open about sharing the details of the tradition he was exposed to and he expertly demonstrated the processes used to create these large coil built containers. It’s a process that, once mastered, allows a potter to create a 30+ inch tall jar relatively quickly, in about 2 hours. The downside is it takes intensive study and a whole lot of focused work to get a good grip on the processes involved. Of course, this is massive understatement… 
I’ve really have to share a few pictures from workshop…
What a fantastic day! Everyone had a blast to watching both of these amazing artists sharing many of their insights on throwing large. Admittedly though… I’m still finding a guilty pleasure in a long day spent listening to older more experienced studio artist’s retelling their personal stories from the past 30 years of first hand art history. Oral history has always been a very decadent pleasure for me, but I’m beginning to see it as an “US Magazine” kind of thing. (I’m a total sucker for the old Volkus stories). There is so much West Coast history that you just can’t find between the covers of Ceramics Monthly
Hey… the next event will be even better!
