Semi-Annual Blog

  According to Wikkipedia, a Blog is a part of a website that is maintained by an individual with regular entries. Anyone who knows me would be shocked if I maintained regular entries. I've decided to address this from the start. This page will be updated on a less than daily, weekly, or most likely monthly basis...this...is my semi-annual blog. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Monday, December 19th, 2011
   Well this is my 2nd post of the year so at least I get to keep the name semi-annual blog.
At the end of October I took a brush making workshop that was taught by the well known brush maker Glenn Grishkoff. It is something I have wanted to learn for years. I made about 10 brushes that weekend and I'm looking forward to painting on some large platters that I made. The fall crush is over and I'm looking forward to some quieter days in the studio making some new work.

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Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
   It has been a busy year. In the spring I had an opportunity to work with wood again. I took a Sam Maloof rocking chair class. I went to Tule Peak Timber in Temecula, CA. They only carry responsibly harvested woods that are a product of beetle kill, fire damage, windfall, or private property removal. I picked out some Claro Walnut that I really liked. It was a challenge to work with but I am thrilled with the way the chair looks.


Claro Walnut that I picked out for my rocking chair at Tule Peak Timber in Temecula, CA.

Rough chair parts

The chair is fully assembled and functional at this point.
It is far from finished and I already have over 100 hours in this chair.
I still need to finish the rasping the form of the rockers.
Then I have hours and hours of finish sanding and many coats of oil to apply.

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Monday, December 27th, 2010
 The San Diego Community lost a wonderful potter, a good friend, and an amazing human being this month to cancer. Ed Thompson passed away earlier this month. Ed had given a two day workshop last year at my high school and the kids were simply blown away. After watching Ed throw large beautiful thin walled forms that seemed to defy gravity I asked him how he managed to throw these seemingly impossible forms. He described a subtle shift in hand placement to me that I had never heard of. I made this adjustment when I was throwing and I began to throw things forms that had previously eluded me. I was very lucky to have a large jar of mine included in The 2010 Strictly Functional Pottery National this year. That jar went on to win the People's Choice Award and I know that I never would have been able to make it without the guidance of Ed Thompson. Thank you Ed and rest in peace my friend.

Jar from The 2010 Strictly Functional Pottery National

Mary Cuzick has posted a wonderful photo collection of Ed and his work on her facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=232828&id=567847966

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Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
In another day or two the August issue of Dreamvillager will go out.  R. Adam Ward did a feature article on me in the Arts section. If you live in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, Coronado, or Del Mar, many of you will have this publication delivered to your home. You can also view the issue online at http://www.dreamvillager.com/article~info~Arts-Local%2DArtist%2DShowcase-Quiet%2Dpots%2Dwith%2Da%2Dloud%2Dvoice~articleID~520.htm

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Friday, July 30th, 2010
Here's a gallery shot and a piece of writing I did for my show "How's the Hand" at Grossmont College this past spring.

"How's The Hand?"

   My dad was a coffee drinker to be reckoned with. I remember when I was little and we were in the garden together on a hot summer day in Pennsylvania. The sun bore down upon us and sweat was pouring off him as he turned over the soil with a shovel. After a time he stopped, leaned on the shovel, looked at me and said, "Would you mind going in and getting me a cup of coffee?" I thought he was loony for wanting hot coffee on a scorching summer day, but I went inside and poured a cup from the pot brewed early that morning. I brought it back; he thanked me, put it to his lips, and took a sip. A smile crept across his face, and he sighed pleasurably as if he had just taken a drink from an icy cold slushy. I just looked on in disbelief.

   I discovered clay in high school. The possibilities with clay were endless, but I knew I wanted to make pots that people could use. I made plates, bowls, cups, and anything else I could think of for the kitchen. My dad drank from my mugs everyday and had favorites that he would often take the time to wash instead of getting a clean one. If anyone was qualified to critique my coffee cups, it was my dad. I once sent him a mug out of kiln that I thought he might like. I received an email thanking me and he shared a few comments as well. My dad-a coffee drinker, and not a potter- proceeded to share some very perceptive observations. He discussed where the weight of the cup fell on his finger as a result of the handle style, talked about the overall balance of the cup, and even touched on body ergonomics related to the use of the piece I had sent him. It was a cup he liked, but I knew it would not be one he would look for first. My dad wanted me to be a better potter and closed that email with the following:
   
    "When I was in the carpet business we used to have an expression that might translate into some of your work. After a carpet passed all the visual inspections and technology tests, the ultimate test was very unscientific: How's the hand? That meant, as you've probably guessed, how does it feel? Once a customer likes the look of a carpet, what do they do? They run their hand over it. Maybe you already do this with your mugs, but before I would fire a mug, I would take it in my hand and try to imagine what it would be like to drink a cup of coffee from it. I would say to myself, "How's the hand?"

   My dad wasn't a maker but an avid user and that credential carries tremendous weight for me. In the years that have passed since, I have often heeded his advice. If strangers had a window into my studio they would surely wonder about the odd potter taking phantom sips from unfired cups, holding bowls aloft as if passing them, or pouring from an empty pitcher.

   A few years ago I was in my yard on a particularly hot summer day. I was digging a 40-foot trench to the garage and it was getting the best of me. It was in the high 90's; I stopped for a break, wiped my forehead, and reached for the coffee mug sitting on the fence. It was blazing hot in the sunshine as I sipped from the steaming mug. It was at that moment that I remembered for the first time… that hot summer day in Pennsylvania when I thought my dad was loony.
My dad passed away a little more than a year ago. I wish you could have been here, Dad; I would have had coffee ready. This show is dedicated to you.

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