.Time.Flies.

I moved into my space one year ago. !!!

Time.
Flies.

I have made some amazing connections in the ceramic, creative, and business community in Chicago since I got the keys to my Ravenswood Corridor studio.

A lot has changed too.

I am working with stoneware more then porcelain. Something I did not foresee...but it is more effecient in a space that fluctuates in temperature are much as mine does.
And..most of all..
I AM PREGNANT.
30 weeks.
A lil'lady named Josephine Parker Ames will be born in September. She will be the ninth Josephine in the Smith (Mortimer's mothers maiden name) family tree. She will be known as Parker..which is an Ames' family name (for instance..Mortimer's middle name).

So, along with finalizing my ceramic line and getting ready to ship out my "look-books"...
I have been busy doing baby research, nanny search, professional studio cleaning service search (and sealed)...endless list...

...SOO MUCH MOM STUFF. 

...I'm SOOO tired today. 

My belly barely fits in the scene! (30 week belly bump)

.Grayson Perry.

Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry. Grayson Perry.

Is AMAZING.

I am just...I am just...at a lost of words with my excitement.

WHERE THE FUCK HAVE I BEEN?? WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS MAN YEARS AGO?
Under a rock...?
well...working a production job under I-95...so...yes.

But...Now! 
I have found an individual who links traditional ceramic arts, digital age intelligence, and performance...not so much pieces...but he is theatrical in presence...

I am extremely excited about finding more about this individual.

Utility is useless without the User by Ashley Lin Ames

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmGm8kphO68

**I am not sure why the video is cut in half. If you click the link above it will direct you to the youtube page. I will be able to download the original version before Friday evening.**

 

“I do not consider pots finished when they emerge from the kiln, but only when they have been christened with their first mouthful.”– Sandy Brown

         Utility is Useless without the User is an interactive pottery performance piece.   Pottery is not intended to be an idle pedestal piece; it is made to be used and enjoyed.  I will have forty 6-ounce vessels that incorporate a bell chamber[1] on display. Participants choose a cup and I fill their cup with water.  After they celebrate the moment, they may take their vessel home or I place the cup in a canvas bag and break the cup.  

           

       I am a child of the eighties brought up in the boom of the nineties and graduated college during the recession.  “The more one can get for less is best” became the motto.  America consumes bubbled-wrapped products from outsourced and often exploited factory workers, not knowing their faces, hands, and way of life.  During my performance, I want people to have chance to put a face and personality to the vessel in their hand and enjoy a one of-a-kind product.  Handmade pottery is about being with people and engaging with them in the material world.   
          
          Destroying any vessel does not mean death but rebirth. The shards will be donated to a community mosaic program.

...And some will make my mosaic urn...obviously.

On a side note:
It is a metaphor for life.  There are moments when one will think, "Wow, I love to blank!" With passion and dedication they strive and work diligently to fulfill their goals but ....it doesn't work out.
Alone in a mental mist their dusk begins. 
...Finding footing in unknown scenery...
They fall.
They tumble.
They break.

At least I did.  

But, you stand. 
You mend.
You walk to the dawn.

And you learn how to live a different life in a new light. 

---

[1] My drinking vessels include a chamber in the foot of the pot that makes a chiming noise when used

.Utility is Useless Without the User.

I will be apart of Thursday, October 3rd's Brave New Art World and River North Art Walk.
This performance will take place outside.
Taking it to the Street.
EXCITING.
 

“I do not consider pots finished when they emerge from the kiln, but only when they have been christened with their first mouthful.”– Sandy Brown

         Utility is Useless without the User is an interactive pottery performance piece.   Pottery is not intended to be an idle pedestal piece; it is made to be used and enjoyed.  I will have forty 6-ounce vessels that incorporate a bell chamber[1] on display. Participants choose a cup and I fill their cup with water.  After they celebrate the moment, they may take their vessel home or I place the cup in a canvas bag and break the cup.  

           

       I am a child of the eighties brought up in the boom of the nineties and graduated college during the recession.  “The more one can get for less is best” became the motto.  America consumes bubbled-wrapped products from outsourced and often exploited factory workers, not knowing their faces, hands, and way of life.  During my performance, I want people to have chance to put a face and personality to the vessel in their hand and enjoy a one of-a-kind product.  Handmade pottery is about being with people and engaging with them in the material world.   
          
          Destroying any vessel does not mean death but rebirth. The shards will be donated to a community mosaic program.

...And some will make my mosaic urn...obviously.

On a side note:
It is a metaphor for life.  There are moments when one will think, "Wow, I love to blank!" With passion and dedication they strive and work diligently to fulfill their goals but ....it doesn't work out.
Alone in a mental mist their dusk begins. 
...Finding footing in unknown scenery...
They fall.
They tumble.
They break.

At least I did.  

But, you stand. 
You mend.
You walk to the dawn.

And you learn how to live a different life in a new light. 

