gimme some sugar baby

yes, i would like a little coffee with my cream and sugar please.
sweet tooth creamer and sugar set.

i was invited to participate in a creamer sugar set show at the carbondale clay center in january.

chicagoland.

renegade was a success and a whirlwind of a weekend! thanks to everyone who came out for the sale. i was not prepared for the chicago weather as i did not bring sensible shoes for snow. and unfortunately i believe i brought back the nasty chicago weather to kansas city. sorry kcmo. please forgive me.

some shots of my booth from day 2 of renegade.
while in chicago, i was introduced to the candy/ice cream shop "Margie's Candies". one word: amazing. check out the presentation of my caramel banana split. they use huge clam shell dishes and yes, that's a gravy boat full of caramel. they are the home of the world's largest sundae(half gallon of ice cream), called the Atomic Sundae. two thumbs up.

NCECA.

i'm sad to say i probably will not be attending NCECA in pheonix this year. while poking around the NCECA website, i discovered that some images from the 2008 juried student show from pittsburgh this past conference have been added. they included an image of my chomp setting although it was not the piece they selected. hmmm... check it out!

the chomp setting was from the series i completed right before my residue thesis work. here is one version of it, on the NCECA website is a slightly different version.

craftacular!

i am psyched to be a vendor with my foldedpigs ware at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in Chicago next weekend.
this summer's outdoor fair was blessed with torrential downpours. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the nasty weather stays away this time.
pretty please no blizzards!

stray hair.

i just sent off some white on white work to the clay studio in philly for GIFTED the annual holiday exhibition.



some stray hairs found their way on to the surface of the work.
a montage of detail shots.no matter how many times you flick at them or try to wipe them away...
they won't budge.

D-E-V-O

hey spuds! are we not men?
i have been dreaming about this halloween group costume for some time now (2 years or so) and am psyched to see it through! this week in studio i was a bit distracted because of halloween, my favorite holiday. so honestly, my effort this week was getting the group and materials together to pull this off.

welcome to the world of de-evolution and DEVOCOM.
we ended up mixing and matching devo fashion styles through the ages. so we were "DEVO's greatest hits".

yellow jumpsuits were needed...franklin wanted to attack the yeti in the studio. rain and i did a bunch of dye tests to these coverall painting suits. the numerous dyes did not take. spray paint became the colorant of choice. the group had a bit of a crafternoon or more of a crafterevening. tom and paul sprayed the suits, and amy cut out the DEVO stencils for the suit lettering.
after figuring out the energy dome hat measurements (math is hard!) we compassed and cut out the cardboard circles and used strips of posterboard for the sides. enter the massive amounts of packing tape. rain and i got into a rythmn with the circle construction.
the bottom hat ring was cut to accommodate each individuals head size and the stacked circles were attached with MORE packing tape. red spray paint provided the finishing super shiny touch.
rain modeling an energy dome pre-spray paint. black duct tape/industrial velcro belts and cardboard/pipe cleaner glasses made up the accessories to complete the outfit.
the final product. we are DEVO. D-E-V-O. the group: rain, paul, meredith, amy, tom.
you think we like wearing these? we HAVE to wear them.

overall a HUGE hit. we only were mistaken for "the cars" once. ha!

Cup: The Intimate Object VI

i was invited to participate in Charlie Cummings Gallery show "Cup: The Intimate Object VI". this is strictly an online exhibition. please do check it out...there are some sweet cups in the show; they will be up until Dec 31st.

my stray hair mug + inside detail.

photos by charlie cummings

forever fall.

new batch of work! already shipped out to the "gifts from the heart" show at LUX Center for the Arts in lincoln, nebraska.

the weather as of late has been spectacular and great for lunch time picnics out on the patio of the studio. a renegade bowl in use.

we have a fenced in side yard at the studio. the wood privacy fence is where the patio eating area is. franklin the studio dog can't get enough.

first glaze kiln.

after figuring out the glitches with the kilns, 2 of the 3 are up and running. i took a hiatus from bright color during my thesis time. well folks, it's back...

these suckers have already been shipped off to pewabic pottery in detroit.

i need to share... we have a cute but smelly studio dog.

stu stu studio: 360 view

west side.south side.


east side.

north side. with view into the common area.please excuse the spliced photoshop job.

it will be mine. oh yes it will be mine.

