A Look at the Goings On in My Studio Today

Every so often I like to pick a day to give an overview of what’s going on in my studio on that particular day. This is a sort of virtual studio visit meets a day in the life of a ceramics studio as opposed to my usual in-depth look at a specific project or topic.

I am a ceramic artist who specializes in designing and making the kind of tile that factories can’t make because the work is too nuanced, detailed or the process of making doesn’t lend itself to large scale production. Some of my work is detailed mosaic like the "Mighty Louis" pool mosaic below, some of it is repeating designs, some art, some decorative, and all of it ceramic.

in process, 2016, 5' diameter

In November and December I was designing for a pool house mural project, a fairly large piece at about 7’ x 6’. And when I heard that the builder would be changing the size of the space for the mosaic, I put the project aside to wait for these new dimensions.

the drawing in process

A week ago I learned the mosaic size will be increased horizontally by 18” and vertically by 1-1/2”. Yikes. So Rob and I added the 1-1/2" to the bottom which was easy and then cut up the middle of the drawing to add in the extra horizontal space. We chose the middle because opening up the water and sky makes more sense visually than adding more thick plant life to the sides.

This was a frustrating and not particularly fun task, but it’s done and tomorrow I can begin drawing for this new area. Once finished, I’ll run it by the client and then begin cutting out the mural from clay slabs. I can’t wait for this and have been itching to get to this stage!

previously finished drawing cut apart and new space added

Today I also bought about 1/4 of the clay we’ll need for it: (white earthenware)

Meanwhile, Rob is working on our production tile collection called Cloud Porcelain which is carried through Ann Sacks Tile & Stone internationally. We’ve been getting new orders each day and he’s getting ready to ship out a small one of the Duals design in Ash Grey.

This collection is made with cast pigmented porcelain. The Duals are half glazed with clear and half raw porcelain that is sanded until very smooth to the touch. Below are Duals in Ash and next to it is this same design in Sky Blue from a few months ago.

The other endeavor that is taking lots of my time these days - aside from Steemit - is doing outreach to set up meetings with new potential clients during my trip to New York next week. Each trip I always try to meet with a few new interior designers and/or architects to introduce my work to them as well as to check in with a few existing contacts. I’ll also be visiting a lot with family and some friends too including some of my earliest Steemit friends which I’m excited about.

And lastly Rob and I are collaborating on a new mandala and he has been working on the carving for a sample of this. If it works out well - which I think it will - I will bring this on my trip to show as well.

I hope you enjoyed this peak into our day! Stay tuned for more progress on the pool house mural this week and more!

As always, I am grateful for your friendship, support and comments!