---

[1] My drinking vessels include a chamber in the foot of the pot that makes a chiming noise when used.

Photos by Emiley Smith Photography.
http://emileysmith.com

!!! Now the Work really Begins.

After two and a half months of online searches, bike adventures, trips around town in the car, negotiating, feeling high, and feeling low I have finally found a studio!

Now the Work really Begins. 

The space Mortimer and I decided upon is in the Ravenswood Corridor!
We will be nestled in a community full of artists, green space, and tasty restaurants. Not to mention the neighborhood is bike friendly, easy access to the Brown El Line, plenty of parking (if I need to drive) and just..awwe..just great!

For the last two months I have not allowed myself to think about ceramic form and function, color schemes, and pattern on pattern schemes, because I just didn't know when or where and how and when..when..when..when..I would be able to work.

Now the Work really Begins.

Back to the pages to sketch out studio lay outs and pottery. !

Now the Work really Begins.

Shoji Hamada bowl

Clay is primal. Functional objects have a tactile way of connecting us to each other and with the past. From the beginning of civilization people have been using clay to create the necessary containers for holding liquid or storing goods. The functional vessel evokes interaction; an individual intuitively knows how to use the item for their task. Pottery is a part of each person's daily ritual. A piece of pottery is a sculpture, a sculpture that has an intimate relationship with the viewer. There are not many sculptures that you are encouraged to hold in your hands, press upon your lips, or handle like you will the vessel. The use of handmade pottery completes the work and is itself, a Performance Art piece.

.Flick.It.Yo.

www.Flickr.com/photos/ashleylindodge

I made a Flickr account.

nothing.witty. to say about this fact.

pity.

.Ai.WeiWei.

.this man is a valiant.artist.activist.

The triptych gained notoriety as an iconoclastic gesture, it encapsulates several broader constants in Ai’s work: the socio-political commentary on the random nature of vectors of power; questions of authenticity and value (vis-à-vis the artist’s comment that the value of “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” has today exceeded that of the once-prized urn itself), and the cycle of creative destruction necessary for any culture’s survival and evolution.

.New.Cup.Move.Down.MOve.Down.Move Down.

.

I bought my first hand made mug today. wow. ay. shame on me.
but. as a potter.with potter friends. there is a.lot. of exchanging going on...

This Artist is Stephanie Kantor. she has a wordpress.com (link along the edge).
but.since you are here..she is a painter.and.potter working at red star studios in kansas city.
.(check out her wordpress. her quality is top notch. her style is a high.fiver in the air.awesome.).

.I saw a Post Modern Art Bark (art.art.art.art.bark.like a seal) while walking through a fish.town alley.the piece made me giggle.as i swayed my way to la.studio through the dribbling march rain.


..

.CoHo.Crew.SHOW.

...Why I Cup...

.Why I cup. (one a.m. modified version..)

Fucking ay.
Why..?

I became truly interested in the making of vessels while studying Art History. I was thinking about delving into the field of iconography (an iconographer).
Which...You know..I could still study how certain symbols have evolved through the years. A great deal of advancements in media, communication, and an individuals confrontation/involvement with imagery has altered certain icons. (side note.i began college as an english and philosophy major(s)...)

Anyhoo..I realized while studying the classic Flemish.Dutch still life paintings..that..I could make the items which carry.hold.and.continually sustain meaning.

The process of creating these vessels..Overly.Whelming.

Wedging.Throwing.Chemistry.Kiln Gods.and.my own Mortality.

Then..to learn the history of ceramic art. Also. Overwhelming.

long hours.dry hands.perseverance.

I am proud to be a part of the pottery tradition.

(some recent.work)

I am a Potter

I am an Idealist.
I am a Process addicted Romantic.
I am a Potter.

pottery...

I have heard people say that the inside of a vessel is a symbol of a female..well..a vagina. And. Yes. a void within a strong form which serves a purpose. Makes sense.Right..??
The statement makes my feminist side smile...My critical side shrug. Like. ay. Fucking. ay. anything.and.everything that holds an object can be related back to the female reproductive.

High.Fiver.
Recognize and Respect.
(more feminist then angst.critic about this subject i suppose)

Question Mark..

Do men get excited about handles on vessel forms..??
'Cause i place them on forms to make a..Mug..(!) ..

Teapots..Gee golly..

spouts.
(and a handle)

I have seen many ball and penis looking tea.pots..
It is harder..then one may think..to make one pour to satisfaction.

Pottery.
i am a kiln slut.
I've been hopping state lines.kiln.to.kiln.
The difficulty of continuing a Pottery Practice outside the academic sphere is a challenge.. that i have been fortunate enough to...Continue.
(i do not give sexual favors to any kiln master. just to let you know...)

I'm two Kiln Firings away from an Etsy account. A show. and. A Festival (application).

Lots of happenings.




(Lunch Plate.2010)