3212 gillham plaza is my dream building.
granted i have not seen the inside of said building (word on the street is that it's full of junk)...
but the outside is amazing.
amazing i say. i'll say it again. amazing.


it's my favorite terracotta decorated building in kcmo. i might walk over there soon and take some photos. the pics i have are scanned from slides from an old kcai slide show tile presentation.


as far as i know, it was a cosmetic factory back in the day. i believe the company was Luzier.

it's GIGANTIC. it could accommodate ample living space, studio space, retail/gallery space.
it has its own parking lot. costco is in its back yard. literally.

i want it. oh how i love cloud talk.



EDIT (after further investigation):
a found an original photo of the factory on the luzier cosmetic website.

company info:
Thomas Luzier revolutionized skin care for women when he began developing facial cremes in the early 1900's. For two decades, the Kansas City chemist used his wife's beauty salon clients as willing test models to perfect his formulas. He founded the company in 1923 as Luzier Special Formula Laboratories.

Following World War I, Luzier foresaw that GI's returning from Europe - where the use of cosmetics was more widespread - would pave the way for extensive use of cosmetics among American women. He added color and facial powders to his line and watched as his sales exploded nationwide. He incorporated the business in 1929 and moved it to a newly built manufacturing, distribution and office facility in downtown Kansas City, where it would operate continuously for the next 79 years.

i will continue to research....
definitely expect more posts regarding my dream building.

fence.

while surfing the web, i found these chain link fences.

they are designed by demakersvan and i think they are spectacular!

the new digs.

my new studio is in this building. it used to be a carriage house; horses upstairs, carriages downstairs.
check out the garage door...i can drive into my studio. amazing!
and...it's only 5 blocks from my apartment! yay for being able to bike there.
a before picture of my space with my massive amounts of boxes.
here's what you get when you buy a kiln for cheap off of craigslist.
it comes with a whole lot of extra baggage.
my studio mate is rain harris, and it's starting to look like we have an official studio.
our kilns are all set up, and i'm close to getting my half of the studio settled.
next update will be an organized studio shot. hopefully.

thanks ike!

chicago received 6.64" of rain in 24 hours making it the most rainfall in one day in chicago history. not the greatest scenario for an outdoor craft fair. BUT, we made the most of it and stuck it out in our leaky tents. the super great thing was that people still came out to check out the goods! i met some awesome people and actually attained my sales goal! chicago...you rule.

here are some quick (and wet) pics of my booth set up.

p.s. i also learned a VALUABLE lesson. pack all my product in PLASTIC bins.
cardboard in the rain is lame.

RENEGADE!

The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty...

(sorry it's my favorite STYX song, i just couldn't help myself)

i will be a vendor at renegade craft fair with my foldedpigs ware this weekend in chicago.
it's supposed to rain, but i won't let it bring me down!


also while in chicago, i will be dropping off some work at lillstreet art center for a group show i'm a part of called "ceramelicious". my mouse turd cup and saucers are on their website. check it out yo.

zwinger display

the zwinger in dresden has a gigantic porcelain collection of european and asian porcelain. i thought the display of the chinese ceramics was over the top!
two examples:
look at all those mini shelves around the border!
i could have an entire show on one little wall!

germany part 7: the FINAL chapter

the kiln was unloaded and everything survived!my finished tile piece and detail.
i'm regretting not leaving more of the surface unglazed. oh well.

massive amounts of chicken feet.
some of these will be strung into garland.
i packed up these babies and was able to get them all in a rolling suitcase and carry-on bag. -an in progress packing shot.

so far everything i have unpacked has survived. phew.

germany part 6: kiln firing

chicken feet arrangement on a kiln shelf.
our kiln ended up having room to spare!
imagine that...we could have made more...
the kiln is unloaded tomorrow morning...we will not sleep tonight.

while we play the waiting game, we wandered around dresden.
this neustadt graffiti is right up my alley.